Why Do So Many Believe ehyeh at Ex. 3:14 means "I AM"?

[teddy trueblood]

Has anyone actually looked at all the uses of ehyeh in all the writings of Moses?

 

[teddy trueblood]

All the uses of ehyeh in Genesis:

Gen. 26:3 - YHWH speaks and says "I WILL BE (ehyeh) with you"

Gen. 31:3 - YHWH speaks and says "I WILL BE (ehyeh) with you"

 

[teddy trueblood]

All uses of ehyeh in Exodus:

Exodus 3:12 YHWH speaks and says “I will be (ehyeh) with you”

Exodus 3:14 (discussed at end)

Exodus 4:12 YHWH speaks and says "I will be (ehyeh) with your mouth"

Exodus 4:15 YHWH speaks and says "I will be (ehyeh) with your mouth"

 

[teddy trueblood]

And, finally, the last use of ehyeh in all the writings of Moses:

Deuteronomy 31:23 YHWH speaks and says "I will be (ehyeh) with you"

………………..

And how were these verses translated by a famed pre-Christian translation?

Gen. 26:3 in the ancient Greek translation (the Septuagint) - ehyeh rendered as esomai (“I will be”).

Genesis 31:3 in Septuagint: esomai (“I will be”).

Exodus 3:12 in Septuagint: esomai (“I will be”).

Exodus 3:14 in Septuagint: ehyeh rendered as ho on: “And God spoke to Moses, saying, I am THE BEING [Ho On; pronounced ‘Ha Own’]; and he said, Thus shall ye say to the children of Israel, THE BEING [Ho On] has sent me to you.” - Ex. 3:14.

The very early Christian translators Theodotion and Aquila (ca. 140 A.D.) both translated this passage from the OT Hebrew (“and God spoke to Moses, saying, ehyeh asher ehyeh”) as esomai hos esomai (Greek for “I will be who I will be”).– Found in Origen’s Hexapla.

Exodus 4:12 in Septuagint: “I will open your mouth.”

Exodus 4:15 in Septuagint: “I will open your mouth.”

Deuteronomy 31:23 in Septuagint: “He shall be with thee.”

 

[teddy trueblood]

The translation of ehyeh as “I Am” (at Ex. 3:14 only) in most Bibles is based primarily on the KJV tradition. Note that even some trinitarian Bibles go against tradition and translate it correctly as “I will be” either in the text or as an alternate translation in footnotes.

For example, the Coverdale Bible of 1535 renders it “God saide vnto Moses: I wyl be what I wyll be. And he sayde: Thus shalt thou saye vnto ye children of Israel: I wyl be hath sent me vnto you.”

“Then sayde God vnto Moses: I wilbe what I wilbe: a[n]d he sayde, this shalt thou saye vnto the children of Israel: Iwilbedyd send me to you.” - Tyndale Bible, 1534.

“Then sayd God vnto Moyses: I wilbe what I wyll be: & he said, this shalt thou say vnto the children of Israel: I wilbe did send me to you.” - Matthew’s Bible, 1549. [emphasis added in above 3 translations]


Other translations of Ehyeh at Ex. 3:14 in

Moffatt’s translation - “I WILL BE”;

Byington’s - “I WILL BE”;

Rotherham’s - “I WILL BECOME”;

Concordant Literal Version - “I-SHALL-COME-TO-BE”;

Julia Smith’s - “I SHALL BE”;

Leeser’s - “I WILL BE”

In addition are the following alternate translations in footnotes:

American Standard Version - “I WILL BE”;

NIV Study Bible - “I WILL BE”;

Revised Standard Version - “I WILL BE”;

New Revised Standard Version - “I WILL BE”;

New English Bible - “I WILL BE”;

Revised English Bible - “I WILL BE”;

Living Bible - “I WILL BE”;

Good News Bible - “I WILL BE.”

Adam Clarke’s Bible Commentary

Ex. 3:14

“…. As the original words [ehyeh asher ehyeh] literally signify, I will be what I will be, some have supposed that God simply designed to inform Moses, that what he had been to his fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he would be to him and the Israelites; and that he would perform the promises he had made to his fathers, by giving their descendants the promised land.” [emphasis added]

Today’s Dictionary of the Bible, 1982, Bethany House, pp. 330-331, says of Ex. 3:14 -

“It has been rendered, ‘I WILL BE that I WILL BE’ as an indication of God’s sovereignty and immutability” and “the translation ... that probably comes closest to the intention of God at this point is, ‘I will be there’.” [emphasis added]

Also see the scholarly reference The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Eerdmans, 1984 printing, Vol. 2, p. 1254 (#3), p. 1266 (#5), and p. 1267 (#9), and A Dictionary of the Bible, Hastings, Vol. 2, pp. 199, 200, Hendrickson Publ., 1988 printing.

The Encyclopedia Britannica had this to say on the subject:

“The writer of Exodus 3:14-15 ... explains it [the meaning of God’s name] by the phrase EHYEH asher EHYEH (Ex. iii., 14); this can be translated ‘I am that I am’ or more exactly ‘I am wont to be that which I am wont to be’ or ‘I will be that which I will be.’” - p. 995, fourteenth ed., v. 12. [emphasis added]

So not only could ehyeh in Ex. 3:14 be translated as “I Will Be” (instead of "I Am"), it is highly probable that it should be so rendered!

 

[TOG]

Why Do So Many Believe ehyeh at Ex. 3:14 means "I AM"?

I don't know... Maybe it's because that's what it means. The root form of the word is "haya" (hey-jud-hey). According to the Blue Letter Bible, it means...

1. to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out
   
   1. (Qal)
      
      1. —
         
         1. to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass
            
            
         2. to come about, come to pass
            
      2. to come into being, become
         
         1. to arise, appear, come
            
            
         2. to become
            
            1. to become
               
               
            2. to become like
               
               
            3. to be instituted, be established
               
      3. to be
         
         1. to exist, be in existence
            
         2. to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time)
            
         3. to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality)
            
         4. to accompany, be with
            
   2. (Niphal)
      
      1. to occur, come to pass, be done, be brought about
         
         
      2. to be done, be finished, be gone

(Emphasis by TOG)

Like so many (most?) words, it can be translated in many ways. Since Moses' question was "Who are you?", not "Who will you be?", the logical translation is "I am", not "I will be".

The TOG​

 

[teddy trueblood]

Like so many (most?) words, it can be translated in many ways. Since Moses' question was "Who are you?", not "Who will you be?", the logical translation is "I am", not "I will be".

No, Moses asked what His name was. Or, more accurately, he asked God what his name means.

The New Bible Dictionary, Douglas (ed.), 1962, pp. 478, 479, published by Eerdmans, explains it well:

“Strictly speaking, Yahweh [or ‘Jehovah’ in traditional English form] is the only ‘name’ of God .... Elohim [the Hebrew word translated ‘God’ in English] says, ‘this is my name for ever’ (Ex. 3:15). Yahweh [Jehovah], therefore, in contrast with Elohim [‘God’], is a proper noun, the name of a person .... He [Moses] inquires, ‘when ... the children of Israel ... shall say, what (mah [in Hebrew]) is his name? What shall I say unto them?’ (Ex. 3:13). The normal way to ask a name is to use the [Hebrew] pronoun mî; to use mah invites an answer which goes further, and gives the meaning (‘what?’) or substance of the name. [For an example of this, see Ex. 13:14 in the NIV Interlinear Hebrew-English Old Testament. Mah, exactly as in Ex. 3:13, clearly has this meaning and is even translated in the NRSV; RSV; REB; NAB; NJB; JB; NIV as “what does this mean?” Perhaps an even better parallel is the use of mah at Ezekiel 37:18 where mah is rendered as "what you mean" in KJV; NASB; RSV; NRSV; REB; NAB; NJB; JB; NIV; etc. Also carefully examine the use of mah at Gen. 37:10; Ex. 12:26; Deut. 6:20; 29:24; Josh. 4:6, 21; 1 Sam. 4:6, 14; 15:14; Ezek. 17:12; 18:2.]

“This helps to explain the reply, namely, ‘I AM THAT I AM’; and He said, ‘Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM [ehyeh] hath sent me unto you’ (Ex. 3:14). By this Moses would not think that God was announcing a new name, nor is it called a ‘name’; it is just the inner meaning of the name Moses [and the Israelites already] knew. We have here a play upon words; ‘Yahweh’ is interpreted by ehyeh. M. Buber translates ‘I will be as I will be’ and expounds it as a promise of God’s power and enduring presence with them in the process of deliverance. That something like this is the purport of these words, which in English sound enigmatical, is shown by what follows, ‘Yahweh [‘Jehovah’] the God of your fathers .... this is my name for ever’ (15). The full content [meaning] of the name comes first, the name itself follows.” (The New Bible Dictionary, 2nd ed., Douglas, 1982, Tyndale House, p. 430, is nearly identical to the above quote also.) - [Material in brackets and emphasis added by me.]

We’re not asking what hayah means. We are asking what ehyeh meant to Moses.

 

[Sinthesis]

I don't see the conflict. 'I am what I am' is the same as 'I will be what I will be'. They both convey absolute authority answerable to nothing but itself.

 

[teddy trueblood]

The conflict is one of accuracy in translation. Furthermore, there is certainly a difference between translating ehyeh asher ehyeh as "I am what I am" or "I will be what I will be" and translating ehyeh itself as "I Am" or "I will be."

 

[His_nee (Jeff)]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God

.....".....According to the Bible, the name of God was used during the lifetime of Adam and Eve, but the Hebrew Bible implies that by the time Moses was born none of mankind still knew the name. In the Book of Exodus, God commands Moses to tell the people that 'I AM' sent him, and this is revered as one of the most important names of God according to Mosaic tradition...... " ......

 

[teddy trueblood]

The Name was known, but the meaning of the Name was not. Moses' mother's name for instance included the name of God.

But, more important, God told Moses' the meaning of His name as "I Will Be" not "I Am" as the first part of this discussion shows.

Furthermore, in the very next verse after the ehyeh verse, God declares his name as YHWH, not ehyeh or "I will be" (or "I Am"). And this name of YHWH is repeated thousands of times throughout the OT, whereas "I Am" is never given as God's Name. Psalm 83:18, KJV, is very clear about this:

"That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH [YHWH], art the most high over all the earth."

And Jer. 16:21 "Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Jehovah [YHWH]." - ASV.

 

[jeff77]

The Name was known, but the meaning of the Name was not. Moses' mother's name for instance included the name of God.

But, more important, God told Moses' the meaning of His name as "I Will Be" not "I Am" as the first part of this discussion shows.

Furthermore, in the very next verse after the ehyeh verse, God declares his name as YHWH, not ehyeh or "I will be" (or "I Am"). And this name of YHWH is repeated thousands of times throughout the OT, whereas "I Am" is never given as God's Name. Psalm 83:18, KJV, is very clear about this:

"That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH [YHWH], art the most high over all the earth."

And Jer. 16:21 "Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Jehovah [YHWH]." - ASV.

So Jehovah and YHWH are both names of God?

 

[teddy trueblood]

YHWH are the English letters which are used to represent the Hebrew letters of God's personal name. YHWH has been transliterated into English as "Yahweh," "Yehowah," and the traditional "Jehovah."

It is similar to the name of the Messiah (probably Yehoshua) being transliterated by the NT writers into the NT Greek Iesous (probably pronounced Yaysoos) and, later being transliterated into English as the traditional "Jesus."

 

[His_nee (Jeff)]

So Jehovah and YHWH are both names of God?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God

there are much better hebrew/israeli/jewish websites with many of the Scriptural Names the Creator is Named in the Bible. 'God' isn't really His Name, even in english, but is used by many still. (not His Unique Name of Himself; 'God' can refer to many different 'gods' in english, whereas Yhwh is Yhwh Abba Elohim the One True Creator and none other. Protestants who grew up when I did last century, as far as I have seen, don't usually learn many more names than "God" or "The Almighty" , but I'm not sure if that's still the case as it was decades ago, or if it is still the case.

Recently it has become forbidden to use the Creator's Name Yhwh in the world church authority's domain(wherever it has control), even ('if' Scripture with Yhwh's Name can even be found there) while reading Scripture that translates Yhwh correctly.(long ago Yhwh's Name was purposefully removed in perhaps thousands of verses to try to keep truth seekers from finding Him and His Kingdom - or so it was reported by various ones (perhaps available online, I don't know or remember) who identified all the verses where Yhwh's Name was removed or altered beyond recognition of the Original.

As for "I Am", He Certainly Is! And He Will Be as well. If people understood a small part Truth and Reality, and recognized Him as Creator Sovereign Almighty, the world would be entirely different than it is; it would already be more like it will be when Yeshua Returns (Soon! we pray, come quickly Lord Jesus!).

 

[Sinthesis]

I just don't see how the specific symbols matter provided they are able to convey the correct meaning. This isn't about magic letters or words, what is important is what we can know about God from what He reveals to us. The varied linguistic symbols God chose to identify Himself to various peoples can express what we might know about Him, but they hold no meaning in and of themselves and must be translated. In this case I see no difference between 'I am what I am' and 'I will be what I will be'. They both convey absolute authority answerable to nothing but itself.

Incidentally, Jesus' work represents the best example of our knowledge of God.

 

[jocor]

The varied linguistic symbols God chose to identify Himself to various peoples can express what we might know about Him, but they hold no meaning in and of themselves and must be translated.

Most Hebrew names have meaning, but those meanings were not translated. Yahweh inspired only the symbols to be in the text. The same holds true for His own name. It has meaning, but He inspired only the linguistic symbols to be in the text. He desires his people to verbally pronounce the symbols, not translate His name. Yahweh could have chosen to give us the meaning of His name as He did with "Abraham" (father of a multitude), but He didn't.

 

[Sinthesis]

Most Hebrew names have meaning, but those meanings were not translated. Yahweh inspired only the symbols to be in the text. The same holds true for His own name. It has meaning, but He inspired only the linguistic symbols to be in the text. He desires his people to verbally pronounce the symbols, not translate His name. Yahweh could have chosen to give us the meaning of His name as He did with "Abraham" (father of a multitude), but He didn't.

Untranslated, the symbols of the Tetragrammaton are just chicken scratches. They are not even pronounceable in the original language without assumed vowels. Considering God did not reveal Himself to all His faithful through only one name, we can be sure no single name is adequate to completely describe Him.

 

[jocor]

The majority of names in the Bible are untranslated. We first learn a particular name, then learn it's meaning, yet we continue to call the person by his name, not by the translation of the name. We all call the builder of the ark "Noah". We then learn that "Noah" means "rest", but we continue to call him "Noah".

How can you say the Tetragrammaton was "not even pronounceable in the original language" if people spoke the name throughout the OT? Eve said, I have gotten a man from Yahweh." She knew nothing of "assumed vowels" and yet pronounced the name. We do not need to add vowels to the name to pronounce it. Josephus said the name consists of "four vowels". All we need to do is pronounce them.

One name may not adequately describe Him, but He desires us to call Him by the name He revealed to us over 7,000 times in Scripture. To remove His name from the text and substitute "the LORD" in its place is a transgression of Dt 4:2; "You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you."

 

[WIP]

Interesting how you spell the name of God considering your argument, jocor.

Just a thought.

 

[jocor]

Interesting how you spell the name of God considering your argument, jocor.

Just a thought.

My spelling is a phonetic rendering into English. If we pronounce each vowel Y-H-W-H we get ee-ah-oo-eh, Yah-weh when pronounced quickly.