Skip to content
mannafest.faith
Read

Exodus 3:13

in Exodus 3

Then Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them?

KJV

And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

⋯

This verse in Exodus 3

Commentary

2 notes on this verse
What is his name - The meaning of this question is evidently: “By which name shall I tell them that the promise is confirmed?” Each name of the Deity represented some aspect or manifestation of His attributes (compare the introduction to Genesis). What Moses needed was not a new name, but direction to use that name which would bear in itself a pledge of accomplishment.

This site's exposition

What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

on Exodus 3:13-14

Moses asks for a name and receives a sentence, I AM THAT I AM, built on the Hebrew verb to be. The same verb stands in verse 12, where God said I will be with thee, so the name and the promise are made of one word. Keil and Delitzsch read it as the God who is, absolutely and unchangeably, and who therefore keeps what he swore to the fathers. Jesus takes the words to himself at John 8:58, before Abraham was, I am, and his hearers took up stones.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

WHAT IS HIS NAME? WHAT SHALL I SAY UNTO THEM? This verse calls aloud for an explanation. It is incomprehensible that Moses should say, And they shall say unto me: What is His name? meaning that this will be a sign to them to believe in him.
Ramban: Spain, 1194–1270 · Ramban on Exodus 3:13:1, via Sefaria, Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
AND GOD SAID…I AM. Its meaning is, That I Am. 112 According to I.E. That I Am explains I Am.
Ibn Ezra: Spain, 1089–1167 · Ibn Ezra on Exodus 3:14:1, via Sefaria, Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

23 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • מֹשֶׁ֜הMoses

    moshehH4872 →765 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • הָֽאֱלֹהִ֗ים<the> God

    haelohimH430 →2601 times

  • הִנֵּ֨הhere!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • אָנֹכִ֣יI

    ʾanokhiH595 →359 times

  • בָא֮[am] about to go

    va'H935 →2568 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of

    beneiH1121 →4930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵל֒Israel

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • וְאָמַרְתִּ֣יand I will say

    veamartiH559 →5305 times

  • לָהֶ֔םto <the> them

    lahem

  • אֱלֹהֵ֥י[the] God of

    ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times

  • אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֖םancestors your

    ʾavoteikhemH1 →1212 times

  • שְׁלָחַ֣נִיhe has sent me

    shelachaniH7971 →845 times

  • אֲלֵיכֶ֑םto you

    ʾaleikhemH413 →5510 times

  • וְאָֽמְרוּ־and they will say

    veameru-H559 →5305 times

  • לִ֣יto <the> me

    li

  • מַה־what?

    mah-H4100 →752 times

  • שְּׁמ֔וֹ[is] name his

    shemoH8034 →864 times

  • מָ֥הwhat?

    mahH4100 →752 times

  • אֹמַ֖רwill I say

    ʾomarH559 →5305 times

  • אֲלֵהֶֽם׃to them

    ʾalehemH413 →5510 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

12 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Exodus 15:3The LORD is a warrior, the LORD is His name.6 worksIsaiah 9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.4 worksProverbs 30:4Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—surely you know!4 worksIsaiah 7:14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.3 worksGenesis 32:29And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.3 worksExodus 3:14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”3 works
The other 6 cross-references, with their words ▾
Matthew 1:21She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”3 worksJeremiah 23:6In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.3 worksMatthew 1:23“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).2 worksJudges 13:17Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes to pass?”2 worksJudges 13:6So the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. His appearance was like the angel of God, exceedingly awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.2 worksExodus 6:12But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Isaiah 7:14

    Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 1:23

      “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Isaiah 9:6

      For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…

  • Through

    Isaiah 9:6

    For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…

    it leads to

    • Luke 2:11

      Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!

    • Matthew 28:18

      Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

    • Jeremiah 23:5–6

      Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

    • Isaiah 7:14

      Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

  • Through

    Exodus 3:14

    God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

    it leads to

    • John 8:58

      “Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

    • Hebrews 13:8

      Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Where this verse is studied

About Exodus

The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Exodus: the study guide →Read Exodus 3 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.

Read on in Exodus 3 →