...suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus..."
- Ac 9:3–5
Whenever "the LORD" spoke to someone in the OT he gave them his name... told them exactly who he was. But no "YHWH" this time, no "I am", no "I am the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob", nothing like that, here are some examples;
- Ex 3:13-15 - "I AM" / "the LORD" [YHWH] to Moses.
- Ex 6:2-3 - "the LORD" [YHWH] reaffirmed to Moses.
- Ex 34:5-7 - "the LORD" [YHWH] proclaimed to Moses.
- Gn 17:1 - "God Almighty" [El Shaddai] to Abraham.
- Gn 35:9-11 - "God Almighty" [El Shaddai] to Jacob.
Some additional content:
“I am the Lord [YHWH]. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty [El Shaddai], but by my name the Lord [YHWH] I did not make myself known to them.
- Ex 6:2–3.
This interaction with Paul though would have been the perfect opportunity to set the record straight to a zealous Jew (who was rounding up followers of Jesus for prosecution) - he simply could have told Paul that he was YHWH "in the Flesh" (Angel of YHWH etc) - and to stop persecuting "his [new] people", but no, that is NOT what happened.
Instead, Paul heard it declared loud and clear that the one who was speaking to him was JESUS.
