“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 poses a second question: suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'the God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'what is his name?' Then what shall I tell them? The question is not entirely about the Israelites — Moses wants to know too. A name in the ancient world was not merely a label but a revelation of nature and a basis for relationship. Moses is asking not just what to call God but who God is. The Israelites in Egypt have been surrounded by named deities with distinct personalities and domains; they will want to know which God has sent this man. Romans 10:13 says everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved — the name matters for salvation, for prayer, for identity. Moses is asking the question that all of Exodus, and all of Scripture after it, will spend its length answering: what is His name?
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