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The Divine Name


The Divine Name


Excerpt


In form the divine name Yahweh is either a simple indicative or a causative indicative of the verb ‘to be’, meaning ‘he is (alive, present, active)’ or ‘he brings into being’, and the formula in which the name is disclosed (Ex. 3:14, I am who I am) means either I reveal my active presence as and when I will orI bring to pass what I choose to bring to pass’. In the setting of Ex. 3-20 this refers both to the events of the Exodus as those in which Yahweh is actively present (and which indeed he has deliberately brought to pass) and also to the preceding theological interpretation (Ex. 3:1-4:17; 5:22-6:8) of those events vouchsafed to Moses. Yahweh is thus the God of revelation and history and in particular reveals himself as the God who saves his people (according to covenant promise) and overthrows those who oppose his word.


Motyer, J. A. “Name.” Ed. D. R. W. Wood et al. New Bible dictionary 1996 : 801. Print.

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