I Am that I Am: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|English translation Hebrew phrase}} |
{{Short description|English translation Hebrew phrase}} |
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[[File:EhyehAsherEhyeh1.jpg|thumb|400px|The Hebrew text with ''[[niqqud]]'']] |
[[File:EhyehAsherEhyeh1.jpg|thumb|400px|The Hebrew text with ''[[niqqud]]'']] |
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"'''I Am that I Am'''" is a [[Bible translations into English|common English translation]] of the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] phrase {{Script/Hebrew|אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר |
"'''I Am that I Am'''" is a [[Bible translations into English|common English translation]] of the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] phrase {{Script/Hebrew|אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה}} ({{transl|he|’ehye ’ăšer ’ehye}}; {{IPA-he|ʔehˈje ʔaˈʃer ʔehˈje|pron}})– also "I am who I am", "I will become what I choose to become", "I am what I am", "I will be what I will be", "I create what(ever) I create", or "I am the Existing One".{{sfn|Stone|2000|p=624}} The traditional English translation within [[Judaism]] favors "I will be what I will be" because there is no present tense of the verb "[[to be]]" in the Hebrew language. |
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==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
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Revision as of 16:27, 20 March 2022
"I Am that I Am" is a common English translation of the Hebrew phrase אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (’ehye ’ăšer ’ehye; pronounced [ʔehˈje ʔaˈʃer ʔehˈje])– also "I am who I am", "I will become what I choose to become", "I am what I am", "I will be what I will be", "I create what(ever) I create", or "I am the Existing One".[1] The traditional English translation within Judaism favors "I will be what I will be" because there is no present tense of the verb "to be" in the Hebrew language.
Etymology
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (’ehye ’ăšer ’ehye) is the first of three responses given to Moses when he asks for God's name in the Book of Exodus.[2] The word אֶהְיֶה (’Ehyeh) is the first person form of hayah, 'to be', and owing to the peculiarities of Hebrew grammar means 'I am', 'I was', and 'I will be'.[3] The meaning of the longer phrase ’ehyeh ’ăšer ’ehyeh is debated, and might be seen as a promise ('I will be with you') or as statement of incomparability ('I am without equal').[4]
The word אֶהְיֶה (ehyeh) is the first-person singular imperfect form of hayah, 'to be'. Biblical Hebrew does not distinguish between grammatical tenses. It has instead an aspectual system in which the imperfect denotes any actions that are not yet completed,[5][6][7] Accordingly, the whole phrase can be rendered in English not only as 'I am that I am' but also as 'I will be what I will be' or 'I will be who I will be', or 'I shall prove to be whatsoever I shall prove to be' or even 'I will be because I will be'. Other renderings include: Leeser, 'I Will Be that I Will Be'; Rotherham, 'I Will Become whatsoever I please', Greek, ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν (Ego eimi ho on), 'I am The Being' in the Septuagint,[8] and Philo,[9][10] and the Book of Revelation[11] or, 'I am The Existing One'; Latin, ego sum qui sum, 'I am Who I am'.
The word אֲשֶׁר (’ăšer) is a relative pronoun whose meaning depends on the immediate context, so that 'that', 'who', 'which', or 'where' are all possible translations of that word.[12]
The New Testament has "But by the grace of God I am what I am ..." (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Interpretation
According to the Hebrew Bible, in the encounter of the burning bush (Exodus 3:14) Moses asks what he is to say to the Israelites when they ask what the gods ('Elohiym) have sent him to them, and Yahweh replies, "I am who I am," adding, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I am has sent me to you.'"[4] It is somewhat remarkable that despite this exchange, the Israelites never ask Moses for the name of God.[13] Then there are a number of probably unanswerable questions, including who it is that does not know God's name, Moses or the Israelites (most commentators take it that it is Moses who does not know, meaning that the Israelites will ask him the name in order to prove his credentials), and just what the statement means.[13]
The last can be approached in three ways:
- "I am who I am" – an evasion of Moses's question;[14]
- "I am who am" or "I am he who is" – a statement of the nature of Israel's Gods ['Elohiym];
- "'I Am' is who I am," or "I am because I am" – this version has not played a major part in scholarly discussion of the phrase, but the first variant has been incorporated into the New English Bible.[15]
See also
- Aham Brahmasmi
- Be, and it is
- Ego eimi
- El
- Elohim
- I am (biblical_term)
- Iyaric § I words e.g. "I and I"
- I Yam What I Yam
- Jehovah
- Names of God
- Names of God in Islam
- Om
- Self-reference
- Soham
- Tat Tvam Asi
- Tetragrammaton
- Unmoved mover
- You Are What You Is
References
- ^ Stone 2000, p. 624.
- ^ Exod. 3:14.
- ^ Parke-Taylor 1975, p. 51.
- ^ a b Van der Toorn 1999, p. 913.
- ^ Biblical Hebrew
- ^ Hebrew Tenses
- ^ Biblical Hebrew Grammar do Beginners
- ^ "Exodus 3:14 LXX". Bibledatabase.net. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
- ^ Yonge. Philo Life Of Moses Vol.1 :75
- ^ Life of Moses I 75, Life of Moses II 67,99,132,161 in F.H. Colson Philo Works Vol. VI, Loeb Classics, Harvard 1941
- ^ Rev.1:4,1:8.4:8 UBS Greek Text Ed.4
- ^ Seidner, 4.[full citation needed]
- ^ a b Hamilton 2011, p. 63.
- ^ Hayes.
- ^ Mettinger 2005, pp. 33–34.
Bibliography
- Hamilton, Victor P. (2011). Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary. Baker Books. ISBN 9781441240095.
- Mettinger, Tryggve (2005). In Search of God ['Elohiym]: The Meaning and Message of the Everlasting Names. Fortress Press. ISBN 9781451419351.
- Parke-Taylor, G.H. (1975), Yahweh [YHWH]: The Divine Name in the Bible, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, ISBN 0-88920-013-0
- Stone, Robert E, II (2000). "I Am Who I Am". In Freedman, David Noel; Myers, Allen C. (eds.). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9789053565032.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Van der Toorn, Karel (1999). "Yahweh". In Van der Toorn, Karel; Becking, Bob; Van der Horst, Pieter Willem (eds.). Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802824912.
- Hayes, Christine. "RLST 145 - Lecture 7 - Israel in Egypt: Moses and the Beginning of Yahwism (Genesis 37- Exodus 4) | Open Yale Courses". oyc.yale.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-15.