st<\/sup> person singular subject. While it is similar to what we have in English, note that in English verb usage, the subject is normally stated explicitly. But in Greek, the ending of the verb is changed (\u201cinflected\u201d) to specify the implied subject. Thus, we can say \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9(\u201ceimi\u201d) and it will be enough. However, if we add an explicit subject (pronoun) in front of the verb, it is usually meant as an emphatic expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom the foregoing, we can summarize the word meanings as follows: \u03b5\u03b3\u03ce\u2013 (\u201cego\u201d), a pronoun, means \u201cI\u201d while \u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9\u2013 (\u201ceimi\u201d), a verb, means \u201cI am\u201d from \u201cto be\u201d and \u03b5\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 – means \u201cI AM\u201d (emphatic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The phrase \u03b5\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9as an emphatic expression would then have the English equivalent of saying: \u201cI truly am!\u201d or \u201cI really am (the one)!\u201d or depending on the specific context, \u201cI am He!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, how many times is the combination \u03b5\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 used in the NT? It is actually used by a handful of authors only in a few books, mostly in the Gospels. It is used 5 times by Matthew; 3 times by Mark; 4 times by Luke; 24 times by John; 7 times in the Book of Acts (written by Luke); and 4 times in the Book of Revelation (written by John). As we can see, the words \u03b5\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 are used more in the Gospel of John compared to any other NT book and uses them more than all of them combined. Taking John\u2019s Gospel and the Book of Revelation together, we can conclude that this author is very much familiar with these words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ, remembered them well and wrote them down in his narratives. We will soon find out that the Apostle John used them uniquely in a way that invariably communicates something theologically profound; as in emphasizing the Deity of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Focusing now on the Gospel of John, we can see 2 different ways the word combination \u03b5\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 is used. The first way, which we will classify as Group I usage is for those instances when the words \u03b5\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 are used as a subject with a following nominative predicate. This is the usual, expected case. For example, in John 6:35, our Lord is recorded by John as saying: \u201cI AM the bread of life\u2026<\/em>\u201d The \u201cI AM\u201d is followed by its predicate, \u201cthe bread of life.\u201d The second way, which we can classify as Group II are for those instances when the declaration \u03b5\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 is used without an explicit predicate. For example, in John 8:58, our Lord tells the crowd: \u201c\u2026before Abraham was, <\/em>I AM!<\/em>\u201d From the immediate context, the reader is engaged by the Apostle John to supply the expected and appropriate nominative predicate to complete the thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThere are 7 \u201cI AM\u201d (\u1f18\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9) declarations with predicates (Group I). There are also 7 \u201cI AM\u201d (\u1f18\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9) declarations without predicates (Group II). As with our 7 Churches of the Revelation series, we will study the underlying Greek text from the Society of Biblical Literature Greek New Testament (SBLGNT) together with the ESV Global Study Bible, the NIV Study Bible and the NASB Life Application Study Bible translations as well as my own English translation of the passages under study. We will also relate the NT passages to their parallels in the Old Testament (OT) as warranted by its context. All OT texts are from the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) based on the Masoretic Text (MT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most believers are aware of the Group I declarations of our Lord. Students of scripture also discern that the \u201cI AM\u201d phrase is undoubtedly connected with the OT narrative in Exodus 3:14 where the LORD God identifies his name to Moses. The original Hebrew MT of this verse is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05de\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc-\u05de\u05b9\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b6\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b6\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b6\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b6\u05d4<\/mark> \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05d0\u05de\u05b6\u05e8 \u05db\u05b9\u05bc\u05d4 \u05ea\u05b9\u05d0\u05de\u05b7\u05e8 \u05dc\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05e0\u05b5\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc \u05d0\u05b6\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b6\u05d4<\/mark> \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05dc\u05b8\u05d7\u05b7\u05e0\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b2\u05dc\u05b5\u05d9\u05db\u05b6\u05dd<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Hebrew passage (with the portions of interest correspondingly highlighted), can be translated as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And God said to Moses \u201c<\/em>I AM who <\/em>I AM<\/mark>\u201d; and He said, \u201cThus you shall say to the sons of Israel, \u2018<\/em>I AM<\/mark> has sent me to you.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nAlternatively, a possible, grammatically correct translation I learned in my Biblical Hebrew class many years ago is given below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And God said to Moses \u201c<\/em>I WILL BE who <\/em>I WILL BE<\/mark>\u201d; and He said, \u201cThus you shall say to the sons of Israel, \u2018<\/em>I WILL BE<\/mark> has sent me to you.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nBoth Hebrew translations evoke the LORD God\u2019s transcendent and timeless nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the Greek Septuagint (LXX) translation version of Exodus 3:14 (ca. 250 B.C.) has a slight variation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41\u03b8\u03b5\u1f78\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2\u039c\u03c9\u03c5\u03c3\u1fc6\u03bd\u1f18\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9\u1f41\u1f64\u03bd<\/mark>\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd \u039f\u1f55\u03c4\u03c9\u03c2\u1f10\u03c1\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c2\u03c4\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c2\u03c5\u1f31\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c2\u0399\u03c3\u03c1\u03b1\u03b7\u03bb \u1f49\u1f62\u03bd<\/mark>\u1f00\u03c0\u03ad\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03bb\u03ba\u03ad\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5 \u03c0\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2\u1f51\u03bc\u1fb6\u03c2.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt can be literally translated this way (together with the corresponding highlighted portions of interest):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And God said to Moses \u201c<\/em>I AM the one who is<\/em><\/mark>;\u201d and He said, \u201cThus you shall say to the sons of Israel, \u2018The one who is<\/mark> has sent me to you.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nAlternatively, the phrase \u201cI AM the one who is<\/em>\u201d can also be rendered \u201cI AM the existing one<\/em>\u201d or \u201cI AM the one who exists<\/em>.\u201d Hence, the Greek \u1f41\u1f64\u03bd means \u201cthe one who is<\/em>,\u201d or \u201cthe existing one,\u201d or \u201cthe one who exists<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nClearly, the LXX version also portrays the LORD God as a timeless and transcendent being, eternally existing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recall that in our study of the first part of the Book of Revelation, the LORD God identifies himself as \u201cthe one who is and who was and who is coming\u2026<\/em>\u201d (Revelation 1:4 and 1:8). The words \u201cthe one who is<\/em>\u201d in Revelation comes from the same Greek words (\u1f41\u1f64\u03bd) in the LXX version of Exodus 3:14. The Apostle John must surely have known and marveled at this connection!<\/p>\n\n\n\nWe shall tackle the \u201cI AM\u201d declarations in the order they appear in John\u2019s Gospel. However, listed down below for easy reference are the passages divided by the 2 classifications:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Group I<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John 6:35, 41, 48, 51 I AM the bread of life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 8:12 I AM the light of the world.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 10:7, 9 I AM the doorof the sheep.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 10:11, 14 I AM the good shepherd.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 11:25 I AM the resurrection and the life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 14:6 I AM the way, and the truth and the life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 15:1, 5 I AM the true vine.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nGroup II<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John 4:26 (Samaritan woman) I who speaks to you <\/em>AM HE.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 6:20 (walks on water) I AM HE; do not be afraid.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 8:18 (witnessing) I AMHE who witnesses \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 8:24, 28 (sin & death) \u2026 unless you believe that <\/em>I AM HE…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 8:58 (father Abraham) \u2026 before Abraham was, <\/em>I AM.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 13:19 (betrayal prediction) \u2026 you may believe that <\/em>I AM HE.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nJohn 18:5, 6, 8 (betrayal & arrest) \u2026 <\/em>I AM HE\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nIf one has been counting the number of individual occurrences in the list, there are only 23 cited above; while there are actually 24 mentioned earlier. The remaining instance is in John 9:9 and the phrase \u03b5\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9 is used by the blind man who was healed at the Pool of Siloam. So he emphatically tells all that he really is the man born blind but now can see! It is the only time these words are used by someone in the Gospel of John other than the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We will continue next week with John 4:26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God bless us all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
byPtr. Art Calaguas Shalom. As mentioned last week, we start on the introductory part of ournew series on the great \u201cI AM\u201d declarations of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John. The Greek phrase is \u03b5\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9,\u201cego eimi\u201d meaning \u201cI am.\u201d So what\u2019s so special about this phrase? Is it a big deal? As…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[6,7,16,18,17,9,8,5],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ptr-art-calaguas","tag-church-of-the-risen-lord","tag-crl","tag-i-am","tag-jesus","tag-john","tag-spiritual-refreshment-of-the-day","tag-upcemi","tag-upcrl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions\/128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}