THE NAME OF GOD AS REVEALED IN EXODUS 3:14
An explanation of its meaning
An explanation of its meaning
Exodus 3:14 is universally recognised as being the greatest interpretive
challenge in the Bible. There has been no consensus on the meaning of
this verse for at least 2,300 years because the meaning of just four
words therein has defied all efforts at being convincingly explained.
What makes these four words so intriguing is that one of them is
identifiable in its context as a Divine name and that this one accounts
for three of the four words under consideration. The four words of which
I speak are ehyeh asher ehyeh in the first part of Exodus 3:14 and ehyeh
in the second part.
The main article in this site begins with an introduction to
Exodus 3:14 in which I explain why this verse has so compelled the
attention of religious thinkers and scholars alike. In Part I of the
article I review the translations and interpretations of Exodus 3:14 in
Judaism over the course of the last 2,300 years. In Part II I present my
own analysis of the relevant biblical text and in so doing identify a
seldom-recognised and poorly understood Divine name; the Hebrew word
ehyeh. I comprehensively explain the meaning of this name and in so
doing establish how it should be translated into English. Following this
I explain the meaning of the Hebrew phrase ehyeh asher ehyeh, which also
features in this verse, and finally I present the translation of Exodus
3:14 that my interpretation implies.
Elsewhere in the site I explore the most important implications of the
meaning of the name revealed in Exodus 3:14 and give an account of how
Exodus 3:14 and the name of God have been translated and interpreted in
Christianity. I also explain why it is that I am neither Christian nor
Jew nor Muslim and follow this with an introduction to a new
monotheistic religion; Rational Monotheism. The Files for Download page
has the entire content of the website available for download. This
content is added to and improved on an ongoing basis with the most
recent changes being signaled by date in the Files for Download page.
Although what follows has been written to a high standard of
scholarship, it has not been written with only scholars in mind. Its
subject-matter is relevant to all who are engaged in serious theological
exploration and I believe that what follows will be of interest to all
dedicated religious thinkers irrespective of their religious affiliation
or educational background.
The revelation at the Burning Bush is amongst the most powerful and enduring images in human history, in no small part due to the revelatory event that is Exodus 3:14. What makes this event so memorable and so fascinating is that in response to a question regarding the way in which God should be known by name, God speaks words that are by some distance the most enigmatic to be found in the Bible. To Moses and the Children of Israel, these words conveyed a meaning so clear and so potent as to have inspired them to undertake the legendary acts of courage and faith recounted in the Book of Exodus. They are for this reason extremely interesting whatever their meaning, and they are also for this reason extremely important in Jewish and human history. The four enigmatic words of which I speak are ehyeh asher ehyeh in the first part of Exodus 3:14 and ehyeh in the second part.
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Here is what we know so far. In the Textual Analysis of Exodus 3:13-15 in Part II of this paper I conclude that the Hebrew word ehyeh of Exodus 3:14b can be identified in its context as a Divine name, and because it is the first-person singular of the verb it can be identified as the name by which God is known to Himself; His Personal name. It is also the case that one of the only two universally accepted English translations of the Hebrew word ehyeh is ‘I am’. In the Textual Analysis I conclude that ‘I am’ is the only theologically acceptable translation of the ehyeh of Exodus 3:14b and, as confirmation of this, the Explanation of the Meaning of the Name identifies I AM as the name of God. Therefore, the Ehyeh of Exodus 3:14b is the Personal name of God and translates into English as I AM.
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The evidence of the textual, philosophical, theological and linguistic analysis presented in this paper is that there is a Divine name in Exodus 3:14, that this name is the Personal name of God, that it is the Hebrew word Ehyeh and that Ehyeh should be translated into English as I AM. The meaning of the name I AM as presented in this paper is most readily apprehended from the Diagram depicting the creative activity of God, is comprehensively explained in the Explanation of the Meaning of the Name and is concisely explained in the Summary of the Explanation. That meaning is that Ehyeh/I AM is the articulation in God of the knowledge He has of His Personal existence.
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According to Jewish belief, God is one in His Person. According to Christian belief, God is three divine persons. God cannot be both one in His Person and three persons and so at least one of these beliefs is false. I am convinced of the validity of the Jewish understanding of God and am equally convinced of the invalidity of the Christian understanding. My purpose in this paper is to demonstrate the latter. For a useful summary of previous attempts to accomplish this I would recommend Daniel Lasker’s Jewish Philosophical Polemics Against Christianity in the Middle Ages.[1] If you wish to read about Christian beliefs for yourself, then I would recommend only two books. The first is by Ludwig Ott and is entitled Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma and the second is by Denzinger and is entitled The Sources of Catholic Dogma. Between these two you will find everything you need to know about Christian beliefs.
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It is often said that there are only three truly monotheistic religions; Judaism, Islam and Christianity. However, if you have read my Refutation of Christianity then you will know that according to my understanding Christianity is not a truly monotheistic religion and so there are to my certain knowledge only two truly monotheistic religions. Having been born into Christianity, and raised and educated in it, I needed to convert to either Judaism or Islam if I was to have the experience of sharing my faith, and so I considered both.
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Elsewhere in this site I have explained why it is that I am neither
Christian nor Jew nor Muslim and so I will not repeat it here. Suffice
is to say that I whose life has been dominated by thinking about and
explaining God have no religion. This is an anomaly that only a new
monotheistic religion can put right. Before I talk about this new
religion, I will give a brief account of how it is that I have arrived
at this place in my life.
I was born into Christianity, and raised and educated in it, but
rejected it in my teenage years in favour of discovering the truth for
myself. I did not look to other religions for the truth because I
naively believed that if Christianity did not have it then those others
probably did not either. Indeed, I did not even allow for the existence
of God at that point in my thinking because I did not then have faith.
Instead, I started from existential first principles and after a
particularly sustained period of contemplation in my early thirties I
arrived at a defining moment in my life, which was the belief that there
must be a God and that there must be only one God. I came to this belief
while I was asleep and so when my rational defences were down. I awoke
with fully fledged faith. It was my first experience of monotheistic
faith and I have never doubted it for an instant since. After this, my
contemplative efforts were employed in reaching an ever-greater and
ever-deeper understanding of God and His creation.
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