"I AM"
God explains God to man.
God 101
Good question, and a stall tactic
Perfect answer
Only an understanding of the meaning of the question of v 13 in its setting makes the much-discussed answer to it clear. The answer Moses receives is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a name. It is an assertion of authority, a confession of an essential reality, and thus an entirely appropriate response to the question Moses poses.
When Moses poses the question of the probability, even the possibility of the realization of the prospect God is holding out for the sons of Israel, oppressed as they are in Egypt, he is given an answer both profound and specifically to the point. That answer must be read not only in the context of the three-verse segment (vv 13–15) in which it is nestled, but in the context of the remainder of Exod 3, and indeed the remainder of the narrative sequence of the entire book, anticipated in 3:16–22.
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה “I AM that I AM,” replies God. The verbs are first person common qal imperfects of the verb היה “to be,” connoting continuing, unfinished action: “I am being that I am being,” or “I am the Is-ing One,” that is, “the One Who Always Is.” Not conceptual being, being in the abstract, but active being, is the intent of this reply. It is a reply that suggests that it is inappropriate to refer to God as “was” or as “will be,” for the reality of this active existence can be suggested only by the present: “is” or “is-ing,” “Always Is,” or “Am.”
A strong supportive argument for taking this answer quite literally is provided by the אֶהְיֶה that anticipates it in v 12, and by the אֶהְיֶה that immediately follows it in v 14. God has answered Moses’ protest of his own inadequacy with the assertion אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ “I AM with you.” He now answers Moses’ question about the authority for the command of exodus with the declaration אֲשֶר אֶהְיֶה אֶהְיֶה “I AM always I AM,” and then says immediately to Moses that he must tell the sons of Israel אֶהְיֶה שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם “I AM has sent me forth to you.”
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה “I AM that I AM,” replies God. The verbs are first person common qal imperfects of the verb היה “to be,” connoting continuing, unfinished action: “I am being that I am being,” or “I am the Is-ing One,” that is, “the One Who Always Is.” Not conceptual being, being in the abstract, but active being, is the intent of this reply. It is a reply that suggests that it is inappropriate to refer to God as “was” or as “will be,” for the reality of this active existence can be suggested only by the present: “is” or “is-ing,” “Always Is,” or “Am.”
A strong supportive argument for taking this answer quite literally is provided by the אֶהְיֶה that anticipates it in v 12, and by the אֶהְיֶה that immediately follows it in v 14. God has answered Moses’ protest of his own inadequacy with the assertion אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ “I AM with you.” He now answers Moses’ question about the authority for the command of exodus with the declaration אֲשֶר אֶהְיֶה אֶהְיֶה “I AM always I AM,” and then says immediately to Moses that he must tell the sons of Israel אֶהְיֶה שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם “I AM has sent me forth to you.”
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה “I AM that I AM,”
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה
Perfect answer to heart, mind and spirit
The Book of John
ἐγώ εἰμι
