From: Steven Craig Miller (scmiller@www.plantnet.com)
Date: Wed Dec 22 1999 - 15:03:49 EST
<x-flowed>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@www.plantnet.com
Disclaimer: "I'm just a simple house-husband (with no post-grad degree),
what do I know?"
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