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I have opened this thread because of a posting by Der Alter here: God's Name is I Am What I Am
This thread is to open a discussion about the meaning(s) of the Hebrew in Exodus 3, particularly 3:14.
Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac was an 11th Century Talmudic Scholar known often simply as Rashi He is known for many writings and commentaries. With regard to the of G-d given to Moses in Exodus 3:14, Rashi (and others) offer “I am what I am becoming”, “I am what I will be” and similar as appropriate renderings of the Hebrew which they are.
Using his and other Jewish rabbis and Christian Scholars understandings I suggest the following as the fullest understanding of the name “shem” og G-d given to Moses.
The first piece is to understand the meaning of the Hebrew term “shem”. In Exodus 3:13 “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”?”
The Hebrew term “shem” is the term translated as “name” in this verse. It is also often translated as “name” throughout the Holy Scriptures. However it has a much greater meaning in Hebrew. Basically it connotes fame, character, reputation, etc. So Moses wants to know Elohiym’s essential character. The “shem” Elohiym gives Moses in Exodus 3:14 is “hayah asher hayah”.
Without getting too deep in the weeds, the term “haya” in that phrase can be rendered as English future tense “I WILL BE” or English present tense “I AM”. Both are grammatically and syntactically valid.
We then come to the poor neglected term “asher” which is a kind of fill in by context term… it can be rendered as who, which, that, that which, etc.
In addition, earlier in the Exodus 3 (verses 1 through 12) The LORD GOD talks to Moses of his history with the people of Israel using the Hebrew perfect (similar to English past tense). Given the metaphoric language of Hebrew it seems that Elohiym told Moses that Moses was talking with The Lord God which created all in Genesis (the past), which is present at the moment of their talk and which is becoming the future. The poetic/metaphoric rendering might be:
“I AM, WAS and SHALL BE that which IS, WAS and WILL BE.”
Thoughts?
With love,
Howard
This thread is to open a discussion about the meaning(s) of the Hebrew in Exodus 3, particularly 3:14.
Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac was an 11th Century Talmudic Scholar known often simply as Rashi He is known for many writings and commentaries. With regard to the of G-d given to Moses in Exodus 3:14, Rashi (and others) offer “I am what I am becoming”, “I am what I will be” and similar as appropriate renderings of the Hebrew which they are.
Using his and other Jewish rabbis and Christian Scholars understandings I suggest the following as the fullest understanding of the name “shem” og G-d given to Moses.
The first piece is to understand the meaning of the Hebrew term “shem”. In Exodus 3:13 “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”?”
The Hebrew term “shem” is the term translated as “name” in this verse. It is also often translated as “name” throughout the Holy Scriptures. However it has a much greater meaning in Hebrew. Basically it connotes fame, character, reputation, etc. So Moses wants to know Elohiym’s essential character. The “shem” Elohiym gives Moses in Exodus 3:14 is “hayah asher hayah”.
Without getting too deep in the weeds, the term “haya” in that phrase can be rendered as English future tense “I WILL BE” or English present tense “I AM”. Both are grammatically and syntactically valid.
We then come to the poor neglected term “asher” which is a kind of fill in by context term… it can be rendered as who, which, that, that which, etc.
In addition, earlier in the Exodus 3 (verses 1 through 12) The LORD GOD talks to Moses of his history with the people of Israel using the Hebrew perfect (similar to English past tense). Given the metaphoric language of Hebrew it seems that Elohiym told Moses that Moses was talking with The Lord God which created all in Genesis (the past), which is present at the moment of their talk and which is becoming the future. The poetic/metaphoric rendering might be:
“I AM, WAS and SHALL BE that which IS, WAS and WILL BE.”
Thoughts?
With love,
Howard