Re: John 8:58 (I am; Does the Hebrew reveal?)

From: Steven Craig Miller (scmiller@www.plantnet.com)
Date: Fri Dec 24 1999 - 11:19:36 EST


<x-flowed>To: Grant Polle,

<< I think that a small degree of the "problem" lies in the connection
with Exodus 3:14 which is rather self evident. ... Of course, we know what
the LXX reveals, namely, hO WN. However, does the Hebrew itself reveal a
change from the "I am" interpretation so that we may narrow the
understandings of John 8:58 somewhat? >>

As already noted, I think that it is impossible for there to be any
literary connection between Ex 3:14 and John 8:58. In addition, I believe
an answer to your question will make this evident.

I quote from "Notes on the Greek Text of Exodus" by John William Wevers
(Scholars Press, 1990). (In the following quotation, I have made
transliterations from Hebrew and Greek characters. All Hebrew
transliterations are prefaced with "[reading right to left].")

Wevers writes: << Exod in translating the reply [reading right to left]
HYH' RS' HYH' is faced with making sense out of a sentence which would be a
tuatology if rendered literally. >>

Wevers then notes in a footnote: "Notice how Aq followed by Theod rendered
it: ESOMAI hOS ESOMAI! A Greek reader would find this an absurd tautology. >>

Then Wevers continues: << Furthermore Moses is commanded to tell the
Israelites [reading right to left] "HYH' has sent me." Exod realizes that
the verb can be rendered by EIMI or GINOMAI; only the first would be
applicable to God. But a first person verb as the subject of APESTALKEN
would be a grammatical absurdity. So Exod is driven to a participle form hO
WN "the one who is." ... the first [reading right to left] HYH' can be
translated by EGW EIMI and the relative clause [reading from right to left]
HYH' RS' becomes hO WN. Exod thus has "I am the one who is." It is only in
v.15 that is becomes clear that this is the explanation of KURIOS; KURIOS
is the one who is. >>

What is clear here is that the words hO WN ("the one who is") are the key
words here. It is the phrase hO WN which is repeated and which stand for
the name of Yahweh, and not the words EGW EIMI. This is absolutely clear in
the LXX:

KAI EIPEN hO QEOS PROS MWUSHN EGW EIMI hO WN: KAI EIPEN hOUTWS EREIS TOIS
hUIOIS ISRAHL hO WN APESTALKEN ME PROS hUMAS -- And God said to Moses: I am
the One Who Is. And he said: You will say thus to the children of Israel:
"The One Who Is sends me to you."

Note that the second time hO WN is used that EGW EIMI is not! That is
because the key words here are hO WN and not EGW EIMI, the phrase EGW EIMI
were used only to introduce hO WN. Thus if Jesus had wanted to allude back
to Ex 3:14 he would have needed to have uttered the words hO WN. To suggest
that the common phrase EGW EIMI could be a clear allusion to Ex 3:14 does
not make any more sense than to say the common phrase KAI EIPEN could be an
allusion to Ex 3:14.

Now here is where confusion has crept into many studies of this passage.
The Hebrew text [reading right to left] HYH' RS' HYH' uses the same Hebrew
verb twice here. So that the LXX has: EGW EIMI hO WN for [reading right to
left] HYH' RS' HYH' . Some have seemed to assume that EGW EIMI refers the
first [reading right to left] HYH' and hO WN refers to the second. So that
both EGW EIMI and hO WN are to be taken as referring to Yahweh. But this is
unfortunately and logically incorrect. It is hO WN and not EGW EIMI which
is being used in the LXX to refer to Yahweh.

-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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