

Chapter 3
3:14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM "; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " hyh) (8799) r$) hyh) (8799) h$m eyhl) rm)Yw (8799) (8804) hyh) le)r&y yenbl rm)t (8799) hK rm)Yw (8799) ekyel) ynxl$

Moses’ Question about the ‘Name’ of God

(Contributed)

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’ (èhyèh ashèr èhyèh). 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

(égô éimi 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 (ésomai ésomai 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.’

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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.’

Other Reference Open

TRUTH’S FREEDOM AND DEVILISH SLAVERY”

Jesus said to them: “I tell you this truth: I existed before Abraham came into existence.”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’s Novum Testamentum Graece 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 eimi Iesous (“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.” Das Neue 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 Syriac Peshitta, says: “Before Abraham was born, I was.” Dr. James Murdock, also translating from the Syriac Peshitto 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, Bíblia Sagrada, 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, aní hayíthi; they do not use the one Hebrew word: Ehyéh.

JN 8:59 As a consequence, the [Jews] picked up stones in order

to throw them at Jesus.523 However, Jesus hid and then left the

Temple area.

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.