[B-Greek] John 8:58 as translation greek

Awohili at aol.com Awohili at aol.com
Thu Feb 3 19:40:38 EST 2005


Just a few thoughts in response to very thoughtful posts:
 
1-  Though Cassuto and others have rendered Exodus 3:14 as "I am  that/who I 
am," the trend in more recent Jewish scholars is to translate it as  "I will 
be who I will be."  For example see Everett Fox and Robert  Alter.  Alter says: 
"'I-Will-Be-Who-I-Will-Be' is the most plausible  construction of the 
Hebrew."  (The Five Books of Moses [Norton, 2004], p.  321)  Also William H. C. 
Propp's translation in The Anchor Bible, volume 2  [1998], "Then Deity said to 
Moses, 'I will be who I will be.'"  And again,  this way of translating it is 
reflected in the first century C.E. Greek  translations of Aquila and Theodotion, 
who render the Hebrew phrase as ESOMAI  hOS ESOMAI, unambiguously "I will be 
who I will be."
 
2- While EGW EIMI may translate the Hebrew of ANI HU' in Isaiah,  it  is 
theology, not grammar, that connects this with the EGW EIMI of John  8:58.  I 
would remark only that for obvious reasons such a theological  connection is not 
made with the EGW EIMI ("I am") of John 9:9, or even with the  similar EIMI hO 
EIMI ("I am what/who I am") of 1 Corinthians 15:10.
 
In other words, not all [EGW] EIMI's are expressions of  divinity.  And 
grammatical constructs cannot decide where or when they  are such.
 
Solomon



More information about the B-Greek mailing list