Exodus 3 · Verse 13

Exodus 3:13

And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
Exodus 3:13, King James Version

Exodus 3:13 in other translations

BSBThen Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?”
WEBMoses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”
ASVAnd Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them?
YLTAnd Moses saith unto God, ‘Lo, I am coming unto the sons of Israel, and have said to them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they have said to me, What is His name? what do I say unto them?'
DARBYAnd Moses said to God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
BBEAnd Moses said to God, When I come to the children of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you: and they say to me, What is his name? what am I to say to them?
WebsterAnd Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of your fathers hath sent me to you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say to them?

What does Exodus 3:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 3:10-22

10-22. Come now therefore, and I will send thee--Considering the patriotic views that had formerly animated the breast of Moses, we might have anticipated that no mission could have been more welcome to his heart than to be employed in the national emancipation of Israel. But he evinced great reluctance to it and stated a variety of objections [Ex 3:11, 13; 4:1, 10] all of which were successfully met and…

Read the full comment on Exodus 3:10-22 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 They shall say - What is his name? - Does not this suppose that the Israelites had an idolatrous notion even of the Supreme Being? They had probably drank deep into the Egyptian superstitions, and had gods many and lords many; and Moses conjectured that, hearing of a supernatural deliverance, they would inquire who that God was by whom it was to be effected. The reasons given here by the rabbins are too refined for the Israelites at this time. "When God," say they, "judgeth his creatures, he is called אלהים Elohim; when he warreth against the wicked, he is called צבאות Tsebaoth; but when he showeth mercy unto the world, he is called יהוה Yehovah." It is not likely that the Israelites had much knowledge of God or of his ways at the time to which the sacred text refers; it is certain they had no written word. The book of Genesis, if even written, (for some suppose it had been composed by Moses during his residence in Midian), had not yet been communicated to the people; and being so long without any revelation, and perhaps without even the form of Divine worship, their minds being degraded by the state of bondage in which they had been so long held, and seeing and hearing little in religion but the superstitions of those among whom they sojourned, they could have no distinct notion of the Divine Being. Moses himself might have been in doubt at first on this subject, and he seems to have been greatly on his guard against illusion; hence he asks a variety of questions, and endeavors, by all prudent means, to assure himself of the truth and certainty of the present appearance and commission. He well knew the power of the Egyptian magicians, and he could not tell from these first views whether there might not have been some delusion in this case. God therefore gives him the fullest proof, not only for the satisfaction of the people to whom he was to be sent, but for his own full conviction, that it was the supreme God who now spoke to him.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 3:11-15

Formerly Moses thought himself able to deliver Israel, and set himself to the work too hastily. Now, when the fittest person on earth for it, he knows his own weakness. This was the effect of more knowledge of God and of himself. Formerly, self-confidence mingled with strong faith and great zeal, now sinful distrust of God crept in under the garb of humility; so defective are the strongest graces and the best duties…

Read the full comment on Exodus 3:11-15 →

Exodus 3:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
מֹשֶׁ֜הmo.ShehMosesH4872
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הָֽאֱלֹהִ֗יםha.'E.lo.Him<the> GodH430
הִנֵּ֨הhi.Nehhere!H2009
אָנֹכִ֣י'a.no.KhiIH595
בָא֮va'[am] about to goH935
אֶל\־'el-toH413
בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei[the] people ofH1121
יִשְׂרָאֵל֒Yis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
וְאָמַרְתִּ֣יve.'a.mar.Tiand I will sayH559
לָהֶ֔םla.Hemto <the> them
אֱלֹהֵ֥י'e.lo.Hei[the] God ofH430
אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם'a.vo.tei.Khemancestors yourH1
שְׁלָחַ֣נִיshe.la.Cha.nihe has sent meH7971
אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם'a.lei.Khemto youH413
וְאָֽמְרוּ\־ve.'a.me.ru-and they will sayH559
לִ֣יlito <the> me
מַה\־mah-what?H4100
שְּׁמ֔וֹshe.Mo[is] name hisH8034
מָ֥הmahwhat?H4100
אֹמַ֖ר'o.Marwill I sayH559
אֲלֵהֶֽם\׃'a.le.Hemto themH413

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 3:13

  • Proverbs 30:4

    Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?

  • Isaiah 9:6

    For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

  • Matthew 1:21

    And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

  • Isaiah 7:14

    Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

  • Exodus 3:14

    And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

  • Genesis 32:29

    And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

  • Jeremiah 23:6

    In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

  • Judges 13:6

    Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:

  • Matthew 1:23

    Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

  • Judges 13:17

    And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?

  • Exodus 15:3

    The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
What is his name.
14; 15:3; Ge 32:29; Jud 13:6,17; Pr 30:4; Isa 7:14; 9:6; Jer 23:6
Mt 1:21,23

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Exodus 3:12

    And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

  • Exodus 3:13

    And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

  • Exodus 3:14

    And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Read all of Exodus 3

Exodus 3:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y dijo Moisés á Dios: He aquí que llego yo á los hijos de Israel, y les digo, El Dios de vuestros padres me ha enviado á vosotros; si ellos me preguntaren: ¿Cuál es su nombre? ¿qué les responderé?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Moïse dit à Dieu: Voici, quand je viendrai vers les fils d’Israël, et que je leur dirai: Le Dieu de vos pères m’a envoyé vers vous, et qu’ils me diront: Quel est son nom? que leur dirai-je?
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Mose sprach zu Gott: Siehe, wenn ich zu den Kindern Israel komme und zu ihnen spreche: Der Gott eurer Väter hat mich zu euch gesandt, und sie zu mir sagen werden: Welches ist sein Name? was soll ich zu Ihnen sagen?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Ait Moyses ad Deum: Ecce ego vadam ad filios Israël, et dicam eis: Deus patrum vestrorum misit me ad vos. Si dixerint mihi: Quod est nomen ejus? quid dicam eis?