Exodus 3:14

14 God said to Moses, "1I AM WHO I AM "; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

Exodus 3:14 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 3:14

And God said unto Moses, I am that I am
This signifies the real being of God, his self-existence, and that he is the Being of beings; as also it denotes his eternity and immutability, and his constancy and faithfulness in fulfilling his promises, for it includes all time, past, present, and to come; and the sense is, not only I am what I am at present, but I am what I have been, and I am what I shall be, and shall be what I am. The Platonists and Pythagoreans seem to have borrowed their (to on) from hence, which expresses with them the eternal and invariable Being; and so the Septuagint version here is (o wn) : it is said F26, that the temple of Minerva at Sais, a city of Egypt, had this inscription on it,

``I am all that exists, is, and shall be.''
And on the temple of Apollo at Delphos was written (ei) , the contraction of (eimi) , "I am" F1. Our Lord seems to refer to this name, ( John 8:58 ) , and indeed is the person that now appeared; and the words may be rendered, "I shall be what I shall be" F2 the incarnate God, God manifest in the flesh: thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto
you;
or as the Targum of Jonathan has it,
``I am he that is, and that shall be.''
This is the name Ehjeh, or Jehovah, Moses is empowered to make use of, and to declare, as the name of the Great God by whom he was sent; and which might serve both to encourage him, and strengthen the faith of the Israelites, that they should be delivered by him.
FOOTNOTES:

F26 Phutarch. de Iside & Osir.
F1 Plato in Timaeo.
F2 (hyha rva hyha) "ero qui ero", Pagninus, Montanus, Fagius, Vatablus.

Exodus 3:14 In-Context

12 And He said, "Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain."
13 Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?"
14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM "; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'The LORD , the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.
16 "Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, 'The LORD , the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.

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Cross References 1

  • 1. Exodus 6:3; John 8:24, 28, 58; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:8; Revelation 4:8

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Related to the name of God, "YHWH," rendered LORD, which is derived from the verb "HAYAH, to be"
  • [b]. Related to the name of God, "YHWH," rendered LORD, which is derived from the verb "HAYAH, to be"
  • [c]. Related to the name of God, "YHWH," rendered LORD, which is derived from the verb "HAYAH, to be"
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