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UPDATED
February 22, 2023
Who is God?
This question drives much of human history, and is a driving force across the meta-narrative of the Bible. After the fall of man in Genesis, mankind no longer had direct access to God, and even the people of Israel only knew certain aspects of their Creator. In Exodus, God states His own name for the first time: “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14).
The name of I AM is how God chose to introduce himself, becoming so sacred that in Judaism, the name is not to be spoken. The significance of God’s self-given name encompasses all that He is, and how we are to relate to Him.
What Is the Context and Significance of the Name I AM?
The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Bible. The first five books of both the Jewish and Christian Bibles, called the Pentateuch, are historically attributed to Moses. In context, the introduction of the name I AM comes early in Exodus. The Israelites had been in bondage in Egypt for four centuries. Near the end of this time, Moses fled Egypt and lived in Midian for forty years when God came to him and spoke through a burning bush. Moses asks God for His name, so he will have an answer when the people of Israel ask. In English, God’s answer is translated as “I AM WHO I AM … tell them I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). This name is known as the Tetragrammaton.
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