Exodus 6:2-4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Confirmation of the Promise to the Ancestors. 2 [a]Then God spoke to Moses, and said to him: I am the Lord. 3 As God the Almighty[b] I appeared(A) to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but by my name, Lord, I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they were residing as aliens.(B)
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- 6:2–7:7 According to the standard source criticism of the Pentateuch, 6:2–7:7 represents a Priestly version of the JE call narrative in 3:1–4:17. But in context the present account does more than simply repeat the earlier passage. See note below.
- 6:3 God the Almighty: in Hebrew, El Shaddai. This traditional translation does not have a firm philological basis. But by my name…I did not make myself known to them: although the text implies that the name Lord was unknown previously, in context the emphasis in the passage falls on the understanding of God that comes with knowledge of the name. In this way God responds to the worsening plight of the Israelites and Moses’ complaint in 5:23 that God has done nothing at all to rescue them.
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