YHVH Ro’i is one of Abba Father’s precious names. It generally means “YHVH sees me” according to the only place where we find it in Scripture, namely Gen 16:13: And she called the Name of יהוה who spoke to her, “You are the Ěl who sees (H7210; רֳאִי ; rŏ’ı̂y),” for she said, “Even here have I seen after Him who sees (H7200; רָאָה; râ’âh) me?”
The danger here is to consider this name only in physical terms. God is Spirit, He is no man, and we can easily forget that this “He sees” is but a metaphor to enable us who are limited and restricted in our abilities to comprehend with our human senses to get but a small glimpse of the real meaning. We cannot reduce the Omnipotent El to our limited senses. What is truly meant here by “He sees” has much more to do with the related words, such as “He has insight in, or the ability to discern, and to have a vision for us”. YHVH can see further than which can be observed by the human eye to that which is beyond, because He has insight into what appears to us as the unknown. He can thus see into and have insight in, while having discernment into any and all circumstances – for that matter into any unseeable concerns we may have, because He is INSIGHT, VISION, and DISCERNMENT.
There is another pearl hidden in this name of Abba Father. Rŏ’ı̂y (H7210) is derived from râ’âh (H7200) and it is spelled as רָאָה. A different word, but pronounced the same (râ‛âh), is the word רָעָה (H7462), but neither the aleph nor the ayin is pronounced. This word, רָעָה, means shepherd, as in YHVH is my shepherd, I do not lack (Ps 23:1). The One who sees, is also my Shepherd. The connection between having insight, vision and discernment with being a shepherd is unmistakeable. He, the Good Shepherd, is the One that cares for me and leads me to green pastures, even through the valley of the shadow of death, because He has insight, vision and discernment, because He sees me. He can be the Good Shepherd because HE can see beyond.
The One who sees, YHVH Ro’i, the One who is the Good Shepherd because He can see beyond the circumstances, the One who sees the world at the beginning and the end, sees you and me today.
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