Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh

Interpretation

According to the Hebrew Bible, in the encounter of the burning bush (Exodus 3:14), Moses asks what he is to say to the Israelites when they ask what gods ('Elohiym) have sent him to them, and YHWH replies, "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh"  – which has been translated as "I am who I am"  – adding, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I am has sent me to you'". Having told Moses to say that to the Israelites, YHWH then instructs him to say the following, "YHWH Elohim of your ancestors, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever. This is my title throughout every generation." Despite this exchange, the Israelites are never written to have asked Moses for the name of God. Then there are a number of probably unanswerable questions, including who it is that does not know God's name, Moses or the Israelites (most commentators take it that it is Moses who does not know, meaning that the Israelites will ask him the name in order to prove his credentials), and just what the statement means.