What Hebrew name did God give Abraham at his first encounter with Jehovah?
At Abraham’s first encounter with Jehovah, the Hebrew name ascribed to God at that time was Jehovah Olam. The term Olam is also connected with hiddenness in the Old Testament, showing God sovereignly keeps matters hidden until His appointed time to reveal them.
Les explains that when Abraham first had his encounter with Jehovah, the Hebrew name God ascribed to that encounter was Jehovah Olam. He notes that Olam can be used in various settings throughout the Old Testament, and David uses it in connection with hidden things, asking why the Lord has hidden these things; the Hebrew word for hidden there is Olam. Les ties this back to Genesis, where God in His sovereignty keeps things hidden from human understanding until it is His time to reveal them. Paul likewise refers to truths hidden in the mind of God, and Acts chapter 2 shows Peter preaching that Israel crucified their Messiah by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God—not by surprise, but by what was predetermined in eternity past. Les applies the same principle to these truths.