Exodus 3

Read Exodus 3 here or at Bible Gateway.

The Hebrew paragraph:

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

The personal name of God, Yehovah, is not spoken among most Jews. In the Hebrew Bible it is written as the tetragrammaton YHVH without vowel points  יהוה  and read as Adonai, “the Lord.” This is why in English Bibles, the personal name of God is rendered “the LORD” rather than YHVH or Yehovah.

Strong’s H3068  יהוה  Yehovah, a proper name, from

Strong’s H1961  היה  hayah, the primitive root, “to be.” The ancient pictographs are hey + yud + hey.

hey ה = the man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
yud י = the closed hand, thus work, throw, worship
hey ה = the man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath

The hey pictograph is interesting with a wide range of applications. The man has his arms upraised. He can be looking at something and pointing it out, so looking, behold, revelation or wonderment. It is also associated with a sharp or long intake of breath. He can be exclaiming, so excitement or emotion, rapid breathing. He can be worshiping, so introspection, deep breathing. Here, since the accepted meaning of hayah is “to be,” I think the hey indicates breathing, in the sense that breath is an indication of life and thus 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

The Living One (hey) working (yud) produced another who has life as He has, another living one (the second hey).

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 most basic verb in Hebrew or in any language, “to be,” the verb of existence, carries within its spelling the narrative that all that exists and has life was brought into its existence through the action of the One who exists and has life.

Yehovah  יהוה  YHVH, is God’s personal name, and is derived from hayah. This is why they say His name means, “I AM.” I am the Living One, I exist. I am the Self-Existent and Eternal. I am He who was, and who is, and who is to come.

A second amazing story the ancient Hebrew pictographs paint of YHVH is this:

יהוה yud + hey + vav + hey

yud י = the closed hand, thus work, throw, worship
hey ה = the man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
vav ו = the tent peg, thus add, secure, hook
hey ה = the man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath

Taking the hey in its meaning of revelation, the story being told is:

The hand, behold! The nail, behold!

“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.” Isa 49:16

“Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.” Luk 24:39

If there are questions, these are good resources:

Finding Messiah in Torah – Christine Miller
Index of Hebrew Roots – Christine Miller