The Lord Who Speaks
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.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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