[B-Greek] John 8:58 as translation Greek
Michael
mabernathy at isot.com
Thu Feb 3 17:50:31 EST 2005
Solomon,
I did not mean to emphasize any connection with Exodus 3:14. However, I
do not know any way to say, "I am" in Hebrew that has not been
understood by Hebrew scholars as a reference to the Divine Name.
"Why does this same Hebrew word EHYEH demand translation as "I AM" at
Exodus 3:14?"
I don't know that it has to be translated as "I AM" but Jewish scholars
have recognized this translation for centuries. More recently, you
might want to check U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus
(Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, 1967), 37-38, or Moses ben Nahman, Ramban
Commentary on the Torah (New York: Shiloh Publishing House, Inc., 1973),
36, or The Midrash Rabbah, ed. Rabbi Dr. H. Freedman and Maurice Simon,
trans. Rabbi Dr. S. M. Lehrman, 5 vols., vol. 2 (New York: The Soncino
Press, 1977), 64-65 (especially note the footnote on page 64).
As for the LXX rendering of Exodus 3:14 being a paraphrase, see John
William Wevers, LXX: Notes on the Greek Text of Exodus (Atlanta:
Scholars Press, 1990), 33-34
Wevers points out that it would be grammatically absurd to translate
EHYEH literally as the subject of apestalken and resorts to a participle
as a "straightforward attempt to make an acceptable Greek version of
the Hebrew."
Leaving aside any theological implications, I would think that ani hu
has the forced of a simple copulative "I am" not "I was." On the other
hand, EHYEH may be translated to include past, present, and future
implications. To say "Before Abraham was, I AM (EGW EIMI) suggests both
past and present.
Sincerely,
Michael Abernathy
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