Exodus 6:2
in Exodus 6God also told Moses, “I am the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am Jehovah:
KJV
And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
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This verse in Exodus 6
Commentary
5 notes on this verseI am the Lord - It should be, I am Jehovah, and without this the reason of what is said in the 3d verse is not sufficiently obvious.
This site's exposition
And God spake unto Moses
on Exodus 6:2-3
Verse 3 raises a real problem, because Genesis uses the name from 2:4 onward and Abraham speaks it at Genesis 15:2. Matthew Henry, John Wesley and John Gill read known as known in the character the name declares, so the fathers heard the name and did not yet see it act. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take the clause as a question instead, by my name Jehovah was I not known to them. The source-critical reading treats the verse as evidence of separate documents standing behind the Pentateuch.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord. Or Jehovah, the self-existent Being, the Being of beings, the everlasting I am, the unchangeable Jehovah, true, firm, and constant to his promises, ever to be believed, and always to be depended on.
When the salvation of the saints is completed in eternal life, then he will be known by his name Jehovah ( Rev. xxii. 13 ); in the mean time they shall find him, for their strength and support, El-shaddai, a God all-sufficient, a God that is enough and will be so, Mic. vii. From his covenant: I have established my covenant,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
There appears to have been an interval of some months between the preceding events and this renewal of the promise to Moses. The oppression in the meantime was not merely driving the people to desperation, but preparing them by severe labor, varied by hasty wanderings in search of stubble, for the exertions and privations of the wilderness. Hence, the formal and solemn character of the announcements in the whole chapter. Exo 6:2 I am the Lord ... - The meaning seems to be this: “I am Jehovah (Yahweh), and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but as to my name Jehovah, I was not made known to them.” In other words, the full import of that name was not disclosed to them. See Exo 3:14. Exo 6:3 God Almighty - Rather, “El Shaddai,” (שׁדי אל 'êl shadday), it is better to keep this as a proper name.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
NOW SHALT THOU SEE. When I bring the plagues upon Egypt things will start getting better for Israel, as I. That is, I.E.
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
8 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֑ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֖יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיְדַבֵּ֥רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֑הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֖יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָֽה׃[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Malachi 3:6“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
it leads to
- Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Lamentations 3:22–23
Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
- Numbers 23:19
Through
Jeremiah 9:24But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,”…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 10:17
Rather, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
- Galatians 6:14
But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
- 2 Corinthians 10:17
Through
Isaiah 42:8I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols.
it leads to
- Isaiah 48:11
For My own sake, My very own sake, I will act; for how can I let Myself be defamed? I will not yield My glory to another.
- Isaiah 48:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.