When Moses was called by God to lead the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt, he asked the LORD a great question: How should I respond when people ask me what Your name is? (See Exodus 3:13.)
God replied cryptically, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Literally the Almighty called Himself the Hebrew verb hayah, which means “to be” or “to exist.”
In time, God became known to the Hebrew people as Yahweh, a name found more than 6,800 times in the Old Testament and translated into English as “LORD" or “Jehovah.”
Scholars puzzle and wrangle over the deep meaning of this mysterious name.
But most agree that at the very least, God wants us to see in this name the idea that He is uncaused and self-sufficient. He is the One who has always existed, the One who abides forever.
Saying the name Yahweh is a way of saying that God is absolute. He is not contingent on any outside source for anything. Nothing created Him and nothing can end Him.
God is independent, not dependent—a truth with wonderful ramifications for us. For example, it means God will never change.
And since He can’t change, we have confidence that His promises will never fail. While we are often faithless, He remains perfectly faithful.
Saying the name Yahweh is also a way of saying God is self-sufficient and needs nothing. He is never incomplete or unsatisfied. He is never bored.
He is never lonely. He never lacks. He is never unfulfilled. Since He has always existed (and always will), He creates in order to express love, not to find meaning. He is absolutely complete.
The Hebrew word Yah (or Jah) is a shortened form of Yahweh that is sometimes combined with other words and phrases in the Bible.
For example, hallelujah means “praise the LORD” Names also incorporate variants of Yah to offer deeper meaning (Elijah means “God is LORD”; Joshua means “the LORD is my salvation”).
Each of these names reminds their owners that they originate with God, the great uncaused cause.
We come from God and need Him; He is the uncaused cause who needs nothing.
Why does it matter that God is self-existent?
