Moses understood there were many gods recognized throughout the region. Remember, He was raised as grandson to the Pharaoh. He had an "Ivy League" education and was not unfamiliar with surrounding cultures. So...it makes sense that Moses would ask..."who are you?"
Here is a list of, at least some of, the gods Moses would likely recognize.
| Adrammelech | Sepharvites | 2 Kin 17:31 | Sun-god |
| Amon | Thebes In Egypt | Jer 46:25 | Sun-god |
| Anammelech | Sepharvites | 2 Kin 17:31 | Moon-goddess |
| Asherah (Asherim) | Canaan | Judges 6:25,26,28,30 | Fertility goddess |
| Ashima | Hammath In Syria | 2 Kin 17:30 | ------------------------------ |
| Ashtoreth (Ashtaroth) | Syria/Phoenicia/Canaan | 1 Kin 11:5,33 | Love, fertility goddess |
| Baal | Syria/Phoenicia/Canaan | 2 Kin 10:18-23,25-28 | Principal god |
| Baal-berith | Shechem in Canaan | Judg 8:33, Judg 9:4 | Name means "lord of covenant" |
| Baal-Peor | Moabites | Num 25:3,5 | ------------------------------ |
| Baal-Zebub (Beelzebub in NT ) | Ekron In Philistine | 2 Kin 1:2,3,6,16 | Name means "lord of flies" (protection from) |
| Bel (possibly same as Baal) | Moabites/Babylonians/Ammonites | Isa 46:1 Jer 50:2, Jer 51:44 | Principal god |
| Castor/Pollux (Twin Brothers) | Greeks | Acts 28:11 | Twin sons of Zeus. Protection for sailors. |
| Chemosh | Moabites | 1 Kin 11:7,33 | Destroyer, subduer. Child sacrifices made for |
| Dagon | Philistines | 1 Sam 5:2-5,7 | Grain god |
| Diana/Artemis | Ephesus In Greece | Acts 19:24,27-28,34-35 | Moon, hunting, virginity goddess |
| Gad (Fortune) | Israel | Isa 65:11 | ------------------------------ |
| Golden Calf | Israel (Borrowed from Egypt) | Story in Ex 32 | ------------------------------ |
| Jupiter/Zeus | Greek | Acts 14:12 | King god, ruler of heaven and all other gods |
| Kalwan (Chiun) | Babylonians | Amos 5:26 | Possibly star god |
| Meni (Destiny) | Israel | Isa 65:11 | ------------------------------ |
| Mercury/Hermes | Greek | Acts 14:12 | Messenger for the gods |
| Merodach/Marduk | Babylonians | Jer 50:2 | Possibly associated with Mars, war god |
| Milcom (Malcham, Malcam) | Ammonites | 1 Kin 11:5,33 | ------------------------------ |
| Molech (Moloch) | Ammonites | Lev 20:2,3,4,5 | Destroyer, consumer. Child sacrifices made for |
| Nebo | Chaldea In Babylon | Isa 46:1 | Writing, speech, literature, arts god |
| Nehushtan | Israel | 2 Kin 18:4 | Serpent Moses made in wilderness (Num 21:4-9) |
| Nergal | Cuth in Babylon | 2 Kin 17:30 | War and hunting god |
| Nibhaz | Avvites | 2 Kin 17:31 | ------------------------------ |
| Nisroch | Assyrians | 2 Kin 19:37, Isa 37:38 | ------------------------------ |
| Queen Of Heaven (Known as Ishtar) | Assyria/Babylon | Jer 7:18, Jer 44:17,18,19,25 | Love, war, fertility goddess |
| Rimmon | Syria | 2 Kin 5:18 | Weather god |
| Sikkuth | Babylonians | Amos 5:26 | Saturn god |
| Succoth Benoth | Babylonians/Samarians | 2 Kin 17:30 | goddess |
| Tammuz | Babylonians/Samarians | Ezek 8:14 | Vegetation god |
| Tartak | Avvites | 2 Kin 17:31 | Prince of darkness |
And, he heard a name he had not heard before. Elohim (God of creation) settled the issue...אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה (Yahweh asher Yahweh). I AM THE I AM. "This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations". Matthew Poole tells us the words are with equal precision rendered, I WILL BE WHAT I AM, or, I AM WHAT I WILL BE, or, I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE. Not only I am what I am at present, but I am what I have been, and I am what I shall be, and shall be what I am.
The verb hâyâh (to be) expresses not "to be" essentially, but "to be" phenomenally; it denotes, in Delitzsch’s words, not the idea of inactive, abstract existence, but the active manifestation of existence. Think about this...everything that "is", exists as a reflection of Elohim's being. The two cannot be separated. We see the same essence presiding over the final chapter of creation , "I am the Alpha and the Omega--the beginning and the end, I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come--the Almighty One." (Revelation 1:8) The great God of creation (Elohim) is the same great God who will make all things new.
The name is all encompassing and all consuming. None of the other gods actually exist...they exist only in the minds of the pagans who invented them.
This, of course, means you and I have a decision to make. We either subordinate ourselves to the self-proclaiming, self-existing, Lord of all existence...or we look for other options that can exist only in our little minds. Blaise Pascal (1623–62) reminds us what a foolish endeavor that might be. He posits that humans bet with their lives that God either exists or does not. A rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell).
But, you know, the pleasure of that fruit was so tempting to Eve. She wanted it more than she wanted God. And, the pleasure of Eve was so tempting to Adam that he wanted her more than he wanted God.
We all know how that turned out...
Live boldly out there today...
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