Yahweh sees
July 6, 2025•663 words
I recently finished studying the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac in Genesis alongside my church's sermon series1. In reflecting on the arc of the story, especially the most well known act of the sacrifice (and rescue) of Isaac in Genesis 22, I was curious about specific names and translations in the story, and found a fascinating linguistic link that reinforces a key theme in the whole story:
God is a god who sees.
From an abused and downcast Hagar in the wilderness naming Him El Roi ("God of Seeing", Gen 16:13), to Abraham and Isaac traveling to the land of Moriah for the sacrifice ("Seen of Yah", Gen 22:2)2, to the rescuing of Isaac at Yahweh Jireh ("Yahweh Sees", Gen 22:14). All are from the same root word in Hebrew: ra'ah "to see".
In a world that increasingly seems like evil goes unchecked, and many feel abused, downcast, or in need of rescue: Yahweh sees, and He does not turn a blind eye nor deaf ear.
Like the sins of Sodom -- pride, and inhospitality and violence toward the foreigners3; for "they were proud... and did not help the poor and needy" (Eze 16:49) -- God "saw" (Eze 16:50) their evil deeds and the "cry... reached my ears" (Gen 18:20) and He brought justice in the proper time.
Will I in doubt and pride look to myself or others for control, or will I wait in faith for God's timely deliverance?
Will I truly love my neighbor -- especially the foreigners in my community -- as myself?
To do so, I must see them as Yahweh sees -- faults and hopes and pains in all -- and show compassion, mercy, and hospitality. For I, too, am a sinful, destitute stranger welcomed and granted abundant grace in God's kingdom.
"When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." (Lev 19:33-34 ESV)
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The etymology of Moriah (alternately transliterated Morijah) is not as clear cut as the other two names. The original meaning is typically interpreted as "chosen" rather than "seen." The writers of the Septuagint render it merely as a word meaning "the high place." Nevertheless, it is clearly the same mountain named Yahweh Jireh later in the same story, so several commentators agree that the latter name is meant to expand or deepen the former name. Consider also how Abram and Sarai ("exalted father" and "princess") became Abraham and Sarah, appending to each of their names a sound from a root word meaning "multitude", hence they became the "father and princess of a multitude" -- a deepening of the significance of their prior given names. ↩
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Compare also how Abraham welcomes the foreigners (who happen to be angels) in Gen 18:1-8, and how Lot also shows the same hospitality in 19:1-3, vs. how the men of Sodom seek to dominate and humiliate the same in 19:4-11. In ancient culture, a scene like this of attempted gang rape, opposite- or same-sex, was about proving power and control; there was no "sexual preference" as we deem in our culture. Lot's offer of his daughters instead of the male strangers (19:6-8), followed by the mob's further escalation to try to attack Lot "the foreigner" himself (19:9), underscores the irrelevance of "sexuality" to the incident. The encounter was a contrast of hospitality vs. violence towards strangers. As Ezekiel noted, it is a lack of care for the needy, and not homosexuality, that is the sin of Sodom. Today the evangelical church strongly rebukes sexual sins, especially homosexuality, but often ignores (or even promotes!) dehumanizing and committing violence against immigrants and refugees. We should take heed of who we seek to judge and who we seek to emulate in this story. ↩