Exodus 6:3

3 that appeared to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, I am Almighty God; and I showed not to them my great name Adonai, that is, Tetragrammaton. (who appeared to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, I am Almighty God; but I did not tell them my great and holy name, Yahweh, or Jehovah;)

Exodus 6:3 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 6:3

And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by
[the name] of God Almighty
Able to fulfil all his purposes, promises, and covenant, with whom nothing is impossible; or Elshaddai, God all-sufficient, who has a sufficiency of happiness in himself, and everything to supply the wants of his creatures in things temporal and spiritual, see ( Genesis 17:1 ) : but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them;
which he had in the preceding verse called himself by. This is not to be understood absolutely; for it is certain that he had made himself known by this name, and this name was known unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ( Genesis 15:6-8 ) ( Genesis 26:2 Genesis 26:24 ) ( 28:13 ) , and but comparatively, as some think; that is, he was not so much made known to them by the one name as the other; though it may be questioned whether the one was more used in speaking to them than the other; wherefore others think, as Saadiah Gaon, that the word only is to be supplied, as in ( Genesis 32:28 ) and the sense to be, that by his name Jehovah he was not only made known to them, but by his name Elshaddai, and others also; and others reconcile the difficulty thus, that though the name Jehovah itself was known to the patriarchs, by which they were assured that God is eternal, immutable, and faithful to his promises; yet he was not known as to the efficacy of this name, or with respect to the actual performance of his promise, as he now would be by delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt, and bringing them into the land of Canaan; though perhaps, by reading the words with an interrogation, the clause will appear more plain, "and by my name Jehovah was I not known to them?" F20 verily I was. Josephus F21 says, this name was not before made known to men, and that it was not lawful for a man to speak it; and this is the common notion of the Jews, that it is ineffable, and not lawful to be pronounced, and therefore they put Adonai and Elohim in the room of it, and the vowel points of these words to it, which is a false and superstitious notion: this name was known among the Heathens; it is the same with (iaw) in the oracle of Apollo F23; and Diodorus Siculus F24 says, that with the Jews Moses is said to give laws from a God called "IAO", and is the same which in Philo Byblius F25 is called Jevo; and both are no other than a corruption of Jah or Jehovah; and perhaps the (tetraktuv) of the Pythagoreans F26, by which they swore, is the same with the tetragrammaton, or this word of four letters, with the Jews.


FOOTNOTES:

F20 Vid. Noldium, No. 788.
F21 Antiqu. l. 2. c. 12. sect. 4.
F23 Cornelius Labeo de oraculo Apoll. Clarii apud Macrob. Saturnal. l. 1. c. 18.
F24 Bibliothoc. l. 1. p. 84.
F25 Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. c. 9. p. 31.
F26 Carmin. Aurea Pythagor. l. 47. & Hierocles in ib. p. 225, 277. Porphyr. de Vita Pythagor. p. 189.

Exodus 6:3 In-Context

1 And the Lord said to Moses, Now thou shalt see, what things I shall do to Pharaoh; for by [a] strong hand he shall deliver them, that is, the sons of Israel, and in [a] mighty hand he shall cast them out of his land (for with my strong hand, I shall compel him to let them go, that is, the Israelites, and under my mighty hand, he shall throw them out of his land).
2 And the Lord spake to Moses, and said, I am the Lord,
3 that appeared to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, I am Almighty God; and I showed not to them my great name Adonai, that is, Tetragrammaton. (who appeared to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, I am Almighty God; but I did not tell them my great and holy name, Yahweh, or Jehovah;)
4 and I made [a] covenant with them, that I should give to them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were comelings. (and I made a covenant with them, that I would give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as newcomers, or as foreigners.)
5 I heard the wailing of the sons of Israel, in which the Egyptians oppressed them, and I had mind of my covenant. (I have heard the wailing of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians oppressed, and I have remembered my covenant.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.