One of Moshe's roles, at the
time recorded by our Parasha, was to link the Children of Yisrael with their
forefathers, history, and destination, but not before establishing (for them
and even more so for himself) the identity of their Elohim. This was no easy task! YHVH had already revealed Himself to Moshe in
the desert, both in sight and speech.
And while Moshe was trying to negotiate with Par'oh on behalf of the
Master of the universe, as well as to 'introduce' Him to his own people, he
himself had a hard time grasping the awesome revelation which was unfolding
before his eyes. Our Parasha opens up
with yet another monologue of Moshe's heavenly Father, displaying great
patience with His child, who at this point had not fully adjusted to the
dimensions of his newly found destiny and relationship. The opening "I am YHVH," together
with the subsequent words, serve as another reminder to Moshe, designed to
anchor, steady, and prepare him for what is ahead and to build up his trust and
faith. Last week, upon his inquiry as to
Elohim's name, YHVH gave him a somewhat elusive answer (3: 14): “Ehe'ye asher
ehe'ye,” adding, “thus you shall say to the Children of Israel, Ehe'ye has sent
me.” These words are (typically) translated: ”I am that I am.” Yet if we glance
back at 3:12, we find that “ehe'ye” means “I will” (as it says
there: “I will be with you”). It appears
that YHVH was not about to divulge His real (or 'full') name at that point. His response and the tone by which it was
conveyed sounds almost like a (temporary) discharge or dismissal. Thus, paraphrased,
it may be read: 'never you mind Moshe… I Am and Will be Who I Am - what is it
to you?' (Compare Yeshua's response to Shimon Keifa - Peter - in John 21:22).
The verb “ehe'ye” – I will be – is contained
in “YHVH,” the name which Elohim is now, by His own initiation, revealing
to Moshe (6:2). Thus the letters h.v.h (hey, vav, hey), which are tantamount to
h.y.h (hey, yod, hey) meaning “to be”1 form the root of the venerated tetragrammaton. "Being" and "present" both
originate from this one root. The tetragrammaton, therefore, speaks of "being"
and of the "present."
Now that Moshe learns Elohim’s name, he
hears Him say something quite surprising and unexpected, namely: “I appeared
(literally – I was seen – va’ey’ra) to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
as El Shaddai, but My name YHVH, I did not make known to them” (v. 3). However, the name YHVH is
mentioned in connection with the Patriarchs.
In fact, there is evidence that they had used this name when addressing Elohim
(e.g. Gen. 15:8). The Sages discuss this
point at length, but we will not delve deeply into the subject other than to
say that since He revealed Himself to them as “El Shaddai,” the “mighty
breasted One,” or by implication the ”Mighty One Who is Sufficient,” it was
this aspect of His being with which they must have been most familiar (e.g. Gen.
35:11). In the course of His on-going
and progressive revelation of Himself, the Elohim of Yisrael is about to
demonstrate that He is in control of the present, the One Who Is Present,
and truly the One who IS the Present: Yah-hoveh. (Yah, as His
name, is used a number of times, e.g. Ex. 17:16, although lost in the
translation, and in many other instances in the Psalms.)
The passage, which starts in verse 3 of
Chapter 6 and continues all the way to verse 8, constitutes a unique and
significant unit, in both content and form.
The beginning statement is also found at the end (v. 8), that is, "I
am YHVH." In verse 3 reference
is made to the Patriarchs, while a similar reference shows up just before
the end, in verse 8, in
the form of a very emphatic statement (cf. last Parasha, Ex. 3:15,16). The
third point in this monologue deals with the Covenanted Land
The central part of this passage stands
firmly on its own, as a precious stone set in fine filigree, surrounded and
framed by the four repetitions mentioned above (i.e. YHVH’s name, Patriarchs,
Land, and Sufferings). It reads as follows, “Therefore say to the children of Israel
When this series of actions is completed
“…you shall know that I am YHVH your Elohim” (v. 7). Immediately following this
YHVH continues to promise to “bring you into the land which I swore to
give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a
heritage: I am YHVH” (v. 8, emphases added).
The declaration “I am YHVH"
pronounced both at the beginning and end of the passage, powerfully denotes His
all-encompassing view and position, contrasted with the restricted human perspective
and vantage point of the sons of Yisrael. The progressive process we have been
following evidences that there is only One who can act on every level, with
nothing ever being required of the recipients. This IS the grace, “which is not
of yourselves [but] it is the gift of Elohim!” (Ephs.2:8). However, for this grace to be appropriated,
faith is required and thus we move on to the anticlimactic end (v. 9 ): “So
Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel
Following this 'introduction' or preamble,
the rest of the Parasha is mostly devoted to the implementation of the action
plan described above. In 6:11, YHVH
calls out to Moshe to (literally), “come - BO - speak to Pharaoh…” Notice that
above He promised to “bring” – ve’heveti – His people to the land. “Come” – bo
– stems from the same root as “bring” – la’ha’vee (that is, “cause one to
come”). Thus the “coming” that Moshe is commanded to do before the next
phase, which will include verbal ‘combat’ with Egypt’s ruler, may be a “coming”
first to Elohim. However, prior to the second plague (of frogs), Moshe
is charged once again by YHVH to “bo” – come - but this time to Par’oh (8:1,
and likewise in 9:1 and in next week’s Parasha’s opening verse).
Moshe responds to YHVH’s commission twice
with “…I am of uncircumcised lips” (6:12, 30), obviously trying (once again) to
dodge his responsibility by claiming that he is not a fit speaker. But whereas
last week we read that he used the expression: “I am not eloquent… but I am
slow of speech and of a slow tongue” (4:10), this time he feels the need to
press the point even further, since "uncircumcised lips" could also
denote uncleanness. YHVH is not
'impressed' and does not take up the matter over this matter with His
messenger.
It is the condition of Par'oh's heart that
YHVH is about to deal with, as He says to Moshe”…And I will harden Pharaoh's
heart…” (7:3a). Shaul (Paul) elaborating on this says, “Therefore He has mercy
on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will, He hardens” (Rom. 9:18). Romans
1:18-21 may help us to further understand this idea: “…For the wrath of Elohim
is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who
hold the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of Elohim
is manifest in them, for Elohim has shown it unto them. For from the creation of the world the
invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood through
the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are
without excuse. For when they knew
Elohim, they neither glorified Him as Elohim, nor were thankful, but became
vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (italics
added). Back to where we left off in
Exodus 7:3. The second part of the verse reads, “… and multiply My signs and My
wonders in the land of Egypt ,” with the result being, “And the Egyptians
shall know that I am YHVH when I stretch forth My hand upon Egypt
Just prior to inflicting the first plague, Moshe
speaks for YHVH saying to Par’oh, ”…Let My people go, that they may serve Me in
the wilderness” (7:16). “Serve” here is from the root “work."
We remember vividly from last week's Parasha the many negative references to
work and labor. Here "work" becomes
”worship” of YHVH, as it is in most other references to worship. The hard working slaves (“avadim,” of the
root word, a.v.d) of the Egyptians are about to be liberated and become free to
carry out “avodat Elohim” – that is,
rendering service unto YHVH.
If at
first YHVH made His name known to Yisrael by attaching it to their ancestors’
names (the Elohim of…), thereby demonstrating His faithfulness, now He wants to
convey to His people that He is in charge of their present circumstances, in
control of all of nature - both animate and inanimate; of mankind, beasts and
the elements. The first to be affected
is Egypt 's source of water
and life, the Nile , which He turns to
blood. Blood, in its turn, is also a
symbol of life and atonement but it now becomes a deadly substance in the very
body of water, which in the second plague will be swarming with frogs (8:6). The
Nile became the grave of many of Yisrael’s
infants (ref. Ex. 1:22), and now that blood is crying out, not from the ground,
but from the water… In addition, all of Egypt
The fourth and fifth plagues (8:21; 9:3) are
the first ones not to occur in the vicinity of the Israelites' dwellings, which
means that the land
of Goshen
2 Theological Wordbook of
the Old Testament, Vol. 2,
ed. R. Laird Harris, Moody
Press, Chicago
