From: lakr (lakr@netcom.com)
Date: Tue Sep 01 1998 - 12:54:51 EDT
> >John 8:58 does not allude to Exodus 3:14. Exodus 3:14 points *forward* to
> what
> >God will become, and John 8:58 points backward to a time before Abraham with
> >the adverbial clause, and brings Jesus' existence to the present by the
> use of
> >EIMI.
>
> I'm afraid I have no idea what you mean by Exodus 3:14 pointing forward.
> Nothing about the verb forms indicates pointing forward, and the context
> points both backward and forward. See, for instance, verse 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. 'Go and gather the elders of Israel
> together...'"
Jonathan,
I can understand why you do not see a reference to 'pointing forward'
in the Septuagint rendering of 'EGW EIMI hO WN'. However, the LXX
translation cannot be supported by the Hebrew. The Greek of the LXX
was probababy influenced by a Greek ontology.
The Hebrew is the imperfect form of the verb [)HYH] which is not used
to express the present tense.
Most translators translate )HYH at Exodus 3:12 as "I will be [)HYH] with you",
yet just two verses later, why should not the same translation suffice ?
Remember the context was Moses wanting to know why the Israelites would
listen to him and accept him to lead them out of Egypt ... after all they
had recently rejected him in that capacity. Any why would Pharoah
listen to him ?
The answer is that YHWH would be with him. YHWH's promise in Ex 3
that he would be with him [)HYH] (v12) is then also implied in
verse 14 ... that ')HYH )$R )HYH' ... was yet future of the burning
bush incident.
Sincerely,
Larry Kruper
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