And God (E-lokim)[1] spoke to Moses and He said: "I am the Lord (YHVH). And I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as E-l Sha-ddai, but My name the Lord [the Tetragrammaton] I did not make known to them. And I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their dwellings, where they lived. And I have also heard the groans of the children of Israel, because Egypt has enslaved them, and I have remembered My covenant. Therefore, say to the children of Israel, 'I am the Lord (YHVH). And I will take you out from under the burdens of Egypt. And I will rescue you from their labor, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgements. And I will take you to Me as a nation and I will be for you as a God, and you will know that I am the Lord (YHVH), your God, who has removed you from under the burdens of Egypt. And I will take you to the land that I raised My hand [in oath] to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And I will give it to you as an inheritance. I am the Lord (YHVH).'" (Shemot 6:2-8)
God's speech to Moses in 6:2-8 constitutes a literary masterpiece, as is befitting a passage that outlines the conceptual foundation of Israel's relationship with God. Marked by elevated diction and solemn promises, this is a highly structured and poetic speech, bolstered by the fourfold repetition of the phrase Ani YHVH ("I am the Lord"), which introduces God's four-letter name (known as the Tetragrammaton) and establishes the speech's skeletal structure. Two of the four instances frame God's speech, serving as its first two words and its final two words. The phrase also appears as the first two words that God instructs Moses to say to Israel and divides the speech exactly at its midpoint (in 6:6), splitting it into two groups of fifty Hebrew words (not counting the central instance of "I am the Lord.")[2]
The first fifty words of the speech (verses 2-6a) describe the historic consciousness that motivates God, constituting the foundations for the covenantal relationship between God and Israel. In this part of the speech, God speaks to Moses, referring to Israel in the third person, and all verbs are in the past tense. The past divides into two parts: the distant past and the recent past.[3] The distant past recalls God's covenant with the forefathers, where He promised them the land of Canaan (6:3-4). God then veers sharply to relate to the recent past, citing Israel's groans under Egyptian slavery, which God has heard, and which have prompted God to remember His covenant.[4] Both of God's recollections (verses 4 and 5) begin with ve-gam ("and also"), creating a linguistic link between the distant and more recent past.
The second unit of fifty words (verses 6b-8) contains information that Moses must convey directly to Israel. Here, God addresses Israel in the second person, and all verbs are in future tense. Like the section that speaks of the past, the verses that describe the future also divide into two parts: the immediate future and the distant one. In the near future, God promises to rescue Israel from Egypt (verses 6-7). The final verse focuses upon the distant future, where God pledges to bring Israel to the land that He promised their forefathers (verse 8).
A chiastic structure emerges, outlining the nature of the covenantal relationship between God and Israel:
A. I am the Lord.
B. I promised the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
C. I heard the groans of Israel enslaved in Egypt.
D. I am the Lord.
C'. I will remove Israel from their slavery in Egypt.
B'. I will bring them to the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
A'. I am the Lord.
God's immediate goal is to release Israel from their labors, but it is linked to a more far-reaching objective. His ultimate intention is to bring them back to the land of their forefathers, fulfilling the covenantal promise made to the Patriarchs.[5]
The Tetragrammaton: A New Name
At the beginning of His speech, God draws a contrast between the name that He revealed to the Patriarchs (E-l Shad-dai) and the one that He is revealing now to the nascent nation: the Tetragrammaton. Yet, in the book of Bereishit, the Patriarchs certainly knew the Tetragrammaton.[6] Significantly, God does not say that He did not tell the Patriarchs His name, but rather that He did not make His name known to them. God is called by multiple names in the Tanakh, each one reflecting a unique aspect of His character, His deeds, or the manner of His interaction with humans. The issue here does not appear to be mere knowledge of a name, but the experience of God's manifestation of Himself by that name. The Patriarchs may have known this name of God, but God chose not to manifest the aspect of His character linked to the Tetragrammaton until now.
What is the character of the Tetragrammaton, and why has it been withheld until now? This name appears to be bound up with God's relationship with Israel as a nation, with whom God establishes a contractual, mutual interaction.[7] This new dimension of God allows for divine immanence and the forging of a special relationship with Israel that translates into accessibility. Perhaps for this reason Rabbinic commentaries frequently see this name as a manifestation of God's attribute of compassion. The Tetragrammaton represents a God who directly intervenes in human history in order to establish a nation and bring His promises to fruition.[8] By introducing Himself with this name, God asserts His role as the national God of Israel, poised to fulfill His covenantal promise..
The name by which God had manifested Himself to Israel's forefathers was E-l Shad-dai, a name for His relationship with a family of individuals.[9]E-l Shad-dai offers this family blessings of fertility, paving the path toward eventual nationhood.[10] A remarkable shift thus occurs in our passage, as God introduces a new paradigm for His relations with humans – one designed especially for the embryonic nation of Israel.[11]
Despite the introduction of a new manifestation of God, His relationship with Israel is not a break from His bond with the Patriarchs. Rather, it is a continuation of that covenant, affirming and fulfilling the promises made to their forefathers. Knowing God's name means recognizing His purpose for Israel – a purpose that weaves together its past, present, and future, as reflected in God's carefully structured speech.[12]
God's Message of Liberation
God stands at the center of this speech, completely eclipsing Pharaoh, who, notwithstanding his assertions of power in the preceding chapters, is notably absent. There is no real power struggle – God pays little attention to Pharaoh, dismissing him and his blustering self-importance.
God's unilateral promise to liberate Israel also indicates that this is not a story of slaves who rise up to throw off the yoke of oppression.[13] In fact, the frightened and exhausted Israelites initially express opposition to God's plan (Shemot 5:21; 6:9). The Exodus narrative begins with God's decisive declaration that He will liberate His nation (Exodus 3:7-10), and He initiates again in this section, delivering seven first-person promises in rapid succession. These rapid-fire pledges create a staccato rhythm, like a steady heartbeat designed to revive and uplift a broken, despondent nation.
Liberation, Covenant, and the Land
God's assurances can be divided into three parts: liberation from slavery, the establishment of a covenantal relationship, and the promise to bring Israel to the land of their inheritance.
First, God promises to liberate Israel from slavery (verses 6-7). In a poetic flourish, He brandishes the imagery of an "outstretched arm" that will redeem Israel.[14] The verb ga'al (to redeem) depicts God's redemption of His nation. In the Torah, this term is typically used to describe fulfilling obligations toward one's kin.[15] Its use here suggests that God's actions toward Israel stem from the special nature of their bond – a relationship akin to familial ties.
The elevated language of the second part reflects its exalted nature. In a phrase that resonates throughout the Tanakh, God establishes a covenant of mutual commitment: "I will take you as My nation, and I will be your God" (Shemot 6:7).[16] This anticipates the reciprocity of the Sinai covenant, expressed in 19:4-5. The continuation of verse 7 – "I am the Lord, your God, who has removed you from under the burdens of Egypt" – similarly foreshadows the opening of the Ten Commandments (Shemot 20:2). This mutual commitment also points toward the goal of serving God in the Tabernacle, as reflected in the parallel language of Shemot 29:45-46.[17] Truly the centerpiece of the divine promise, this recurring formulation of the covenant underscores the formulation's foundational significance in defining the relationship between God and Israel.
Finally, God declares, using the language of a divine oath, that He will bring Israel to the land He has sworn to give to the Patriarchs.[18] This event marks the beginning of true nationhood – the attainment of autonomy and the opportunity to build a society rooted in its own values and ideology.[19]
The forefathers previously sojourned in the land as foreigners. In describing their presence there (verse 4), the word ger appears twice: once as a verb (garu) and once as an adjective (eretz megureihem). The root ger, meaning stranger, alludes to their status as non-natives, highlighting the impermanence of their residence. Their dwelling in the land was temporary and lacked the sense of belonging that true ownership would later signify.[20] Now, however, God promises the land to the children of Israel as an inheritance, employing the rare term morasha to emphasize the grandeur and permanence of this pledge.[21]
The word morasha appears only once more in the Torah, in Moses' farewell blessing (Devarim 33:4), where he proclaims the Torah as an inheritance for the congregation of Jacob. Thus, God bestows upon Israel two enduring inheritances: the land of Israel and the Torah. These divine gifts become Israel's lasting legacy, passed down from generation to generation. Together, land and Torah intertwine to form an inseparable and magnificent tapestry, shaping the essence of Israel's national identity.
[1] God speaks to Moses as E-lokim to introduce a new name, the Tetragrammaton. This is the last time that God speaks to Moses with the name E-lokim.
[2] Rabbi Moshe Shamah, Recalling the Covenant (New Jersey, Ktav, 2011, pp. 279-281) observes the remarkable numerical significance in this unit that introduces the Tetragrammaton, whose numerical equivalence (gematria) is twenty-six. If the middle phrase, "I am the Lord," is included in both units (namely, as the closing phrase of the first section and the opening of the second), then each unit of God's speech consists of fifty-two words, which is a multiple of twenty-six. Moreover, in the second part of the speech, which reveals God's plan for the future, this self-introductory phrase appears three times: in the opening phrase (I am the Lord), in the closing phrase (I am the Lord), and exactly at its center (I am the Lord). If one includes both appearances of the Tetragrammaton, from one appearance of the Lord's name to the next contains twenty-six words. In Rabbi Shamah's view, this numerical design reinforces the central idea of the section, which focuses our attention upon the significance of the Tetragrammaton. To sustain the methodology used here (word counting that correlates with the numerical value of a word), Rabbi Shamah points out that the first strophe of the song of the sea contains twenty-six words, culminating with the exclamation: "The Lord (YHVH) is His name!" (Shemot 15:3).
[3] For this structural division, I am indebted to Rabbi Elhanan Samet, Studies in the Weekly Parasha (Maaleh Adumim: Machon Maaliyot, 2002), pp. 170-175.
[4] The word berit (covenant) appears twice in God's speech, once to describe Him forging a covenant with the Patriarchs (verse 4), and again to describe Him recalling that covenant during Israel's suffering in Egypt (verse 5).
[5] These two goals are inseparable, as noted by the very structure of this unit. While it is beyond the scope of the present study to examine this properly, it is worth noting the many references to the Exodus story (linguistic and thematic) in Yehoshua 3-5, as Israel enters the land.
[6] God introduces Himself both to Abraham (Bereishit 15:7) and to Jacob (Bereishit 28:13) with the words, "I am the Lord" (using the Tetragrammaton). Moreover, the Patriarchs often call on this name of God (Bereishit 12:8; 21:33; 26:25). Source-critical scholars regard these verses as foundational for their sweeping theory, according to which the Torah is comprised of different sources, written by different authors, who know God by different names. In their view, knowledge of the Tetragrammaton emerged only in the Mosaic era, for the "Priestly author." For a lengthy (and in my view, compelling) refutation of the source-critical approach to these verses as well as an extended excursus on God's names, see B. Jacob, Shemot, pp. 143-156. See also U. Cassuto, The Documentary Hypothesis and the Composition of the Pentateuch (Jerusalem: Shalem Press, 2011 [reprint]).
[7] I have consciously avoided entering into the discussion regarding the exact meaning of this name. Many interpreters believe that it relates to God's eternality and His ability to transcend time, based on a connection to the Hebrew root "to be."
[8] Some exegetes (see e.g. Rashi 6:3 and Rashbam 6:2-3) explain that this name of God indicates His faithfulness toward His promises, something which indeed the Patriarchs did not yet witness in their time. Later biblical verses seem to support this approach. See, e.g., Yeshayahu 48:2-3; 54:5; Yirmiyahu 16:21; Yechezkel 20:5; 39:7.
[9] Interestingly, the name Shad-dai appears most frequently in the book of Iyov, where the solitary stance of the eponymous hero before God – or perhaps his non-Israelite identity – may explain the preference for this name. This aligns with the idea that Shad-dai is associated with God's relationship to individuals rather than a covenantal bond with the nation of Israel.
[10] H. Misgav-Moskowitz, "Ha-Sisma He-Shelishit" (Megadim 7, pp. 27–29), argues that Shad-dai is the name used to promise fertility to the Patriarchs, while the Tetragrammaton is reserved for promises of land. These two components – fertility and land – form the core of God's covenant with Abraham.
The name Shad-dai has sparked considerable discussion, and many other interpretations have been offered. Greek and Latin translations often render it as Almighty, emphasizing God's power. Ibn Ezra supports this interpretation, deriving it from shadad (to plunder or overpower). The wordplay in Yeshayahu 13:6 and Yoel 1:15 lends credence to this view. Radak (Bereishit 17:1) notes that Shad-dai frequently appears in contexts related to fertility, highlighting God's control over nature. Baal Ha-Turim (Shemot 6:3; Bereishit 17:1; 26:2; 28:3; 35:11; 48:3) also emphasizes this connection.
[11] After this point, the dual name E-l Shad-dai appears infrequently (once in Yechezkel and four times in Iyov).
[12] To describe the experience in which past is integrated into present, and present anticipates future, R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik coins the phrase "unitive time-consciousness." See Out of the Whirlwind: Essays on Mourning, Suffering, and the Human Condition, eds. David Shatz, Joel B. Wolowelsky, and Reuven Ziegler (Jersey City: Ktav, 2003), 14–17. See also Halakhic Man, trans. Lawrence Kaplan (Philadelphia: JPS, 1983), 113–23, and "Sacred andProfane," reprinted in Shiurei Ha-Rav, ed. Joseph Epstein (Hoboken: Ktav, 1994), 4–32.
[13] Some have used the Exodus story as an instructive paradigm for empowering the oppressed to emerge from oppression. In his final speech, "I've Been to the Mountain Top" (1968), Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, "You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt... he kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery." Though this concept may be true, it was not Israel's unity that brought about their freedom but God's unilateral intervention.
[14] The phrase "an outstretched arm" is a poetic expression tinged with triumph and impending victory. See, e.g., Yeshayahu 51:5, 9; 52:10, 59:16; Tehillim 44:4; 89:11; 98:1. Joshua Berman, Ani Maamin: Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth, and the Thirteen Principles of Faith (Jerusalem: Maggid, 2020), p. 55, notes that Egyptian royal literature often equates Pharaoh with a "strong hand," while his actions are described as executed by an "outstretched arm." In this context, the biblical use of these terms may serve as a deliberate counter to the perception of Pharaoh's supposed omnipotence, replacing it with God's superior power. It is God's "strong hand" and "outstretched arm" that will ultimately prevail, undermining Pharaoh's authority.
[15] Kinship responsibility – rooted in the idea that familial ties come with obligations – can be either economic or aimed at restoring dignity and honor. In Vayikra 25:23–55, the word ga'al appears 19 times to describe familial interactions, primarily in the context of redemption within the family. Similarly, in the Book of Ruth, ga'al appears 23 times to illustrate the concept of familial responsibility.
In the Pentateuch, ga'al is used to describe God redeeming His nation only twice: here and in Shemot 15:13. Later, this national sense of ga'al becomes prominent in the books of the Prophets and Writings, especially in Yeshayahu (e.g., 43:1; 44:23; 52:9) and Tehillim (e.g., 74:2; 77:16). These texts expand the term's meaning and establish its widespread, symbolic usage in the national and theological lexicon.
[16] See e.g., Vayikra 26:12; Yirmiyahu 7:23; 32:38; Yechezkel 11:20; 36:28; Zekharya 8:8.
[17] For a lengthier explanation of this idea, see my introduction to the structure of the book of Shemot (shiur #4).
[18] The language of divine promise, "I raised my hand," also appears in respect to the promised land in Bamidbar 14:30 and in Yechezkel 20:5-6, 28, 42; 47:14. Other uses of this exalted language to convey a divine oath occur in Devarim 32:40; Yechezkel 20:15, 23; 36:7; 44:12; and Nechemya 9:15. A similar (but not identical) language of oath is used by Abraham in Bereishit 14:22.
[19] It is noteworthy that Israel develops its values and ideology and a law-code before it begins to form a society. Unlike the natural development of most societies, Israel sets up a society in order to promulgate its ethical values.
[20] Despite God's reiterated promises, Abraham still describes himself in Bereishit 23:4 as a ger ve-toshav, a stranger and a resident in the land. The process of acquiring ownership and permanence in a land is one that requires several generations. The experience of exile and return appears to solidify Israel's ties to the land, proving that Israel's connection to the land is not severed by a temporary departure.
[21] Jacob, Shemot, notes that the word morasha contrasts with the word megurim, which described the Patriarch's still-tenuous connection to the land.
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