Exodus 3:15

Exodus 3:15, in plain English

God also tells Moses to use the name 'the LORD, the God of your fathers'—connecting the past promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with the present rescue.

Why it's here

God gives Moses two names to use together: the personal name 'I AM' and the relational name 'the God of your fathers.' Together they say: I am eternally present, and I keep my ancient promises. This is how God wants to be remembered, passed down from generation to generation.

Who's speaking

God is speaking to Moses.

Where it sits in the story

The two names work together—one reveals God's timeless nature, the other shows His faithfulness to covenants. This is how God reveals Himself throughout all of history: He is both transcendent and deeply involved with His people.

The scholarly reading

God instructs Moses to tell the Israelites that he has been sent by the God of their ancestors—establishing continuity with patriarchal covenant while also providing the personal name YHWH for perpetual remembrance.

Language and setting

The instruction יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֵיכֶם (YHWH ʾelōhē ʾăbōtēḵem, 'YHWH, God of your fathers') combines the newly revealed name with the familiar patriarchal formula, making the revelation accessible rather than alienating. The phrase זֵכֶר לִדֹרֹת עוֹלָם (zeḵer lidōrōt ʿōlām, 'memorial for all generations') establishes that this name is not a private revelation but a permanent designation by which God will be invoked, remembered, and worshipped. Augustine noted that this provides Israel with a name that is simultaneously transcendent and personal—applicable equally to philosophical reflection and intimate prayer.

Voice

God, providing instruction on how Moses is to communicate the revelation to Israel.

Significance

This verse ensures that the revelation of Exodus 3:14 does not remain abstract theology but becomes integrated into Israel's liturgical and relational life. The name YHWH becomes the fundamental designation by which Israel knows and calls upon God throughout Scripture and Jewish tradition.

13Then Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?”

14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

15God also told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the 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 how I am to be remembered in every generation.

16Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.

17And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

Read all of Exodus 3 — In the silence of a desert, a bush burns without burning up — and God speaks His own name.