The difference between Godhead and Trinity. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. For instance, the Good News Bible, a very free (dynamic equivalent) version, in a complete departure from its translation philosophy, translates Jesus' words at John 8:58 as "Before Abraham was born, ' I Am '." What seems strange about the assertion that Jesus was using the Divine Name in John 8:58 is that the grammatical structure of the verse speaks against the words "I AM" representing a name. What a dark dungeon would the world be without the sun! 58Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I … Compiled & Edited by BST & Crosswalk Staff, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Jesus claimed uncreated, continuous existence in contrast to the coming into being of Abraham. [⇑ See verse text ⇑] In the gospel of John, there are seven instances where Jesus makes a statement alluding to His own divinity. John 8:58 English Standard Version (ESV) 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Regular translation: "The verb 'to be' is used differently, in what is presumably its basic meaning of 'be in existence', in John 8:58: prin Abraam genesthai ego eimi, which would be most naturally translated 'I have been in existence since before Abraham was born', if it were not for the obsession with the simple words 'I am'. The Trinitarian argument linking John 8:58 with Ex.3 is invalid. What does this verse really mean? So Jesus saying “I am” (ego eimi) does not identify him as the God who spoke in Exodus 3:14. The NWT Study Bible appropriately references this translation concern in its discussion of John 8:58, but … So the divine name is actually “ho ohn – ο ων”, not “ego eimi – εγω ειμι.” This is further proven by the end of verse 14 which says “(ho ohn – ο ων) has sent me to you.” (ο ων απεσταλκεν με προς υμας.) John 8:56 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓] John 8:56, NIV: "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.'" So would it be without Jesus, by whom light came into the world. These are known as the seven "I AM" statements. It cannot just say, “I am nothing.” And so we find that God said, “I am the being – εγω ειμι ο ων.” And yes, ego eimi is found in John 8:58 but it is not the substance of emphasis, “ho ohn – ο ων” is. God is light, and Christ is the image of the invisible God. John 8:58 interpreted. Keep in mind also that regardless of what some translations may say in English that can be in error, the original text almost never is. Not a continuation of the discourse in John 8:56, so that Jesus would thus not have given any answer to the question of the Jews (B. Crusius); but, as the contents themselves, and the solemn ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λ. ὑμ. John 8:51-59 The Word of God . Here the Saviour claims with a double “Amen” the Incommunicable Name (Exodus 3:14). Exodus 3:14 LXX “And God spoke to Moses, saying, I am THE BEING (ego eimi ho ohn – εγω ειμι ο ων); and he said, Thus shall ye say to the children of Israel, THE BEING (ho ohn – ο ων) has sent me to you.”, Exodus 3:14 KJV “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM. Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Greek Scripture. What were they thinking! The key phrases in both passages, Bowman says, "are identical in terms and meaning except for the fact that the former is second person while the latter is first person; and again, this difference does not affect the parallel in question. The ancient Greek phrase is ego emi, which was the same term used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament in Jesus’ day to describe the Voice from the burning bush. John 7. We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. of The Meaning of Jesus' Words, I am in John 8:58. John 8:58 "Before Abraham was born, I am" Psalm 90:2 "Before the mountains were born ... You are". Kenneth L. McKay considers ego eimi in John 8:58 to be used emphatically as in "I exist" meaning I have been in existence, therefore that Jesus has existed longer than Abraham, and considers John 8:58 "quite unlikely" to be a reference to Exodus 3:14. Silently they … shows, an answer to John 8:57. on the contrary, Luke 24:31: ἄφαντος ἐγένετο ἀπʼ αὐτῶν) and ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ. His statement “before Abraham ever was, I Am” pinpoints this difference. In no way does John 8:58 equate Jesus to God except by biased inference based on weak translation and bad grammar. Jesus said in John 8:58, "Before Abraham was, I am." https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-50-challenging-jesus-john-848-59 "I am that I am--I am hath sent me unto you", the true Jehovah; and so Christ was before Abraham was in being, the everlasting I am, the eternal God, which is, and was, and is to come: he appeared in an human form to our first parents before Abraham was, and was manifested as the Mediator, Saviour, and living Redeemer, to whom all the patriarchs before Abraham looked, and by whom they were saved: he was concerned in the creation of all things out of nothing, as the efficient cause thereof; he was set up from everlasting as Mediator; and the covenant of grace was made with him, and the blessings and promises of it were put into his hands before the world began; the eternal election of men to everlasting life was made in him before the foundation of the world; and he had a glory with his Father before the world was; yea, from all eternity he was the Son of God, of the same nature with him, and equal to him; and his being of the same nature proves his eternity, as well as deity, that he is from everlasting to everlasting God; and is what he ever was, and will be what he now is: he is immutable, the same today, yesterday, and for ever; in his nature, love, grace, and fulness, he is the invariable and unchangeable I am. That is, it needs to say what you are. John 8:58 in all English translations. One of the fundamentals of our faith in that Lord Jesus Christ is fully God in every way and fully equal with the Father. Ask Jesus to help you believe in his incarnation as he gives the gift of Himself to us. The direct translation of these Greek words is “The Being” for the divine name, and “I am” for the statement of Jesus. No matter how it is translated into English, “ho ohn” is not the same as “ego eimi.”. John 8:58 interlinear: Before Abraham was born I am. This is the name which the Jews for centuries had not dared to utter. The divine memorial name is not ego eimi (ἐγώ εἰμι) which Jesus said. All rights reserved. Who is the third person of the heavenly trio? Besides John 1:1, another Scripture that comes under heavy fire in the New World Translation is John 8:58. Jesus uses the present tense in John 8:58. A bit of a problem if you cannot read Greek, so here it is from the 1851 English translation of the Greek Septuagint. Is the Trinity Doctrine Catholic and Pagan? Proud member This is the question we will explore in this article. , that he might see, immediately following the verb, show,” as Dr. Campbell observes, “that it cannot mean here, rejoiced, but … Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you Whether it will be believed or not, it is certainly fact: before Abraham was, I am; which is to be understood, not of his being in the purpose and decree of God, foreordained to sufferings, and to glory; for so all the elect of God may be said to be before Abraham, being chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world: or that Christ was man, before Abraham became the father of many nations; that is, before the calling of the Gentiles; for nothing is said in the text about his being the father of many nations; it is a bold and impudent addition to it: and besides, Abraham was made the father of many nations, as Ishmaelites, Israelites, Hagarenes long before the incarnation of Christ; yea, he was so from the very promise in ( Genesis 17:5 ) , which so runs, "a father of many nations have I made thee"; so that this appears a false sense of the text, which is to be understood of the deity, eternity, and immutability of Christ, and refers to the passage in ( Exodus 3:14 ) . John 8:58,Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Jesus emphasized the importance and veracity of what He said by introducing it with the phrase, “truly, truly.” The statement is more than a claim to have lived at the time of Abraham. In spite of some of the translations regarding John 8:58, I do not believe the NWT's version of John 8:58 is warranted for three reasons: First, it purports to "transmit his [God] thoughts and declarations as accurately as possible. Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you Whether it will be believed or not, it is certainly fact: before Abraham was, I am; As you can see, there is no connection between “I AM” in Exodus and “I am” in John. Is the Trinity True or False and Biblical? The Pagan origins of the Trinity Doctrine, How the Trinity got into the Adventist Church, Adventist Pioneers and the Trinity Doctrine. 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? For example: Acts 12:4 in the KJV used the pagan word Easter and yet the Greek word there is “pascha” which means Passover, not Easter. "2 I do not believe this is the case at all. The Expository Times, 1996, page 302 by Kenneth Mckay. John 8:58. λ ο ων απεσταλκεν με προς υμας.”. So the Greek has Exodus 3:14 using ho ohn for the divine name, but the same Greek has Jesus saying ego eimi to the Jews in John 8:58. The Hebrew word “Ehyeh” in the divine name is translated into the Greek OT as “ho ohn.” In the Greek NT, the words of John 8:58 are “Before Abraham was, I am (prin abraam genesthai ego eimi – πριν αβρααμ γενεσθαι εγω ειμι).” There is no mention of “ho ohn” anywhere! In the Greek NT, the words of John 8:58 are “ Before Abraham was, I am (prin abraam genesthai ego eimi – πριν αβρααμ γενεσθαι εγω ειμι) .”. Please enter your email address associated with your Salem All-Pass account, then click Continue. It is John 15:27. The entire chapter John 8 interlinear (Greek/English), translated word by word and with Greek grammar parsing codes, free online One sun enlightens the whole world; so does one Christ, and there needs no more. John 8:58. It signifies unchangeable essence and everlasting duration. Other translations have translated “pascha” correctly as Passover. Posts for Facebook on the Trinity (105 parts). John 8:58 Translation & Meaning. Some claim that Christ was quoting the Septuagint in John 8:58 but you are about to discover that is impossible. There is another sentence in the book of John that has the same construction and word order (in the Greek) as John 8:58. Salem Media Group. (comp. And He said Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”. Thus Jesus answered the question of the Jews about His greatness in comparison to Abraham and how His words are able to sustain life. Read commentary on this popular Bible verse and understand the real meaning behind God's Word using John Gill's Exposition of the Bible. John 8:58 Context. The three Gods are identified as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ and the “I Am” Expression. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. John 15:27 interlinear: From beginning with me you are. NKJV, Vines Expository Bible, Comfort Print: A Guided Journey Through the Scriptures with Pastor Jerry Vines. The Hebrew word “Ehyeh” in the divine name is translated into the Greek OT as “ho ohn.”. When Christ declared: “Before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58), was he referring to the statement in Exodus 3:14, “I am that I am,” and therefore identifying himself with the “Jehovah” of that context? Did Ellen White write three holiest beings? It is based on a falsehood; It is based on the incorrect translation of the Septuagint, not the inspired Hebrew words. God said “ego eimi ho ohn – εγω ειμι ο ων,” while Jesus just said “ego eimi – εγω ειμι.”, Note that the words ego eimi (I am – εγω ειμι) in Exodus 3:14 need a predicate. Buy Now. Regular translation: I have existed [since] before Abraham was born. In John, chapter eight, there is an animated exchange between the Lord and a certain element of the Jewish community. John 8:58. A major problem that occurs when we misunderstand a verse is that the correct meaning goes unnoticed, and that certainly is the case with John 8:58. A last consideration in regard to the proper translation of John 8:58 is that of rendering the Greek into idiomatic English without losing the meaning of the original text. Before Abraham was, I am. What does John 8:56 mean? Our Price: $39.99. Summary on John 8:58 Jesus claimed to be the existing One in present time before Abraham came into being in the past. New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. We maintain that Jesus attributed the divine name of God ("I AM" from Exodus 3:14), to Himself, but … The divine way of looking at things is the deep meaning that Jesus brings to life. I AM: This is the third time in this chapter Jesus uses the phrase I AM(John 8:24, 8:28), and here in John 8:58. John 8:56, ESV: "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.He saw it and was glad.”" John 8:56, KJV: "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." It is a direct claim to deity, to be the very God of Abraham. Question: Dear Dr. Luginbill, Could you look at the following comment from a correspondent of mine and let me know if it is true?I know the quote is from the Septuagint, but it seems to me that I read somewhere that John 8:58 is a more literal rendering of Ex.3:14 than the LXX is. The Meaning of I Am In John 8:58 - (Page 14) Trinitarian - The position of the Seventh-day Adventist Church today is believing in three co-eternal and co-equal Gods, either triune or separate and distinct from each other, but one in goal and purpose. It is however, ho ohn (ὁ ὢν), which Jesus did not say. Verse Thoughts. Other translations have translated “pascha” correctly as Passover. Article Images Copyright © 2020 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” To begin with, it can be agreed (perhaps ironically), that in spite of some question about what lies behind the egō eimi statement, the interpretation of the claim is widely agreed. ... 1,700 Key Words that Unlock the Meaning of the Bible. It does not say “(ego eimi – εγω ειμι) has sent me to you.” (εγω ειμι απεσταλκεν με προς υμας.) Many people consider that Jesus never claimed to be God or professed equality with the Father – and yet when the Lord Jesus declared, before Abraham was, I AM…. Further, the noun identifying God in the Septuagint was "hO ON" not "EGO EIMI/I am" which is a verb. What does John 8:58 mean? This is a very important verse to Trinitarians because it is one of the places we use to show that Jesus is God. John 9. Commentary on John 8:12-16 (Read John 8:12-16) Christ is the Light of the world. Copyright © 2020, Bible Study Tools. 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Personal Information are identified as God the Son and God the Father, God the Holy Spirit here Saviour! Seven `` I am. explore in this article sent me unto you.” we will explore in this article the!

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