THREAD: The glory of God in thought, word, number, and deed. 
The text of Exodus 3–15 recounts YHWH’s self-revelation to the people of Israel and his epochal victory over Pharaoh, the self-professed god of Egypt.
Its narrative makes use of three key words in order to emphasise its central themes.
Its narrative makes use of three key words in order to emphasise its central themes.
[1.]
The first is the Hebrew word yad (יָד), which designates a person’s ‘hand’ or ‘arm’ and/or by extension their power.
At the outset of Exodus 3–15’s narrative, YHWH hears his people’s cry and comes down to deliver them from the ‘hand’ (yad) of the Egyptians (3.8, 14.30).
The first is the Hebrew word yad (יָד), which designates a person’s ‘hand’ or ‘arm’ and/or by extension their power.
At the outset of Exodus 3–15’s narrative, YHWH hears his people’s cry and comes down to deliver them from the ‘hand’ (yad) of the Egyptians (3.8, 14.30).
Evidently, Pharaoh thinks it’s in *his* ‘power’ (yad) to spare or to destroy Israel (15.9).
He is badly mistaken.
He is badly mistaken.
YHWH thus stretches out *his* ‘hand’ (yad) against Egypt,
smites the nation with plagues (3.20, 7.5, 9.3, etc.),
and leads Israel out by his mighty ‘hand/power’ (yad) (13.3, 9, 14, etc., 14.31).
smites the nation with plagues (3.20, 7.5, 9.3, etc.),
and leads Israel out by his mighty ‘hand/power’ (yad) (13.3, 9, 14, etc., 14.31).
[2.]
Our second key word is the Hebrew word lev (לֵב) (or on one occasion levav [לֵבָב]), which signifies a person’s ‘heart’ and by extension their ‘mind’ and ‘intentions’.
Our second key word is the Hebrew word lev (לֵב) (or on one occasion levav [לֵבָב]), which signifies a person’s ‘heart’ and by extension their ‘mind’ and ‘intentions’.
Our text has little to say about Pharaoh’s great wealth or (alleged) wisdom; its concern is the state of Pharaoh’s ‘heart’ (lev) and God’s interaction with it.
Throughout the course of our text, YHWH variously strengthens Pharaoh’s resolve and hardens his heart (e.g., 8.11,...)
Throughout the course of our text, YHWH variously strengthens Pharaoh’s resolve and hardens his heart (e.g., 8.11,...)
...until he has Pharaoh exactly where he wants him—on a narrow strip of dry land in the midst of the Red Sea—,
at which point YHWH causes the walls to close in on Pharaoh and drowns him in the ‘heart’ (lev) of the Sea (cp. 14.7. 15.4–8).
at which point YHWH causes the walls to close in on Pharaoh and drowns him in the ‘heart’ (lev) of the Sea (cp. 14.7. 15.4–8).
YHWH does not merely, therefore, demonstrate the might of his hand in comparison to Pharaoh’s; he also demonstrates his mastery over Pharaoh’s heart.
[3.]
The final key word employed in our text is ‘glory’ (kavod) (כָּבוֹד), which derives from the Hebrew root K-B-D (כב׳׳ד).
The root K-B-D has the sense ‘to be heavy/weighty’ or ‘to be glorious’, and is used in a range of different ways in our text,...
The final key word employed in our text is ‘glory’ (kavod) (כָּבוֹד), which derives from the Hebrew root K-B-D (כב׳׳ד).
The root K-B-D has the sense ‘to be heavy/weighty’ or ‘to be glorious’, and is used in a range of different ways in our text,...
...all of which contribute to—and find their full expression in—God’s intention to glorify his name in the judgment of Egypt.
YHWH raises up Moses to deliver the people of Israel, even though his manner of speech is ‘heavy/ungainly’ (kaved) (כָּבֵד) (cp. 4.10).
In response to Moses’s interaction with him, Pharaoh subjects the Israelites to ‘heavy’ (kaved) burdens (5.9),...
In response to Moses’s interaction with him, Pharaoh subjects the Israelites to ‘heavy’ (kaved) burdens (5.9),...
...yet, as he does so, things start to go badly wrong for him. Egypt finds herself afflicted by ‘heavy’ (kaved) plagues (e.g., 8.24, 9.3, 18, etc.), while Pharaoh’s heart becomes progressively more ‘heavy’ (K-B-D) (e.g., 8.15, 32, 9.7, etc.),...
...until, in the end, Pharaoh decides to pursue the Israelites through the Red Sea, at which point YHWH ‘glorifies’ (K-B-D) himself in Pharaoh’s destruction (14.4, 17, 18).
Our text thus uses the root K-B-D in a range of different ways in order to bring out the various strands of YHWH’s work in history and the way they jointly build towards the purpose of—and climax in—his self-glorification.
In word, number, and deed:
The gematrial value of the name YHWH (יהוה) is 26,
which is reflected in a number of important ways in our text.
The gematrial value of the name YHWH (יהוה) is 26,
which is reflected in a number of important ways in our text.
The word ‘heart/intent’ (Hebrew lev/levav) occurs 26 times in our text,
and the word ‘hand/power’ (yad) occurs 52 times (twice 26).
Meanwhile, not only the consonants YHWH (יהוה) have a gematrial value of 26, but also the consonants K-B-D (כבד).
And, midway through our text, we (unexpectedly) find ourselves presented with a genealogy (6.14–25),
And, midway through our text, we (unexpectedly) find ourselves presented with a genealogy (6.14–25),
the focal point of which is Moses and Aaron’s mother, Jochebed (יוֹכֶבֶד),
whose name combines the name YHWH (יהוה) and the root K-B-D (כבד). (Jochebed’s line is the most extended of Exodus 6’s.)
whose name combines the name YHWH (יהוה) and the root K-B-D (כבד). (Jochebed’s line is the most extended of Exodus 6’s.)
Furthermore, Jochebed happens to be the 26th individual listed in 6.14–25’s genealogy,
and the birth of her two sons marks the rise of the world’s 26th generation.
Appropriately, then, in the 26th generation of creation, YHWH reveals his twenty-six-valued name to mankind.
The central themes of our text are thus brought out by a combination of devices—the clear statements and events of the narrative, the careful use of a group of three key words, and an array of numerico-compositional features—, all of which sing together in perfect harmony.
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