Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Dave Washburn <dwashbur AT nyx.net>]

On Tuesday 25 February 2003 15:12, Trevor & Julie Peterson wrote:
> Rob quoted:
> > The idea of the verb would certainly
> > indicate that God is
> > not bound by time, and while he is present ("I AM") he will
> > always be present, even in
> > the future, and so the verb would embrace that as well.
>
> Does anyone else suspect this idea? How does using an imperfect or (as I
> tend to prefer) cohortative verb form indicate this abstract, theological
> notion?

I don't know how much of a case can be made for a cohortative, but the use of 
an imperfect in this context could easily hint at such an idea.  The very 
fact that we can speculate about whether it means "I Am" or "I will be" shows 
the vagueness of the form, a vagueness that in this passage may be a 
deliberate way of expressing some rather abstract theological notions.

-- 
Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur