A person is his or her name. Just as in English today, a reference in Hebrew to people's names referred to their reputation and their character. We often speak of maintaining - or restoring - our good name, meaning our good reputation.

Likewise, God's name stands for his character as embodied through his actions and behavior. The meaning of God's name, how it revealed aspects of his character, the importance of people's bowing to the sound of his name and praising it, and its connection with God's reputation - these are all components of a great "name" theology in the Old Testament. God reveals his name, in its many different forms and aspects, as a way of inviting his people to live with him in a dynamic, intimate relationship.

Our reading in today’s episodes is in Genesis 4:26 and Exodus 3:13 all about YHWH using prophetic dreams over and over in these beginning chapters as ways of communication.