Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Rolf Furuli" <furuli AT online.no>]

Dear Gene,

See my commente below.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gene Gardner" <g_gardner1234 AT yahoo.com>
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 6:16 PM
Subject: [b-hebrew] YHWH...Was..Is..Will (shall) be


> I questioned earlier:
>
> I would like to ask the members of the list, if there
> are any who would like to present what they believe is
> the best translation of this phrase.
>
> hayah  howeh  yihyeh
snip

Because HYH does not primarily refer to the existence of somthing, when I 
person speaks about himself (and his speaking proves that he is or exists), 
the reference in most cases is future. And the sense is that the person 
becomes something. Charles Gianotti (1985). "The Meaning of the Divine Name" 
Bibliotheca Sacra 39 January-March claims that all examples of 1. p. s. of 
HYH refers to the future, except possibly two. When Bible translations use 
the present rendering "I am what I am," the translators deviate from the way 
they translate 1 p. s. of HYH elsewhere. Something like "I shall become what 
I shall become" or "I shall prove to be what I shall prove to be" would be 
more in line with the use and meaning of HYH elswhere in the Tanakh.


Best regards

Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo