(יג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶל־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֗ים הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֣י בָא֮ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ וְאָמַרְתִּ֣י לָהֶ֔ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם וְאָֽמְרוּ־לִ֣י מַה־שְּׁמ֔וֹ מָ֥ה אֹמַ֖ר אֲלֵהֶֽם׃
(יד) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כֹּ֤ה תֹאמַר֙ לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה שְׁלָחַ֥נִי אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃
(13) Moses said to God, “When I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is God's name?’ what shall I say to them?”
(14) And God said to Moses, “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh.” God continued, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ‘Ehyeh sent me to you.’”
Behold, everything is bound together in one thing, and the mystery of the thing is Ehyeh. It includes everything...the sum of all, hidden and not revealed.
To listen to the God who says "I shall be" is to surrender the illusion that we are masters of our own fate. It is to open ourselves and to trust completely. It is not to trust that any particular result is the one that will occur, but to trust that whatever the result, the One will be there in it.
(15) And God said further to Moses, “Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: Adonai (Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey), the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: This shall be My name forever, This My appellation for all eternity.
זה שמי לעלם THIS IS MY NAME FOR EVER — The last word is written without ו (so that it may be read לְעַלֵּם and it would mean “this is My Name which is to be concealed”) to suggest: Conceal it (this Divine Name), so that it shall not be read exactly as it is written (but should be read as אדני).
אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק: לֹא כָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, נִכְתַּב בְּיוֹד הֵי וְנִקְרָא בְּאָלֶף דָּלֶת. אֲבָל לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא כּוּלּוֹ אֶחָד, נִקְרָא בְּיוֹד הֵי וְנִכְתַּב בְּיוֹד הֵי.
Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: The World-to-Come is not like this world.
In this world, God’s name that is written with the letters yod and heh, but God's name is read as Adonai, which begins with the letters alef and dalet. God’s name is not pronounced in the same way as it is written.
However, in the World-to-Come it will all be one, as God’s name will be both read with the letters yod and heh and written with the letters yod and heh.
(7) Everyone who is called by My name, and for My glory I have created, I have formed, and I have even made.
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
When Elohim began to create heaven and earth—
אֵ֣לֶּה תוֹלְד֧וֹת הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ בְּהִבָּֽרְאָ֑ם בְּי֗וֹם עֲשׂ֛וֹת יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶ֥רֶץ וְשָׁמָֽיִם׃
Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When Adonai Elohim made earth and heaven—
ברא אלהים ELOHIM BEGAN TO CREATE — It does not state 'ברא ה “Adonai began to create," because at first God intended to create the world and to place it under the rule of strict justice, but God realized that the world could not thus endure and therefore gave precedence to Divine Mercy allying it with Divine Justice. It is to this that what is written in (Genesis 2:4) alludes — “When Adonai Elohim made earth and heaven”.
Rabbi Isaac ben Moses Arama, Spain, 1420-1494
The name elokim is the only one applicable to G'd as long as everything proceeds strictly according to natural law. He is the presiding judge over nature. Man could not have been created first, as it would have contradicted normal progress from the simple towards the more sophisticated. Only when one comes to the "descendants of heaven and earth" does the name hashem appear, as His ability to change the laws of nature becomes revealed. His ability to display the attributes which testify to His freedom, becomes evident. He can be merciful to those He deems deserving, pitying to those who are victims of problems not due to their own errors. As Yitro expressed it: "for Hashem is greater than any Elokim."