Exodus 6:3, El Shaddai

And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.

//Today’s topic is for all you Universalists out there. Sometimes the King James interpretation we are familiar with flat-lines the meaning of a verse so much that it becomes unnoticeable. This one is an example. What exactly is this verse saying? Let’s try reading it in the New International Version:

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.

Ouch, that’s even worse! God’s name, Jehovah (Yahweh), has become the generic LORD. How about the New Living Translation:

I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, though I did not reveal my name, the LORD, to them.

Sigh. We’re not getting anywhere. How do you “appear” as “God Almighty?” And who is the LORD? What is this verse really saying? Here’s a non-watered-down version of the original Hebrew:

I am Yahweh. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai, but by my name Yahweh I did not make myself known to them.

Now we’re getting somewhere! So who is El Shaddai?

Answer: The “high god” of the Canaanites, the top fella, the almighty one above all other gods. Here we learn that the high god of the Canaanites before Israel arrived in force was Yahweh all along. The God of the Hebrews before there were ever any Hebrews. When he presented himself to the Patriarchs, he did so as the god of the Canaanites, and only later revealed himself also as the God of the Jews.