I AM WHO I AM

[WalterandDebbie]

Friday 7-12-24 6th. Day Of The Weekly Cycle, Tammuz 5 5784 23rd. Summer Day

Exodus 3

God Miraculously Appears

1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

God Calls Moses To Leadership

7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

Who Am I?

11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

What Is His Name?

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.

15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.

19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.

20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty.

22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

Yahweh..... The name Yahweh was invented modernly by the Roman Catholic Benedictine Gilbert Genebrard between 1550-1567. The Mystery Of God's Name ISBN # 978-0-917182-03-7

Love, Walter And Debbie

 

[Wynona]

Love this. The great I AM. Just thinking about that is so incredible!

 

[Episkopos]

Friday 7-12-24 6th. Day Of The Weekly Cycle, Tammuz 5 5785 23rd. Summer Day

Exodus 3

God Miraculously Appears

1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

God Calls Moses To Leadership

7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

Who Am I?

11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

What Is His Name?

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.

15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.

19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.

20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty.

22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

Love, Walter And Debbie

In Hebrew the "I am" is future tense. It's "echyeh asher echyeh" I will be what I will be.

 

[marks]

'I Am Who I Am'? The Meaning of God's Name in Exodus | Biblical Mind

Confusion arises about the meaning of God's name translated “I am” and the related “Yahweh” when we read those terms through Western lenses.

hebraicthought.org

Much love!

 

[PS95]

In Hebrew the "I am" is future tense. It's "echyeh asher echyeh" I will be what I will be.

Uhhh no, that's not right, Epi.
God identifies Himself with a name having four possible meanings, each one perfectly accurate.
"I am what I am"
"I am who I am"
"I will be what I will be"
"I will be who I will be"
The reason all four translations are accurate is Hebrew does not have a word for the present tense of the verb "to be."
There is no Hebrew word for "am" or "is" or "are." Therefore, in order to say "I am Joseph," for example, one would say "Ani Joseph" ("I Joseph")."
The absence of the present tense of "to be" is not unique to Hebrew; it is also true of Arabic and Russian, among other languages. So here, when God uses the future tense of the verb "to be," it literally means, "I will be."
Obviously, the present tense "I am..." is appropriate, since God is speaking to Moses. Based on what follows, the future tense is also appropriate since God will reveal His character to Moses, Pharaoh, the Israelites, and the Egyptians. Perhaps the best translation is one which understands the repetition of ehyeh as speaking simultaneously of both present and future: "I am who I will be known as" or "I will be known as who I am."

 

[Episkopos]

Uhhh no, that's not right, Epi.
God identifies Himself with a name having four possible meanings, each one perfectly accurate.
"I am what I am"
"I am who I am"
"I will be what I will be"
"I will be who I will be"
The reason all four translations are accurate is Hebrew does not have a word for the present tense of the verb "to be."

This is true. There is no verb to be. It could also be it will be...what it will be. Or...what will happen will happen.

There is no Hebrew word for "am" or "is" or "are." Therefore, in order to say "I am Joseph," for example, one would say "Ani Joseph" ("I Joseph")."
The absence of the present tense of "to be" is not unique to Hebrew; it is also true of Arabic and Russian, among other languages. So here, when God uses the future tense of the verb "to be," it literally means, "I will be."
Obviously, the present tense "I am..." is appropriate, since God is speaking to Moses. Based on what follows, the future tense is also appropriate since God will reveal His character to Moses, Pharaoh, the Israelites, and the Egyptians. Perhaps the best translation is one which understands the repetition of ehyeh as speaking simultaneously of both present and future: "I am who I will be known as" or "I will be known as who I am."

I'm well aware of Hebrew. Check out the tense of the verb... It is future.

 

[PS95]

"ehyeh" can be translated as either "I am" or "I will be," and either is technically correct, as Hebrew isn't so concerned with tense as it is with whether an action is complete or incomplete, and incomplete actions are usually translated as either present or future tense, depending on context. "Asher" is, at it's core, just a connecting word, generally translated as "what," "who," or "which." Thus meaning any of the following (and possibly some slight variations on "asher") would be appropriate:
"I am who I am."
"I am who I will be."
"I will be who I will be."
"I will be who I am."

Trying to make some definitive statement on the precise meaning here is difficult, though, really coming down to whether either "ehyeh" is continuing an action that is already in motion or whether both of them are implying a future action that has not yet begun, and Greek covers those sorts of questions with its grammar. Unfortunately, I'm not as familiar with Greek, so I can't offer much on that.

During prayers, upon encountering the Tetragrammaton, most Jewish prayer books note that the proper concentration is --
"WAS, IS and WILL be." -- I.e., God is above time.

past, present & future