What does Yahweh mean when He introduces Himself to Moses as \u2018ehyeh \u02be\u0103\u0161er \u2018ehyeh\u00a0<\/em>(Exodus 3)?\u00a0 Victor Hamilton (Exodus) notes that the traditional translation \u201cI am who I am\u201d is too constricting. Grammatically the phrase has multiple possible meanings:<\/p>\n \u201cThe term \u2018ehyeh<\/em> is a first-person imperfect of the verb h\u0101y\u00e2<\/em> (\u2018be\u2019) and equals the English \u2018I was,\u2019 \u2018I am,\u2019 and \u2018I will be.\u2019 Plus, \u2018WHO\u2019 in \u2018I AM WHO I AM\u2019 may also mean \u2018WHAT, THAT,\u2019 thus adding to the possibilities. Let us go with \u2018WHO\u2019 and suggest some legitimate translations, and here I will use lowercase letters: (1) \u2018I am who I am\u2019; (2) \u2018I am who I was\u2019; (3) \u2018I am who I shall be\u2019; (4) \u2018I was who I am\u2019; (5) \u2018I was who I was\u2019; (6) \u2018I was who I shall be\u2019; (7) \u2018I shall be who I am\u2019; (8) \u2018I shall be who I was\u2019; (9) \u2018I shall be who I shall be.\u2019 For that matter, how should we translate \u2018ehyeh<\/em> back in v. 12, \u2018I \u2018will\u2019 be with you,\u2019 or \u2018I \u2018am\u2019 with you\u2019? Promise or present reality?\u201d<\/p>\n Even those don\u2019t exhaust the possible interpretations of the phrase. \u201cI am who I shall be\u201d may be a statement of consistency from present to future \u2013 what I am now is what I will be later. Or, it could be a claim that future identity (what I shall be) determines the present (what I am).<\/p>\n Hamilton in any case concludes that the name \u201cYahweh\u201d (3d singular of the same verb of being) refers not so much to divine metaphysics but to His presence with Israel:<\/p>\n \u201cGod will always be there for his people, in a distant Egypt too, even if that divine presence is questioned and imperceptible. He will always be whatever his people need him to be in any given moment, in any given place. If they need a deliverer, that\u2019s YHWH. If they need grace and mercy and forgiveness, that\u2019s YHWH. If they need purifying and empowerment, that\u2019s YHWH. If they need rebuke and chastisement, that\u2019s YHWH. If they need guidance, that\u2019s YHWH. For God is a \u2018I-will-be-what-I-will-be\u2019 God and a \u2018I-will-be-what-I-need-to-be-for-you\u2019 God.\u201d<\/p>\n This is on-target, but Hamilton slips past the metaphysics too rapidly. Exodus 3 doesn\u2019t sidestep the metaphysics; it\u2019s a starting point for a revisionary metaphysics, as Jenson realized.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What does Yahweh mean when He introduces Himself to Moses as \u2018ehyeh \u02be\u0103\u0161er \u2018ehyeh\u00a0(Exodus 3)?\u00a0 Victor Hamilton (Exodus) notes that the traditional translation \u201cI am who I am\u201d is too constricting. Grammatically the phrase has multiple possible meanings: \u201cThe term \u2018ehyeh is a first-person imperfect of the verb h\u0101y\u00e2 (\u2018be\u2019) and equals the English \u2018I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":22286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-ot-exodus"],"yoast_head":"\n