God appearing to Moses in the Burning Bush is the story I value most in the Old Testament (Exodus 3:1-15.) It gives us a good insight into Who God is and at the same time helps us to realize that no name is adequate for Ultimate Reality.
Moses is experiencing God in a Burning Bush. Like God fire cannot be grasped. It is powerful and gives light; but it is insubstantial. We can't get hold of flames.
God is telling Moses to save the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and Moses is trying to get out of the job. He says to God, "If I tell them You sent me, who will I say sent me?"
I find it significant that there are several suggestions about how God's response is to be translated and what it means. Robert Alter in his excellent translation of The Five Books of Moses thinks the best translation of the Hebrew is "I-Will-Be-Who-I-Will-Be." He says it could also be "I Am That I Am" or "I Am He Who Endures."
Of the many meanings that scholars have suggested, the one that I find most appealing is that God is really refusing to give Moses a name. God is saying in effect, "Just be content to know that I will be who I will be. You have no word in your human language that would name me in any adequate way, so just know that I will be who I will be."
Jews have accepted the phrase as God's proper name and out of respect do not pronounce it in Hebrew. I find it a valuable reminder that God is always beyond our very best imaginings.
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