EXODUS CHAPTER 3

OBSERVATION STAGE

Let's take a look at this chapter in its entirety first to see what we can observe from it alone within the context of the book of John, and then we will double back and provide elaboration and corroboration.

The observation stage is to teach an individual to focus on the text at hand which, by and large, has all the information necessary to understand what it is saying without going on unnecessary tangents elsewhere.

Remember that something elsewhere may be true, but in the text at hand it may not be in view.

IV) Ex 3:13-14]:

[Expositor's, p. 319-321]:

"Elohim gave two answers (one in v. 14 and in v. 15) to the problem posed by Moses... The structure of v. 14... (1) to give the exact quotation that answers the question and (2) to give an explanantion of the inner meaning of the quotation. Both phrases are introduced with 'And he said... and he said' - a frequent Hebraism already seen in Genesis. The second answer in v. 15 (Notice: 'And God also said' (emphasis mind) builds on the basic explanation of meaning of Yahweh's name in v. 14 and links that name with previous and all futgure generations.... If little agreement exists on the inner relationship of vv. 13-15, still less exists on the meaning of 'I AM.' Perhaps the most natural explanation that does fullest justice to the fact that this name is connected with some form of the verb hAyAh ('to be') and to its own context given our preesent canonical shape of the text is to see it as expressing the nature, character, and essence of the promise in v. 12: 'I will be with you' (''ehyeh 'immAk).

What, then, was his name? The answer was: '[My name in its inner significance is] I am, for I am / will be [present].' The answer was (1) not an evasion ('I am called what I am called'), (2) not a reluctance to disclose His name (as if He said, 'My name really is not the point!'), (3) not a cutting Moses short (as if to say, 'One thing at a time, I'm in charge here!'), and (4) not a primitive shout of invocation ('O He!').