Exodus 3:15

15 God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, "The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.

Exodus 3:15 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 3:15

And God said moreover unto Moses
As a further explanation of the above name, and of the design and use of it: thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel:
for their further instruction in the said name, and for the confirmation of the mission of Moses, and the success of it: the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you;
he who is Jehovah, and the covenant God of the ancestors of the people of Israel, and of them, so he is called, ( Ecclesiastes 3:6 ) this [is] my name for ever:
meaning either "Ehjeh, I am", in the preceding verse, or, which is the same, Jehovah in this, and so both of them, and including also the name of the God of Abraham which he was always to be known by: and this is my memorial unto all generations;
the name by which he should be made mention of both by himself and others, and by which he would be called to remembrance by his people, and what he had promised unto them, and done for them.

Exodus 3:15 In-Context

13 But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, "What is his name?' what shall I say to them?"
14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, "I am has sent me to you.' "
15 God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, "The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.
16 Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, "The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have given heed to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt.
17 I declare that I will bring you up out of the misery of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.'

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. The word "Lord" when spelled with capital letters stands for the divine name, [YHWH,] which is here connected with the verb [hayah,] "to be"
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.