What YHWH Is

Lennox asks,

"Is Moses' question in Exodus 3:13 as we commonly understand it also a mistranslation?" "And Moses said to God, 'Behold, as I go to the Children of Israel and say to them, the Lord God of your ancestors has sent me over to you, and they tell me, what is His name? what shall I say to them?"(Alexander).

Yes, I believe so, and thank you for asking. Exodus 3:13-15 has so much in it no translation is adequate. Starting in verse 12, God (Elohim,  = Ashur "[That Power] Over the Flames") says, "Certainly, I am with you." (I drop future tense auxiliary verbs per Robert Young's observation that the ancient Hebrew had no future tense!). Bullinger notes that although God here is Elohim, his announcement that "I am with you," anticipates the meaning of YHWH (he is the Y, we are the last H, blended in the middle). I think this is really important. "When you conduct the exodus of the nation from Egypt, you shall work here before God on this mountain" (Alexander). The "I am with you" God says that in the mount (the brain)--sans Egypt, the corrupting flesh--we are to serve The Big Guy, the Ineffable Himself (Bullinger: eth ha 'Elohim, very emphatic: God Himself - the Triune God). Also, the "Children of Israel" are thoughts; it is all psychological.

So in Exodus 3:13, what is Moses asking? The spelling and pronunciation of God's name? Niet. He is asking, "What is your nature, O you, Elohim, who are with me?" This instigates the information dump of, "(This is my nature:) Ahiyeh Ashur hiyeh," according to ancient Aramaic. Happy wrestling.

I read in a reddit thread the other day that 'ahiyeh' means "he is coming now," and 'hiyeh' means "he has come." I cannot verify. Bullinger points out that the speaker is speaking of himself. The first-person speaker is also the person spoken of: "His coming is my coming." The context, again, is Moses shepherding "the flocks of Jethro." He is wondering about increase, the jutting-over of God's abundance: "What's happening there?"

I think the answer is God, the imagination, objectively formed in the subjective mind, becomes physically manifest in its objective out-picturing. THAT is YHWH's nature. This is God's innate nature, "God with us," and is God's salvation, Jesus Christ.