John 8:58 (I am, I have been, I was?)

Steven Craig Miller scmiller at www.plantnet.com
Wed Dec 22 15:03:49 EST 1999


To: Edgar Foster,

SCM: << ... but EGW EIMI is just a common phrase which often in both 
Classical Greek and the NT simply means nothing more than "I am he" 
(assuming a male speaker). There is nothing in the Grammar of this Greek 
text which necessarily demands understanding this text to suggests 
pre-existence. One could just as easily interpret this passage to mean 
(something like): "before Abraham was, I was appointed to this task" 
(literally: "Before Abraham was, I am he"). >>

EF: << In the excellent work Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament 
Based on Semantic Domains, Louw and Nida that John 8:58 give the following: 
"before Abraham came into existence, I existed" (Louw-Nida 158). IMHO, this 
rendering more accurately reflects the meaning of Jesus' words recorded in 
John 8:58. >>

I would concur with you that the Louw & Nida lexicon is an "excellent 
work." On the other hand, I have reservations about this particular 
example. I can understand why people, confronted with making sense of this 
saying by the Johannine Jesus would want to translate the present tense 
verb EIMI as a past tense in English, but the fact remains that the most 
literal translation of these words is simply: "before Abraham was, I am he."

I will also note, for those who might be interested, that the conservative 
Daniel B. Wallace (some one whom I deeply respect for his scholarship 
despite my own personal liberal beliefs) puzzles over this passage in his 
grammar (p. 530). If I'm reading Wallace correctly, he seems to suggest 
that there is not sufficient linguistic parallels for taking EIMI as a past 
tense.

-Steven Craig Miller
Alton, Illinois (USA)
scmiller at www.plantnet.com
Disclaimer: "I'm just a simple house-husband (with no post-grad degree), 
what do I know?"




More information about the B-Greek mailing list