Kel Shakai

The name of God, “Kel Shakai is mostly limited to P. (Gen 17:1 28:3, 35:11 48:3 Ex 6:3).

Weaknesses to this argument are the one Kel Shakai in JE (Gen 43:14). Also, many of the Kel Shakai’s are assigned to P based on proximity to p’ru ur’vu. But, I’ve argued that there could be other explanations for this.

Strengths to this argument are that not only is Kel Shakai generally limited to P, but the verse explicitly says (Ex. 6:3) that this was the name in use before the revelation, to the exclusion of the Holy name. It is thus difficult that the Holy name is in fact used many times in Genesis.

Taking the Kel Shakai verses together, a picture is painted of the revelation according to P. Originally (Genesis chapters 1 – 16), there was no revelation, and God was Elokim. The revelation begins with Avraham when God reveals himself to him as Kel Shakai. Note Gen 17:1 is a revelation of sorts. “Ani Kel Shakai” Similarly 35:11, Ani Kel Shakai. 48:3 speaks of revelation. Also, the verb “vayerah to appear is a common theme between Gen 17:1 and Ex 6:3. Finally, God reveals himself to Moshe by saying I am God. I revealed myself partially to the fathers, but I have not revealed my full Holy name. It is for this reason that the Holy name does not appear much (only twice) in P before Ex 6:3

Finally, the one Kel Shakai in Nach is in Ezekiel 10:5. The language of Ezekiel is close to that of P.