EE & R, 2_3: Knowing Hashem: When Was the Name of Hashem Revealed?

(For the previous installment of "Exodus, Exile and Redemption," click here. For ToC, click here.)

There is an apparent contradiction in the Torah regarding when and to whom Hashem revealed His unique name. As quoted in the previous chapter, the book of Genesis records Hashem introducing Himself by name to Avraham and Yaakov both. However, this seems to be contradicted by the record in Exodus of Hashem’s self-introduction to Moshe: “I am Hashem. And I appeared to Avraham… and to Yaakov as El Shaddai, but by my name, Hashem, I was not known to them.” Was Hashem’s unique name divulged to Avraham and Yaakov, or was the revelation of the great name delayed until the time of Moshe?

A close reading of these passages will elicit their secrets. Hashem’s introduction must be read in context. In both of the passages that record Hashem’s introduction to the Patriarchs, His overture, “I am Hashem,” is followed with a response expressing uncertainty regarding knowing. Avraham responded to Hashem’s introduction by saying, “Lord Hashem, how can I know…”; and Yaakov, upon awaking from his revelatory dream, said, “Hashem is in this place, and I did not know.” It emerges that indeed, as Hashem said to Moshe, “By my name, Hashem, I was not known to them,” for although knowing Hashem by name was offered to Avraham and to Yaakov, it was never fully accepted. Knowledge of His unique name was proffered to them, but they couldn’t achieve da’as – intimate familiarity ¹ – with Hashem. Avraham expressed skepticism and Yaakov expressed ignorance, both of them rejecting the possibility of attaining knowledge.

“I am Hashem” is an offer that was sensed by Avraham and Yaakov; sensed, but unrealized at that time. The reason its realization was delayed until the time of Moshe is also made clear in these passages. The passages share 3 subjects in common: the revelation of Hashem’s name, the Land of Israel and knowledge. To Avraham Hashem said, “I am Hashem who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess it”; to Yaakov, “I am Hashem… the land on which you lie, to you I will give it and to your seed”; and to Moshe, “I am Hashem… I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am Hashem.” Knowledge of Hashem hinges on the gift of the Land of Israel. Until the time arrived for the Land to be actually given to the Children of Israel, in the days of Moshe, the knowledge of its Giver was only a vague sense, a prophetic hint of times to come, of the destiny of the Patriarchs’ progeny who would inherit the land. Thus, knowledge of Hashem could only be sensed by the Patriarchs but not fully achieved.²

Why and how knowledge of Hashem is contingent on the Land of Israel shall be the subject of the following chapter.

(For the next installment of "Exodus, Exile and Redemption," click here.)

1. As discussed here.

2. It is possible that in addition to the intimate familiarity with Hashem signified by knowledge of His name, the very name itself was unknown in the time of Moshe and had to be revealed again, as the passage’s surface meaning suggests. For reasons that won’t be discussed here, Hashem’s name appears to be distinct from all other words: knowing its pronunciation is contingent on understanding its meaning. Only those who know the signification of the name know its pronunciation. Thus, today, we no longer know how to pronounce Hashem’s name, having forgotten its meaning. According to the Jerusalem Talmud Yoma, 3:7, even those who heard the holy name enunciated by the High Priest in the Holy Temple on Yom Kippur 10 times would immediately forget how to pronounce it, implying that pronunciation of the name eludes those who don’t know its secret meaning which anchors true familiarity with Hashem. Therefore, in the days of Moshe, not only the meaning of the name but even the name itself, or at least its pronunciation, had to be revealed anew.

For more on the subject of the revelation of the name of Hashem to the patriarchs and to Moshe, see my book Oros Yaakov, pgs. 187-213.