Biblical Hebrew Forum

[GregStffrd AT aol.com]

In a message dated 12/23/98 3:35:48 PM Pacific Standard Time, eweiss AT gte.net
writes:
 
 << But if he wanted to stress the "I WILL BE WHAT YOU NEED"-ness of God and
and used  ehye for that, because he indeed had other choices for saying "I
AM..." 
  then perhaps ehye does better mean "I WILL BE..."
  
  I figured that ")ANI ASHER )ANI" would be a Hebrew way of saying "I AM WHAT 
  I AM"  >>
 
Dear Eric:
 
Regarding the possibility of expressing "I AM THAT I AM" in Hebrew, William R.
Arnold, "The Divine Name in Exodus iii. 14," JBL 24 (1905), 126-127, states:
 
"The Hebrew for I am that I am is not 'ehyeh  'asher  'ehyeh,  nor does it
differ from that clause only in the matter of the tense of the verb. A nominal
instead of a verbal sentence is required. The Hebrew for I am that I am is
'ani  'asher  'ani, just as I am he is 'ani hu. The Imperfect 'ehyeh can only
[or, more accurately, in my opinion, almost always] mean[s] I am in the act of
becoming, or I will become, or  I will be . . . In no way can it be rendered I
am . . . .  'ehyeh in this sentence can only mean I will be or become
(something) . . . Not merely the most natural, then, but the necessary
construction of 'ehyeh 'asher 'ehyeh is I will be what I will be."
 
Arnold here gives the same suggested Hebrew reading for "I AM THAT I AM" which
you offered, namely, 'ani 'asher 'ani.
 
Sincerely,
 
Greg Stafford