An inaccurate
translation of Exodus 3:13 leads to a faulty
understanding of this verse. In numerous Bibles one can read the question:
‘What is his name?’ as in Judges 13:17, when Manoah
wanted to know the name (that is, the pronunciation of the name) of the angel
who came to meet him. On the other hand, the Israelites asked Moses: ‘How is
his name?’ – that is, ‘what does His name mean?’ or
‘what does His fame mean?’
One can verify
that in Hebrew the interrogation ‘what is,’ or ‘how is,’ is ‘mâ,’ and ‘who is,’ is ‘mî.’ Thus,
there’s a big difference between asking to know a name because one is in
ignorance of it (as in Ezra 5:4) and asking the meaning of a name, which
one already knows, as in Genesis 32:27 where the angel asks Jacob to remind him
of the meaning (He will supplant) of his name, which meaning was already known
to him (Genesis 27:36), in order to give him a new one (He will contend –
Genesis 32:28).
Thus, when Moses asked God: ‘How is his name?’ God gave the explanation ‘I shall [prove
to] be who (or what) I shall [prove to] be’ (èhyèhashèrèhyèh). Even here,
regrettably, numerous translators are influenced by Greek philosophy on The
Being as existing that was developed by Plato in some of his works, including
‘Parmenides.’ For example, the Septuagint translated this passage as ‘I am the
Being (égôéimi o
ôn in Greek), or, ‘I am He who is.’ Yet Aquila's Translation (which is more faithful to
Hebrew) translates this sentence as, I shall be: I shall be (ésomaiésomai in
Greek).
As you can see
from a study on the translation of this sentence, the difficulty results from
translators who want to explain this translation by means of their personal
beliefs, which are very often influenced by Greek philosophy; otherwise there
is no difficulty. For example, one finds the word èhyèh
just before Exodus 3:12 and just after Exodus 4:12, 15, and here translators have no
problem translating it as ‘I shall [prove to be] be with you.’ Moreover, the
Talmud retains this explanation for the meaning of the Name.
A better
translation of Exodus 3:13, 14 would then be: Then Moses said to God, ‘Look,
I’ll go to the children of Israel and tell them the God of our
ancestors has sent me to you, but they’re going to ask, How
is his name? What should I tell them?’ And God told Moses, ‘I shall [prove
to] be what I shall [prove to] be! Just tell the children of Israel that I shall [prove to] be has
sent you.’
13 Then Moses
said to God, ‘Look, I’ll go to the children of Israel and tell them, The God of our
ancestors has sent me to you, but they’re going to ask, What’s
His name? What should I tell them?’
14 And God
told Moses, ‘I
am the One Who [Proves] to Be! Just tell the
children of Israel that the One Who [Proves] to Be has sent you.’
15 Then God
said to Moses, ‘Tell the Sons
of Israel that [Jehovah],
the God of our ancestors – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – has sent me
to you. That’s My Name through the ages and
it’s how I should be remembered from generation to generation.
16 ‘So, go and gather the elders of the children of Israel, then tell them that [Jehovah], the God
of your ancestors, has appeared to me. He’s the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He said, I have looked [down] and [seen] all
the bad things that are happening to you in Egypt. 17 Then He said, I will take you
away from this Egyptian oppression into the land of the Canaanites, Chettites, Amorites, Pherezites, Gergesites, Evites, and Jebusites, a land
that is flowing with milk and honey. 18 They will listen to what you have
to say.
‘Then you and
the elders of Israel must go to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and tell him, The
God of the Hebrews
has called us, so we’re going on a three-day journey into the desert to offer a
sacrifice to our God.
19 ‘However I
know that Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) won’t let you go [unless he sees] a
mighty hand [of power], 20 so I will raise My hand and
strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I [wish to show] them… and then
he will allow you to leave.
21 ‘I will
also make [My] people look good in the sight of the Egyptians, so that when you
escape, you won’t leave empty handed. 22 Women will ask their neighbors and
landlords for clothing and for gold and silver [jewelry], then you will put
them on your sons and your daughters, and you will plunder the Egyptians.’
Jesus said to them: “I tell you this truth: I existed before Abraham came into
existence.”522
522
I
existed before Abraham came into existence: In Greek the later part of this verse reads: PRIN
ABRAAM GENESTHAI EGO EIMI. This text reads in English in the Greek-English
Interlinear New Testament as: ‘Before Abraham came into being, I AM.’ We note
the “I AM” is capitalized. When we check other translations we note they tend
to also capitalize this “I AM.” We note first that these same translations do
not do this in John 8:28 where Jesus also said, “I am.” This has us puzzled
at first.
Some have suggested that the “I AM” in verse 58 is a quote from Exodus 3:14
and so he believes with great fervor Jesus is making himself the Yahweh of
the Burning Bush account where the Almighty God declares His Name. We turn to
some translations and they do, indeed, have Exodus 3:14 as ‘I am that I AM.’
(KJV) Since some capitalize both “I AM” in John and Exodus it would seem our
friend’s idea has some validity on brief examination. How are we to know whether
the Nazarene is lifting the “I AM” of Exodus 3:14 and applying this title to
himself in John 8:58? What can this mean?
One could go all the way back to John 8:1 (or, John 8:12 in some versions) and check this
dialogue between the Nazarene and the Jewish scribes and Pharisees, but we
note the immediate question at hand. Verse 58 begins, ‘Jesus said to them,’
so he must be responding to a question. Sure enough, we note in the previous
verse (57) these godly Jews asked, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have
you seen Abraham?’ To which Jesus answers in verse 58, ‘Before Abraham
existed, I am.’
We discover that the English “am” is similar to the Greek eimi
which, according to Bauer, Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the
New Testament, page 222, means “as a predicate to be – 1. be, exist.” As in Shakespeare, “to be or not to be, that
is the question.” It would seem to a fair mind that the subject is, “How
could you possibly have known Abraham?” To which the Nazarene simply answers,
‘Before Abraham existed, I existed,’ or, ‘I existed before Abraham existed.’
The pre-existence of Christ is something stressed only in the Gospel
of John and it seems that this is what is being done here. It seems a strange
way to go about claiming one is the Yahweh, or El’Shad-dai
of Exodus 3:14.
We remember that the Nazarene has already used the whole Greek expression ego
eimi in John 8:18, 23, 28 and the Jews did not seem
to think Jesus was laying claim to being Yahweh there. We note first John 8:17, 18 where Jesus does quote from
Moses (Deuteronomy 19:15) using the rule of ‘the
testimony of two men is true.’ When checking out this verse in Moses we note
it actually says, ‘two or three’! If Jesus believed in a triune view, or any
other concept of “three,” this would have provided an outstanding Trinitarian
opportunity. However, instead of applying “three men” and their testimony, he
only makes application of “two” when he goes on to say: ‘I am (ego eimi) the one testifying about myself.’ Now, that makes
“one person.” Then Jesus adds, ‘and the One having sent me, the Father,
testifies about me.’ That makes, by Jesus’ own addition, “two.” He either
misses this opportunity to make some statement about “three,” as Deuteronomy
19:15 would allow, or he has no such thought about “three.”
Here, in John 8:17, 18, when the Nazarene used “I am” (ego eimi) there was no confusion among the Jews: Jesus was
some one other than the Father, who was another. That the Jews
understood the Father to be God is shown in John 8:41 and John 8:54. So could
not John 8:17, 18 read: “I am the one testifying about myself and God who
sent me testifies about me”? Jesus equals “one” and God equals “one” which
adds up to “two witnesses” with no mention of a third.
The other occurrence of ego eimi is at John 8:28
where Jesus says, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man then you will know that I
am.’ This comes in answer to the question in verse 25, ‘Who are you?’ Is it
fair to say the Nazarene’s answer is, “the Son of Man”? This is an expression
from Daniel 7:13 and had always been applied by the Jews to the
Messiah or Christ. Here in verses 26-29 Jesus make a clear distinction
between himself and The God who sent him, the Father. This designation from
Daniel 7:13 is a true quote or allusion where the Messiah is ascending
to the one called “the Ancient of Days.”
Now, it seems to us that Jesus had clear opportunity to identify himself with
“three persons” using Deuteronomy 19:15, but he does not. He has another
opportunity when he is directly asked about his identity, but here his answer
is, “the Son of Man.”
We are now wondering whether John 8.58 and its ego eimi
is a quote or allusion at all. First, we check Nestle-Aland’sNovumTestamentumGraece which faithfully identifies source words or quotes
and to our surprise this excellent work does not list Exodus 3:14. We also
check the New Jerusalem Bible that we have found to be reliable in its
cross-references to quotes and allusions. Even this work does not show Exodus
3:14 as a source of Jesus’ “I am.”
How can we know if the ego eimi in John 8:58 is a quote or strong allusion to
Exodus 3.14? We turn to Exodus 3:14, 15 in the Jewish Greek Septuagint.
There, in answer to Moses’ question of God at the burning bush, El’Shad-dai reveals to Moses His sacred name.
Rendering this in English at the point of our interest, it reads: ‘And The
God spoke to Moses, saying, (= ego eimi ho on; I AM
THE BEING, LXX); and He said, Thus shall ye say to the children of Israel, ho On (= The Being) has
sent me to you… This is my name for ever.’ Which part of the whole phrase ego
eimi ho On does God take to be His name? Is it not
ho On and not ego eimi. Here in Exodus 3:14 ego eimi is emphatic, meaning “I am… somebody.”
Now, we remember that there is something interesting here in the account
about the burning bush. The Nazarene alludes to it at Matthew 22:32 (see also Mark 12:18-27 and Luke 20:20-26) where Jesus seems to be
referring to someone other than himself when he mentions, ‘He is The God (not
“I am God”), not of the dead, but of the living.’ Additionally, Peter alludes
to Exodus 3:14 at Acts 3:13 and he seems to draw a clear
distinction between ‘The God of Abraham (= Yahweh)… and His Servant-boy,
Jesus.’
We also remember that the dear apostle John himself in the Apocalypse uses ho
On and applies it to someone other than the Lamb. Note Revelation 4:8 and ho
On is the “Lord God Almighty” (the El’Shad-dai
of Exodus 3:14) who sits upon the Throne and to whom the Lamb
approaches to receive the Little Bible.
We also note in the process of checking the ego eimi
of Exodus 3:14 (LXX) that the Greek is slightly different from the ego
eimi of John 8:58. In Exodus it is emphatic
and in John it is not. Our good Christian friend has stressed the emphatic “I
am” and we note that ego eimi is often used in such
cases as “I am the Vine.” Note the emphatic ego eimiIesous (“I am Jesus”) at Acts 26:15. Or, in the
case of the blind man who uses the emphatic “I am…” at John 9:9. That is, “I
am… someone (a blind man).” The Greek ego eimi is
not emphatic in John 8:58, though it is in Exodus 3:14.
In John 8:58 there is no suggestion of “I am… someone.” It is
simply, “I am.” Though this is difficult to render in English, judging from
what has been noted above, if Jesus were quoting Exodus 3:14 (in Greek) he
would not have said ego eimi but rather ho On. If
Jesus had respond to the question of the Jews, ‘Before Abraham existed ho
On’ a plausible argument might be presented that this is the Nazarene’s
quote of Exodus 3:14.
Since it is not, the suggested way to translate this unique case of ego eimi is admitted by A Translator’s Handbook on the Gospel
of John (printed by the United Bible Societies): “In many languages it is
impossible to preserve the expression I am in this type of context,
for the present tense of the verb ‘to be’ would be meaningless. To make
sense, one must say, ‘Before Abraham existed, I existed.’” This being the
case we checked other translations: Lamsa: I was; Moffatt: I have existed before Abraham; Beck: I was
before Abraham; Williams: I existed before Abraham was born; New World: before Abraham came into
existence, I have been. So, it seems many translators do not render ego eimi as I AM but in harmony with the context show Jesus’
reply had to do with his confession of pre-existence, not his divinity.
How do some scholars render the I AM of John 8:58? Compare more than a dozen.
1869: “From before Abraham was, I have been.” The New Testament, by G. R.
Noyes. 1935: “I existed before Abraham was born!” The Bible-An American
Translation, by J. M. P. Smith and E. J. Goodspeed.
1965: “Before Abraham was born, I was already the one that I am.” DasNeue Testament, by Jörg Zink. 1981: “I was alive before Abraham was born!”
The Simple English Bible. Moffatt: “I have existed
before Abraham was born.” Schonfield and An
American Translation: “I existed before Abraham was born.” Stage (German):
“Before Abraham came to be, I was.” Pfaefflin
(German): “Before there was an Abraham, I was already there!” George M. Lamsa, translating from the SyriacPeshitta, says: “Before Abraham was born, I was.”
Dr. James Murdock, also translating from the SyriacPeshitto Version, says: “Before Abraham existed, I
was.” The Brazilian Sacred Bible published by the Catholic Bible Center of São Paulo says: “Before Abraham existed, I was existing.”-2nd edition, of 1960, BíbliaSagrada, Editora “AVE MARIA” Ltda.
Remember, also, that when Jesus spoke to those Jews, he spoke to them in the
Hebrew of his day, not in Greek. How Jesus said John 8:58 to the Jews is therefore
presented to us in the modern translations by Hebrew scholars who translated
the Greek into the Bible Hebrew, as follows: Dr. Franz Delitzsch:
“Before Abraham was, I have been.” Isaac Salkinson
and David Ginsburg: “I have been when there had as yet been no Abraham.” In
both of these Hebrew translations the translators use for the expression “I
have been” two Hebrew words, both a pronoun and a verb, namely, aníhayíthi; they do not use
the one Hebrew word: Ehyéh.
JN8:59As a consequence, the [Jews]
picked up stones in order to throw them at Jesus.523 However, Jesus hid and then left the Temple area.
523
The
[Jews] picked up stones in order to throw them at Jesus: They attempted to stone Jesus,
not because he claimed to be Yehowah, but because
he claimed a pre-existence before Abraham as the Son of God.