שמות ו:ג פירוש: רש״י, רשב״ם, ספורנו ואור החיים

וארא AND I APPEARED — to the patriarchs.

בא-ל שדי, a promise concerning the future that I have not yet fulfilled.

וארא, in a vision, a communication by G’d just below that of the level we know as נבואה, prophecy. Genesis 18,1 was one such example of G’d “appearing” to Avraham after his circumcision.