When Did God Reveal His Name as Yahweh? Understanding Exodus 6:3

Did Abraham know God by the name Yahweh? If you read Genesis, the answer seems obvious. Yahweh’s name is all over the place. Yet Exodus 6:3 appears to say otherwise. God tells Moses, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.” Is this verse teaching that God did not reveal His name to Abraham?

This question regularly comes up in my Old Testament studies class. Is there a contradiction between Genesis and Exodus 6:3? I don’t think so. But to understand the passage, we must consider what God means by making himself known.

In most English translations, LORD in capital letters represents the name Yahweh (unless you’re reading the LSB, which uses Yahweh). That name occurs 165 times in Genesis, including in conversations involving the patriarchs. We therefore need an explanation that takes both Genesis and Exodus seriously.

Scholars have proposed four explanations to account for this seeming contradiction. I think two approaches are possible, but I want to give you all four.

1. Different (contradictory) sources were combined to form the Bible.

The documentary hypothesis treats this apparent discrepancy as evidence that the Pentateuch developed from separate documents over time. Its traditional formulation proposes four sources: J (Yahwist), E (Elohist), D (Deuteronomist), and P (Priestly).

Advocates point to differences in divine names, apparent contradictions, and differing emphases as indications of distinct sources. On this reading, Genesis preserves a tradition in which Yahweh was known early, while Exodus 6 preserves a different account of when that name became known. An editor eventually combined the traditions.

I find this explanation unpersuasive for many reasons. The proposed source documents have not been discovered independently, and apart from the biblical text itself, there is no supposed evidence of their existence. And if the contradiction is so obvious between Genesis and Exodus 6, why assume an editor capable of compiling the Pentateuch failed to notice it? Ancient writers were intelligent people! This option is unacceptable for someone who takes the Bible seriously.

2. Moses used the name Yahweh retrospectively.

A second view accepts that the patriarchs did not know the name Yahweh. Moses supplied that name when recording their history so his readers would recognize the God interacting with them.

There is a reasonable analogy here. We sometimes describe an ancient location using its modern name. Referring to ancient Persia as Iran helps readers identify the region even though it uses later terminology.

The difficulty is that Yahweh appears within declarations integral to the narrative. For example, in Genesis 15:7, God tells Abram, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” The identification establishes the authority behind the promise. It is difficult to treat it as merely a later explanatory label.

Retrospective naming is possible in principle. But the numerous occurrences, especially direct declarations like Genesis 15:7, make this explanation difficult to sustain. I find this view very unlikely.

3. Knowing Yahweh refers to experiencing His character.

According to this view, the patriarchs knew God’s name but had not experienced the full significance of His power and covenant faithfulness as Israel would through the exodus.

That distinction fits the storyline. Abraham received promises concerning his descendants, their oppression, and their eventual deliverance (Gen 15:13–16). The exodus generation would experience the fulfillment of promises the patriarchs had received.

There is also linguistic support. The Hebrew verb translated “make myself known” occurs elsewhere in the same grammatical form with an experiential emphasis. Isaiah 19:21 describes Yahweh making himself known to Egypt in connection with their worship. Isaiah 66:14 says Yahweh’s hand will be known to his servants—people who already know whom they serve.

Ezekiel 20:9 is especially relevant: God made himself known by bringing Israel out of Egypt. Similarly, Psalm 9:16 connects his making himself known with executing judgment. In these passages, God reveals who he is through what he does, and it is described in language of knowledge.

The main objection is that the patriarchs also experienced God’s power. Certainly! Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob received remarkable protection and provision. We should not minimize their knowledge of God. Still, the exodus displayed his faithfulness on a scale they had not witnessed. Experiential knowledge can deepen without implying that earlier experience was insignificant.

4. Exodus 6:3 asks a rhetorical question.

A fourth view understands the statement as a negative rhetorical question: “My name is Yahweh. Did I not make myself known to them?” The expected answer is yes.

Douglas Stuart and Duane Garrett, two Old Testament scholars whose work I greatly appreciate, defend this approach. Their argument deserves consideration because Hebrew questions do not always include an explicit interrogative marker. Sometimes context establishes that a sentence is a question. Jonah 4:11 provides a familiar example: “And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” Although there is no intrinsic question mark, translations routinely mark Jonah 4:11 as a question.

The broader context supports the argument that Exodus 6:3 could be a question. Readers of Genesis have repeatedly encountered Yahweh’s name. They also know that he identified himself to the patriarchs while making covenant promises. A rhetorical question would remind Moses of that established relationship, fitting the covenant emphasis and reminder of God’s past dealings.

I take the rhetorical-question interpretation seriously (after all, two of my favorite OT scholars hold it!). However, Exodus 6:7 gives me a slight preference for the experiential view. God promises to redeem Israel and then says, “You shall know that I am the LORD your God.” In other words, they will know him through the deliverance he accomplishes. That seems highly supportive for interpreting verse 3 in light of the experiential view.

It should be said that these last two views need not exclude each other. Verse 3 could ask a rhetorical question while verse 7 emphasizes experiential knowledge. Both offer substantial explanations without requiring a contradiction.

At the end of the day, the Bible doesn’t tell us definitely who the first person was that heard Yahweh’s name (though I think it was likely Adam). But the patriarchs clearly knew Him as Yahweh. Through the exodus, their descendants would experience more fully the power and faithfulness of the God who had made those promises. Exodus 6:3 is not saying Yahweh was not known by name. Rather, God’s name was already known, and His mighty acts would demonstrate what trusting that name meant.

Interested in Watching a Discussion on Exodus 6:3?