Exodus 3:13

My Notes

What Does Exodus 3:13 Mean?

"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?" Moses anticipates that Israel will want to know the specific identity of the God who sent him. In the ancient Near East, knowing a deity's name meant knowing their nature and having access to their power. Moses isn't being evasive — he's asking a practical question: which God? Egypt had hundreds. Israel's ancestors knew God by different names. Who exactly are you?

God's answer in verse 14 — "I AM THAT I AM" (ehyeh asher ehyeh) — is the most profound self-revelation in Scripture. Rather than giving a name that categorizes him, God gives a name that defies categorization: I am being itself. I am the one who is. The question "What is his name?" receives an answer that transcends all names.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What 'name' or category have you been trying to fit God into — and how does 'I AM' break that?
• 2.Why do you think God refused to give a name that could be categorized like the Egyptian gods?
• 3.What does it mean for your daily life that God's name is essentially 'I exist' rather than 'I do this specific thing'?
• 4.When have you needed God to be something you didn't have a name for — and did he show up as I AM?

Devotional

What is his name? Moses asks the most important question a human being can ask — and it comes from the most practical motivation possible. He needs to know what to tell people. Who sent you? What's his name? Moses isn't being philosophical. He's being pragmatic. He needs an answer for a hostile audience.

In Egypt, every god had a name, a portfolio, a jurisdiction. Ra handled the sun. Osiris handled the dead. Hapi controlled the Nile. Names meant function. So when Moses asks God's name, he's really asking: what do you do? What's your jurisdiction? Where do you fit in the pantheon?

And God's answer — I AM THAT I AM — refuses to fit. He doesn't say "I am the God of storms" or "I am the God of harvests." He says: I am. Period. I am existence itself. I am the ground of being. I don't fit into your categories because I created your categories. Every other god has a name that limits them to a function. My name is unlimited existence.

If you've been trying to reduce God to a function — the God who heals, the God who provides, the God who fixes — this moment at the burning bush says: he's bigger than your category. He does all of those things. But his name isn't any of them. His name is I AM. He is whatever you need him to be, because he is everything there is.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture