[B-Greek] EGW EIMI hO WN (LXX of Exodus 3:14)
Eric S. Weiss
papaweiss1 at yahoo.com
Thu Mar 27 19:55:14 EDT 2008
> No, it really isn't totally accurate. The Hebrew has the
> imperfect (prefix form) of the existential verb twice and
> would more accurately be translated "I will be who / what
> I will be." I think I'll leave the Greek to your own
> efforts. It would almost seem that the LXX was translated
> under some Platonic influence.
>
> george
> gfsomsel
Richard Elliott Friedman chooses "I am who I am" and Robert
Alter chooses "I will be who I will be." Both discuss the
other one's choice, and Alter also discusses using "what"
instead of "who." Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan (The Living Torah)
goes with "I will be who I will be," and also refers to
Rambam's Moreh Nevukhim 1:63 (1200 A.D.) when he says that
the name "denotes that God has absolute existence," and
refers the reader to the Septuagint; and that He is
outside the realm of time (Rabbi Ovadia ben Yaakov Sforna,
1567 A.D.).
Thus, it appears that the Hebrew imperfect need not be
translated with the future, according to some
Jewish/Hebrew scholars, and the concept of hO WN may not
be Platonic (or maybe Rambam was a Platonist?).
I am not asking for theological or philosophic arguments
(which would violate B-Greek rules), but if you have some
Hellenic texts that show how hO WN might have been used by
Platonists (or other Greek philosophers) with reference to
the Deity, and/or that show The Seventy's understanding of
the Hebrew and/or Jewish tradition to be properly expressed
by translating the Hebrew as hO WN, it would help address
my question.
Thanks!
Eric S. Weiss
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