Shemot 6:2-3 (Exodus 6:2-3)
2 And
God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:
3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac,
and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by My name YHWH was I not
known to them. (Exodus 6:2-3)
How can we understand these lines? Did
Abraham, Itzchak and Ya’acov know about this name - YHWH (the LORD)? Yes, they
know. Hashem said to Abraham: "And He said unto him, I am the LORD that
brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit
it." (Gen. 15:7)
Hashem said to Ya’acov: "And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;" (Gen. 28:13)
We see this name was
famous to Abraham, Isaac and Yacov. But they didn't know ok about meaning of
this name. Rashi wrote: "It is not written here לֹא הוֹדַעְתִּי, “but
My Name YHWH I did not make known to them,” but לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי, “I did
not become known.” [I.e.,] I was not recognized by them with My attribute of
keeping faith, by dint of which My name is called YHWH, [which means that I am]
faithful to verify My words, for I made promises to them, but I did not fulfill
[them while they were alive]." (http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9867/showrashi/true)
Please read these lines:
"Therefore, behold, I will this once cause
them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall
know that my name is The LORD." (Jer. 16:21)
"But I wrought for my name's sake, that it
should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight
I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of
Egypt." (Ezek. 20:9)
Ramban (13th century,
Spain) wrote:
“God
therefore indicates to Moshe that "I appeared to the Patriarchs with My
strong hand by which I overpower the stars and assist My chosen ones (El
Shaddai), but I did not make myself known to them by the name YHWH by which all
existence was brought into being. I did not create new realities for them
by upsetting the laws of nature. Therefore, tell the people of Israel
that I am God (YHWH), and indicate to them this great name a further time, for
by it I will perform wonders for them so that they may know that I am God who
does all." (http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:fgLfyTNgtdwJ:vbm-torah.org/archive/intparsha/shemot/14-63vaera.rtf+Shemot+6+YHWH+Ramban&cd=2&hl=ru&ct=clnk)
Yehudah
Halevi wrote in Kuzari: “ ‘And I appeared unto Abraham . . . as El Shaddāi'
(Exod. vi. 3), viz. in the way of power and dominion, as is said: 'He suffered
no man to do them wrong; yea, He reproved kings for their sake' (Ps. cv. 14).
He did not, however, perform any miracle for the patriarchs as He did for
Moses, saying: 'but my name J H W H was I not known to them'. This means by My
name J H W H, since the bēth in beēl shaddāi refers to the
former. The wonders done for Moses and the Israelites left no manner of doubt
in their souls that the Creator of the world also created these things which He
brought into existence immediately by His will, as the plagues of Egypt, the
dividing of the Red Sea, the manna, the pillar of a cloud, and the like. The
reason of this was not because they were higher than the Patriarchs, but
because they were a multitude, and had nourished doubt in their souls, whilst
the patriarchs had fostered the utmost faith and purity of mind. If they had
all their lives been pursued by misfortune, their faith in God would not have
suffered. Therefore they required no signs.” (.
Kitab al Khazari (Kuzari), 2:2) http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Kitab_al_Khazari/Part_Two)
Yeshua prayed to
Father:
6 I have
manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine
they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of
thee.
8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have
received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have
believed that thou didst send me.
(John 17:6-8)
25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee,
and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love
wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:25-26)
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