I AM
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
I <strong>AM</strong> : M. M. Ninan<br />
CHAPTER TWO<br />
I <strong>AM</strong> THAT I <strong>AM</strong><br />
The first of the revelation of God after the revelations to patriarchs<br />
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was to Moses in the Mount Sinai at the<br />
burning bush theophany. Here Moses expressly desires to know<br />
the name of God who is sending him. The reply was in two<br />
specific forms.<br />
“I am that I am”<br />
“I am who I am”<br />
“I am he who exists”<br />
“The eternal who passes<br />
not away”.<br />
The first response was Ex. 3.14 “I am<br />
that I am”, and the second response<br />
was Ex. 3.15 “The Lord God of your<br />
fathers”. From the name “I am that I<br />
am“ we get the personal name of<br />
God Yhvh. In original, it reads<br />
Eheyeh Asher Eheyeh. The Vulgate<br />
translates it as, “I am who I am”. The<br />
Septuagint translates it as “I am he<br />
who exists”. The Syriac, Persic, and<br />
Chaldee preserves the original verse<br />
as such without translation. The Arabic paraphrases it as, “The<br />
eternal who passes not away”. The meaning here can be<br />
interpreted in many different senses.<br />
It means first of all that God is a Personal, Independent Selfexistent<br />
being. He is without cause, but he is a person - the selfconscious<br />
being from the beginning.<br />
9
Change language