Read Exodus 3 at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph for this chapter:
3:1-4:17 {p} …
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD 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, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ Exo 3:14-15
God’s personal name, Yehovah, isn’t spoken aloud by most Jews today. In the Hebrew Bible, it’s written as the tetragrammaton YHVH (יהוה) without vowels, and read as Adonai (the Lord). That’s why English Bibles say “the LORD” instead of YHVH or Yehovah. It comes from
Strong’s H3068 יהוה Yehovah, a proper name, from
Strong’s H1961 היה hayah, the verb, “to be.” The ancient pictographs are hey + yud + hey.
hey ה = man with upraised arms (look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath)
yud י = closed hand (work, throw, worship)
hey ה = man with upraised arms (look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath)
The hey pictograph has a wide range of applications. His arms are upraised, so it could mean pointing in awe (“Behold!”), gasping in excitement, or worshiping with deep, introspective breaths. Here hayah indicates breath—the sign of life or existence.
Then YHVH God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Gen 2:7
Then YHVH [The Living One, hey] God formed man of the dust of the ground, [the closed hand representing working, taking action, yud] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [a second living one was brought into existence, hey]. Gen 2:7
The simplest verb—“to be”—proclaims by the Hebrew Root Word parable hidden in its letters: Everything that is and lives was breathed into being by the One who is and lives.
Thus Yehovah (יהוה YHVH) means “I AM,” the Self-Existent, Eternal Living One. It is He who was, who is, and who is to come.
Why This Matters: When Yeshua said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (Joh 8:58), they picked up stones to stone Him. They understood exactly who He was telling them He was.
If there are questions, these are good resources:
Yehovah, “I AM,” Strong’s H3068 – Christine Miller
Index of Hebrew Roots – Christine Miller
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