Shiphrah and Puah, the midwives of the Israelites in Egypt, are unsung heroes, for saving innumerable infant boys from death. Moses (whose very name may be either Egyptian or Hebrew) is raised as a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, with his own mother as his nurse. When he is grown, Moses kills an Egyptian while defending a Hebrew slave, flees to the wilderness of Midian (which is in the northwest of contemporary Saudi Arabia), and marries the priest of Midian’s daughter Zipporah.
The burning bush of Exodus 3 is an important theophany, or appearance of God to a human. God reveals Godself to Moses: ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ God has seen the suffering of his people Israel, and has come to free the people through Moses. When Moses asks for God’s name, God answers, ‘I am who I am’ or better ‘I will be who I will be.’ God’s most common name in the Old Testament, “Yahweh,” is here explained to mean “I will be” (EhYeh). God is the God who will be with Moses and the people Israel. Therefore, God’s name Yahweh essentially means I will be with you. Note: the name Jehovah, used so much by Jehovah’s Witnesses, is a mispronunciation of this divine name. In any case, Yahweh is by no means the only name for God in the Bible.
Peter starts to sink when he sees the strong wind and becomes afraid. Peter’s cry, “Lord, save me!” is often on our lips too. In the depths of fear and despair, we cry “Lord, save me!” and Jesus reaches out and catches our hands.
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