Yahweh’s name is His name is supposed to be continuously ( tamid ) praised, but it is blasphemed (or “provoked”) continuously ( tamid ; Isaiah 52:5). Yahweh continues: “Therefore My people shall know My name” (v. 6). How “therefore”? How will Israel know Yahweh’s blasphemed name?
The answer is found in the structure of verses 3-6. Four times Yahweh speaks; twice He pronounces a “thus says Yahweh” (vv. 3-4), and twice “Yahweh declares” (vv. 5-6). The content of these four speeches is arranged chiastically:
A. Zion sold for nothing, redeemed without money
B. My people ( ammi ) went to Egypt to sojourn, Asshur oppressed without cause ( ephes )
B’. My people ( ammi ) taken without cause ( chinnam )
A’. Therefore My people will know my Name, that I am He who speaks.
The structure indicates that the redemption of Zion without money will be the event that reveals the Name of Yahweh to Zion. And to reveal His Name is to reveal Himself as the One who speaks, as the one who promises and delivers on promises. To reveal His name in Zion’s redemption from captivity is to reveal Himself as Word.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
