1. Exodus 3:13-15

2. Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and
say to them, ‘The God (Elohim) of your fathers has sent
me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then
what shall I tell them?”
14
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you
are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
15
God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The
LORD, (Yahweh or YaHoWah) the God of your fathers
—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of
Jacob—has sent me to you.’
“This is my name forever,
the name you shall call me
from generation to generation.
16
“Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them,
‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I
have watched over you and have seen what has been

3. ‫יד ויֶמאמ ר ֶמאלהים ֶמאל-משה, ֶמאהיה ֶמאש ר רֶהיה;‬
‫יַּ רֶ ֱ ֶמאֹ םיִ רֶ ֶמאֹ ׁ רֶ ֶיְרֶ שֲ ׁ ֶמא ֶיְרֶ‬
‫רֶ‬ ‫רֶ‬ ‫ֶמאֹ‬
‫ויֶמאמ ר, כה תֶמאמ ר לבני יש רֶמאל, ֶמאהיה, שלחני‬
‫יַּ רֶ ּ ֶמאֹ יַ םיִ ֶיְ,לֵ םיִ ׂ לֵאָ ,לֵ רֶ ֶיְרֶ ׁ לֵאָ יַםיִ‬
‫ֶיְ‬ ‫ֶיְ‬ ‫ֶמאֹ‬ ‫ֶמאֹ‬
‫ֶמאליכם. טו ויֶמאמ ר עוד ֶמאלהים ֶמאל-משה, כה-תֶמאמ ר‬
‫יַּ רֶ ֶמאֹ ֱ ֶמאֹ םיִ רֶ ֶמאֹ ׁ ּ ֶמאֹ יַ‬
‫רֶ ֶמאֹ‬ ‫ֶמאֹ‬ ‫שֲ ,לֵ רֶ‬
‫ֶמאל-בני יש רֶמאל, יהוה ֶמאלהי ֶמאבתיכם ֶמאלהי יַב לֵאָהם‬
‫רֶ ּ,לֵ םיִ ׂ לֵאָ ,לֵ ֶיְ לֵאָ ֱ ֶמאֹ ,לֵ שֲ ֶמאֹ ,לֵ רֶ ֱ ֶמאֹ ,לֵ ֶמא ֶיְ ר לֵאָ‬
‫ֶיְ‬ ‫ֶיְ‬
‫ֶמאלהי יצחק וֶמאלהי יעקב, שלחני ֶמאליכם; זה-שמי‬
‫ֱ ֶמאֹ ,לֵ םיִ ֶיְ לֵאָ ,לֵ ֶמאֹ ,לֵ יַ שֲ ֶמאֹ ׁ לֵאָ יַםיִ שֲ ,לֵ רֶ רֶ ׁ םיִ‬
‫ֶיְ‬
‫ּ‬ ‫ֶיְ‬
‫.לעלם, וזה זכ רי לד ר ד ר‬
‫ֶמאֹ‬
‫ֶיְ ֶמאֹ לֵאָ ֶיְרֶ םיִ ֶיְ םיִ ֶיְ ֶמאֹ ּ‬

4. How the name “Jehovah”
developed
 YHWH, “I Am” or “I Exist”
 Jews would say, “adonai” or “Lord.”
 YHWH + vowels of adonai = YaHoWaH
 It came into many languages as “Jehovah”.
 English Translations write it “LORD.” Used
6,823 times in Old Testament.

5. The Name Jehovah or LORD
 Genesis 2:4, first appearance: “…the LORD
God (Yahweh Elohim) made the earth and the
heavens…”
 Genesis 4:26: “At that time men began to call
on the name of the LORD (Yahweh).”
 Exodus 6:2-3: “I am the LORD. I appeared to
Abraham, Isaac , and Jacob as El-Shaddai, but
by my name the LORD I did not make myself
known to them.”

6. Exodus 6:6-8:
Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD,
and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the
Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to
them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched
arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take
you as my own people, and I will be your God.
Then you will know that I am the LORD your God,
who brought you out from under the yoke of the
Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I
swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to
Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a
possession. I am the LORD.’”

7. Meaning of the Name:
Jehovah (Yahweh) is the
intimate name of God, and
presents God as the eternally
existent One who acts in grace
to redeem us and relates
personally to us.

8. 1. God exists, He alone has
real existence
 “I AM WHO I AM”
 His existence is eternal
 He is the ever-becoming one: He will be
who He will be.
 As the eternal God, He is not bound by
time. He is always new, relevant, fresh.

9. The Rock of Israel:
“The LORD is my rock, my
fortress and my
deliverer…” Psalm 18:2
 Shade in heat
 Shelter from cold
 Security from attack
 Stability, unlike sand
 Sustenance, the water
came from the rock in
the desert

10. 2. God extends, He reaches
out to redeem humanity
“I AM has sent me to you”

11. In the Old Testament “Thus
saith the LORD” is found 415
times in the King James Bible.
Not a single time do we find
“Thus saith Elohim.” His
commands to us are personal,
intimate, and given in love. It
is Jehovah (I Am) who holds man
accountable, punishes sin, but
also who loves and redeems man
from his sin.

12. Jesus said, “Before Abraham
was, I Am.” (John 8:58)
 The people were ready to stone Him because a
mere man could not make such a claim. Jesus was
Jehovah in human flesh. (John 8:24,28, ego eimi)
 What do you need? Spiritual Food? “I am the Living
Bread, come down from heaven. If anyone eats
this bread he will live forever.” (John 6:51)
 The Light of the Truth? “I am the Light of the
world, He that follows me will never walk in
darkness.” (John 8:12)
 A Way to be Saved? “I am the door, if any one
enters through me will be saved.” (John 10:9)

13. Jesus as the I AM: Do you
need?
 Someone to love you? “I am the good Shepherd,
the good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep.” (John 10:11)
 Hope beyond the grave? “I am the resurrection
and the life, he who believes in me will live, even
though he dies.” (John 11:25)
 A way to the Father? “I am the way, the truth, and
the life, no one comes to the Father except
through me.” (John 14:6)
 Strength to bear fruit for God? “I am the vine, you
are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in
him, He will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5)

14. There is Power in the name:
John 18:4-6:
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to
him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you
want?”
5
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was
standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said,
“I am he,” they drew back and fell to the
ground.

15. 3. God expresses, He calls
us into a meaningful
relationship with Him
“I am to be remembered from
generation to generation”

16. A relationship of:
 Intimacy – He calls us to Himself. “The LORD
is my shepherd.” Psalm 23:1
 Righteousness – He calls us to be like Him.
Jehovah said, “Be holy because I, the LORD
your God, am holy.” (Lev. 19:2)
 Rest and hope and peace: “You will keep in
perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the LORD
forever, for the LORD is an everlasting rock.”
(Isaiah 26:3-4)

17. The disciple slow to believe
 “Put your finger here;
see my hands. Reach out
your hand and put it into
my side. Stop doubting
and believe.”
 Thomas said to him, “My
Lord and my God.”
 “Blessed are those who
have not seen and yet
have believed.”