God’s Holy Name

Moses had long ago fled Egypt and had become an old man in the service of his father-in-law, Jethro, when he spotted a most unusual sight on the flanks of Horeb, the mountain of God—a bush that burned but did not burn up. Coming closer, Moses was stunned to hear an unseen presence speaking to him and identifying Himself as the God of Moses’ ancestors. The voice then proceeded to command Moses to go to Egypt, to Pharaoh, to relay God’s message that the Hebrews were to be freed from their bondage. In reply, Moses asked two questions: “Who am I?” (in answer to which God promised to be with Moses) and “Who shall I say has sent me?” To this question, God replied with the Hebrew term YHWH, which usually is rendered as “Yahweh.” This word is understood in various ways. Some believe it should be translated as “I will be what I will be.” Others render it “I will do what I will do.” Still others believe that God was actually refusing Moses’ request for a name and was simply making a statement. However, most Biblical scholars think that the name Yahweh is derived from the Hebrew verb “to be,” so they render this name as “I AM WHO I AM.”

There is much we can learn about the nature of God from this name, but we will focus on two aspects. First, “I AM WHO I AM” shows us that God is unchanging. He is always “I AM,” never “I was” or “I will be.” As the Creator of heaven and earth, He exists outside of time. He was present before He formed the universe, and He will be present when it is gone. He is always God, always the same.

Second, and perhaps more significant, this name teaches us that God has self-existence. In other words, His existence is entirely different than ours. We are dependent on many things for our existence—air, water, food, and, ultimately, God. But God needs nothing outside of Himself in order to exist. He has the power to be within Himself. Unlike us, He did not need anything or anyone else to bring Him into existence, and He relies on nothing to maintain His existence from day to day. He is pure being.

It is ironic that am is both one of the smallest and most common words in the English language, and yet, God adopts it for His name because it is so descriptive of His divine nature.