Who Is Jehovah? Exodus 3:13-15 Explains the Name
Short answer: Jehovah is the English rendering of God's personal name revealed to Moses at the burning bush, given in the Hebrew text as four consonants often written YHWH and usually pronounced Yahweh. In Exodus 3:13-15, Moses asks what name he should give to the Israelites, and God answers with this name, tying it to his self-existence and to the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The name is not a separate deity or a later invention; it is the covenant name of the God of Israel, the one who is, who was, and who is to come. English Bibles handle it differently. Some print LORD in small capitals, some print Yahweh, and a few older translations use Jehovah. The difference is translation practice, not a difference in the God being named.
What Moses actually asked at the burning bush
Moses is standing on holy ground and has been told he will lead Israel out of Egypt. He raises a practical objection. He anticipates that the elders will want credentials, and so Exodus 3:13 records his question about the divine name. The question is not merely academic curiosity. In the ancient world, a name carried authority and identity. To know a deity's name was to know how to call on him and what to expect from him.
Notice what Moses does not ask. He does not ask whether God exists or whether God is powerful. He asks what to say when the people press him. The request assumes that the God speaking already has a name and that this name matters for the message Moses must deliver. The answer God gives is therefore not a new invention but a self-disclosure.
The setting also matters. Israel has been in Egypt for generations. They have heard of the God of their fathers, but they have not seen him act on this scale. Moses needs a name that will connect the present rescue to the promises made long before. God gives him exactly that, anchoring the exodus in the covenant already sworn to Abraham.
What the name Yahweh means in Exodus 3:14-15
God's answer in Exodus 3:14-15 comes in two parts. First he explains the name in relation to his own being, and then he states the name itself. The explanation is often translated I AM WHO I AM, or I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE. The Hebrew verb behind it is related to the verb to be, which is why the name is understood to speak of self-existence and constant presence.
The second part is the formal name: Yahweh. God joins it directly to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is not a brand-new deity stepping onto the stage. It is the same God, now revealing his name and acting on the promises he made. The name is given so that Israel will know who is rescuing them and will call on him by that name.
So the meaning is layered. The name speaks of a God who is, who is present, and who will be what he will be for his people. It is a name of existence and of faithfulness. When Exodus 6:2-3 later says, God spoke to Moses, and said to him, that verse, that God is Yahweh, it confirms that this name is central to how God identifies himself to his covenant people.
Why English Bibles say LORD instead of Yahweh or Jehovah
By the time of the New Testament, Jewish readers had developed the practice of not pronouncing the divine name aloud. When they came to the four consonants YHWH in the text, they would read a substitute such as Adonai, meaning Lord. This reverence was meant to protect the name from misuse, though it also made the original pronunciation uncertain over time.
Later, when Hebrew text was written with vowel signs, the vowels for Adonai were sometimes placed under the consonants YHWH to remind the reader to say Lord. When Renaissance-era translators combined those consonants and vowels, the result was the hybrid form Jehovah. It is not the original pronunciation, but it is a genuine attempt to represent the name in English.
Modern English Bibles mostly follow the older Jewish reading custom and print the word LORD in small capital letters wherever the Hebrew has YHWH. This signals to the reader that the underlying text uses the divine name. So whether a Bible reads LORD, Yahweh, or Jehovah, the reference is the same covenant name revealed at the burning bush.
Jehovah is not a different God from the God of Israel
Some readers meet the word Jehovah for the first time in a particular religious setting and wonder whether it names a different deity than the God of the Bible. That concern is understandable but misplaced. Jehovah is simply an older English transliteration of the same Hebrew name that other Bibles render Yahweh or LORD. The God who spoke to Moses is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Isaiah 42:8 makes the point directly. There, God says, I am Yahweh, that is my name; he will not give his glory to another, nor his praise to engraved images. The name is presented as exclusive and personal. It is not one name among many for one god among many. It is the name by which the God of Israel makes himself known and distinguishes himself from idols.
Psalm 83:18 carries the same weight. The prayer asks that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth. The name is tied to universal supremacy. To know this name is to know that there is one Most High, and he is not a tribal deity but the ruler over all the earth.
The name and the New Testament witness to Jesus
The New Testament does not abandon the divine name. It translates the Greek word for Lord, kyrios, which the Septuagint had used for YHWH, and it applies that title to Jesus. This is one of the ways the New Testament identifies Jesus with the God of Israel. The claim is not that Jesus is a second, lesser god, but that he shares the identity of the one named Yahweh.
John 8:58 is a striking example. In a dispute about Abraham, Jesus said to them, Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM. The phrase echoes the Greek rendering of Exodus 3:14 and makes a claim about pre-existence and identity. His hearers understood the weight of it, which is why the exchange turns hostile immediately afterward.
Revelation 1:8 uses similar language of the Lord God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. The phrase who is and who was and who is to come echoes the name's emphasis on existence and presence across time. The God of the burning bush is the God who will bring history to its end.
What the name teaches about God's character
The name is not a magic formula. It is a revelation of character. When God says he is who he is, he is telling Moses that his existence does not depend on anyone or anything else. He is not a creature among creatures, and he is not a projection of human need. He simply is, and he will be present with his people as he promised.
That presence is the point of the exodus. God hears Israel's groaning, remembers his covenant, and comes down to deliver. The name given at the bush is the guarantee that he will act. He is not a distant deity who must be coaxed into attention. He is the God who sees, hears, knows, and comes down, as the surrounding verses of Exodus 3 make clear.
This also shapes how believers pray. We call on a God who has told us his name and invited us to use it. That is a remarkable privilege. It does not make God tame, but it does make him near. The one whose name is Yahweh is not a force or an abstraction but a personal God who speaks, remembers, and acts.
How the name was treated with reverence
The third commandment forbids taking the name of the Lord in vain, and this shaped Israel's entire approach to the divine name. Scribes were careful in copying it. Readers substituted another word aloud. The motive was reverence, and it should not be mocked as superstition. Israel understood that the name carried the weight of God's own character.
At the same time, the name is meant to be used. God gives it to Moses precisely so that Israel can call on him. The psalms call on the name of the Lord repeatedly. Prophets speak in the name of the Lord. The name is not locked away; it is given for worship, prayer, and proclamation, so long as it is treated as holy rather than manipulated.
This balance matters today. Some treat the name casually, as a throwaway interjection. Others treat it as too dangerous to speak at all. The biblical pattern is neither flippancy nor fear. It is reverent and confident use, grounded in the fact that the God who named himself has invited his people to know him and call on him.
Biblical fidelity check
Exodus 3:13-15 establishes that God has a personal name, that he reveals it to Moses, and that he identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It does not give a full pronunciation key, and it does not explain every philosophical implication of the name. The Hebrew text gives consonants without vowels, which is why Yahweh is a reconstruction and Jehovah is a later hybrid form. The passage also does not teach that the name itself has inherent magical power apart from the God who bears it.
A common misreading is to treat Jehovah as a different god from Yahweh, or to assume that one English form is correct and the others are false. That is wrong because all three forms point to the same Hebrew text and to the same God. A second misreading is to turn the name into a formula for manipulation, as if pronouncing it correctly guaranteed results. The passage never says that. It presents a God who is self-existent, faithful, and present with his people, and it calls them to know him, not to control him.
Other passages that speak to Exodus 3:13-15
The theme of God's name and what it reveals runs through Scripture. If you want to trace how the divine name and God's character are handled elsewhere, these studies are helpful starting points: What Does 1 John 1:1 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application, What Does 1 John 1:8 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application, 1 John 1:9 Meaning: Confession, Forgiveness, and Cleansing, and What Does 1 John 2:15 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application. Each of these passages works out what it means to know the God who has made himself known, and they show how the same God calls his people to walk in truth rather than merely to use his name correctly.
Frequently asked questions
Is Jehovah the same as Yahweh?
Yes. Jehovah and Yahweh are two English ways of representing the same Hebrew name, the four consonants YHWH. Yahweh is the scholarly reconstruction of the likely ancient pronunciation. Jehovah arose later when the consonants of YHWH were combined with the vowels of a substitute word, Adonai, to remind readers not to say the name aloud. Both point to the same God who spoke to Moses in Exodus 3:13-15, and both are attempts to render one Hebrew text into English. Many modern Bibles simply print LORD in small capitals instead.
Why do some Bibles use LORD instead of the divine name?
By the time of Jesus, Jewish readers had a long-standing custom of not pronouncing the divine name out of reverence. When they reached YHWH in the text, they read a substitute, usually Adonai, meaning Lord. English translators followed that custom and printed LORD in small capital letters to signal that the Hebrew text has the divine name. This is a translation convention, not a denial of the name. It preserves the reverent reading practice while still showing the reader where the Hebrew text uses the covenant name revealed in Exodus 3:13-15.
Does the name itself have power apart from God?
No. Scripture never treats the name as a magical formula that works regardless of the one who bears it. The name is powerful because of who God is. When people in the Bible call on the name of the Lord, they are appealing to the God who revealed himself, not manipulating a word. Exodus 3 presents a God who hears, remembers, and acts because of his own character and covenant. Trusting the syllables without trusting the God they name would miss the point, and the Bible consistently warns against that kind of empty use of God's name.
