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b-hebrew - Re: Re[2]: I AM THAT I AM

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  • From: GregStffrd AT aol.com
  • To: Peter_Kirk AT sil.org
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: Re[2]: I AM THAT I AM
  • Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 10:34:58 EST


In a message dated 12/24/98 12:55:37 AM Pacific Standard Time,
Peter_Kirk AT sil.org writes:

<< Does 'ani 'asher 'ani really mean "I am that I am"? When we discussed
Joel 3:5 recently the same question arose: can a relative clause with
'asher (and no other marking) be the complement to an implied copula?
No-one came up with any unambiguous example from the actual text.
Normally a relative clause following a noun (or pronoun ??) is an
attribute rather than a predicate. On this basis 'ani 'asher 'ani
would mean "I, who am". Perhaps if we really want a continuous present
we need a participle (cf. Randy Buth's recent examples and Exo. 9:3):
'ani hoye 'asher 'ani. But then our attempts to translate back into
ancient Hebrew quickly become even more speculative than those
examples.

Peter Kirk >>


Dear Peter:

Yes, I agree that this situation is difficult, and my citation of Arnold on
this point was merely to add to the discussion a possible suggestion,
supporting the one offered by Eric.

Of course, the situation concerning the translation and meaning of Exodus 3:14
is anything but 'normal,' so it may not be necessary to simply look for other
examples supporting a suggested rendering, as any suggestion for a present
meaning in Exodus 3:14 should probably be different from anything else we
might find. Thus, the issue with an implied copula or a relative clause
following a noun may not be an issue at all.

If we were dealing with later Hebrew we might expect the copula to be
expressed by hu: 'ani hu 'asher 'ani hu. But perhaps the participle would be
the best way to express a present meaning. The LXX translators certainly
thought so.

Greg Stafford





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