questions concerning Exodus 4:24-26 (God tries to kill Moses)

[gib65]

No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.

Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?se...nesis%2017&version=NIV

Another thing I notice about these two passages... When God talks about Abraham's name change, he says "No longer will you be called Abram", but when talking about Sarah's name change, he says "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai". The difference? It revolves around how one would answer the question: by whom? By whom will Abram now be called Abraham? By whom will Sarai now be called Sarah? In regard to Abraham's name, God doesn't specify "by whom"? He just says "No longer will you be called..." leading one to presume "by everyone"--but this, at least to me and my limited vantage point, isn't set in stone. Then on the question of "by whom" shall Sarai now be called Sarah, it explicitly answers "by you, Abraham"--or more verbatim: "you are no longer to call her..." <-- Now, this doesn't preclude that God meant for everyone to call her Sarah, but it is certainly not made explicit... and it hinges on this particular interpretation of the original ancient Hebrew scripts, which I'm sure can be a tricky business.

But if this interpretation is accurate, and the difference in phrasing is intentional--and I'll have to rely on the experts to tell me so--what does it say about God's reasons for changing both Abram's and Sarai's names to Abraham and Sarah, respectively.