Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Hedrick Gary <garyh AT cjfm.org>]

I'm looking at Isaiah 48:12 in the Tanakh:

שמע אלי יעקב וישראל מקראי אני־הוא אני ראשון אף אני אחרון׃

In English: “Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He (Heb., ani 
hu), I am the First, I am also the Last."

My understanding is that ani hu is two pronouns with the verb understood: "I 
(am) He."
Was this construction any sort of special designation for God in ancient 
Judaism? I've scanned the WWW and there seems to be contradictory information 
on this topic. So I need a little expert help to sort out fact from fiction.

Thanks a bunch,

Gary Hedrick
San Antonio, TX USA