[B-Greek] EGW EIMI hO WN (LXX of Exodus 3:14)

Eric S. Weiss papaweiss1 at yahoo.com
Thu Mar 27 15:17:42 EDT 2008


Are there any thoughts about whether the Septuagint rendering of God's name as EGW EIMI 
  hO WN in Exodus 3:14 accurately translates the Hebrew ehyeh asher ehyeh? This may 
  cross over into B-Hebrew, but a discussion about this there would cross over into B-Greek, 
  so I'm asking it here since I am more familiar with Greek.
   
  I.e., is something lost or changed, and/or is something added? (And perhaps gained - i.e., 
  just because a Greek rendering may add a nuance or clarification that the Hebrew doesn't or 
  can't express doesn't automatically mean that the translation into Greek has wrongly added 
  something to the text.)
   
  Some of my thoughts:
   
  If the Hebrew ehyeh asher ehyeh means "I am that I am," then the Greek (EGW) EIMI 
  hO/hOS (EGW) EIMI might be more accurate - but there would be the problem of deciding 
  whether to use the neuter hO or the masculine hOS; the Hebrew asher (who/which/that) is 
  not gender-specific. For the Greek translator to have to pick either hO or hOS means having 
  to make a translation and meaning choice that is not necessary in the Hebrew. Is that 
  perhaps why the LXX reads EGW EIMI hO WN - i.e., because there is no literal Greek 
  equivalent to the Hebrew that maintains the Hebrew ambiguity?
   
  If ehyeh asher ehyeh means "I will be who/what I will be" - which may be supported by the 
  nearby uses of ehyeh in "I will be with you" in Exodus 3:12 and 4:12,15 ("I will be with your 
  mouth") - then the Greek (EGW) ESOMAI hO/hOS (EGW) ESOMAI may be more 
  "accurate." Interestingly, the LXX only uses ESOMAI in 3:12; it says "I will open your 
  mouth" in 4:12,15.
   
  Did rabbinical or Greek philosophical traditions influence the LXX rendering of Exodus 3:14? 
  Because of the identification of Jesus with hO WN in this passage, as well as the use of 
  this phrase in His halo in icons of Christ, the LXX rendering has had a significant impact on 
  church history, theology and worship.


  Eric S. Weiss
  

       
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