A Biblical Examination of Jesus' “I Am [Ego Eimi]” Sayings

PAGE 1 A BIBLICAL EXAMINATION OF JESUS’ “I AM [EGO EIMI]” SAYINGS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT . Compiled by Rick Henwood. Post Office Box 138; Nanango, Queensland, 4615. Australia. Copyright 2018 - http://lookingforthelosttruthsofjesus.org NOTE: - The compiler has su pplied all emphasis throughout this Study Document. All English Bible texts are taken from either the King James Version, or from The Jubilee Bible 1 , unless otherwise indicated. All references to the Greek New Testament, are taken from the “ Received Text ”, from which the King James New Testament was translated from. New Testament Greek Lexicon references will be taken from the following Greek - English New Testament Lexicon, which is acknowledged to be the “rolls - royce” of Greek New Testament Lexicons: - 1 The Jubilee Bible – from the Scriptures of the Reformation – 2000. Edited by Russell M. Stendal. Aneko Press. The following information c oncerning this translation wil l prove to be enlightening to the reader: - “Translated from the Original Texts in Hebrew and Greek into Spanish by Casiodoro de Reina (1569) and compared with the revis ion of Cipriano de Valera (1602) Based on the New Testament of Francisco de Enzinas (1 543) and on the New Testament (1556) with the Psalms (1557) of Juan Pérez de Pineda This material was translated from Spanish into English by Russell M. Stendal and compared with the Old English Translation of William Tyndale (Pentateuch of 1530, Ploughboy Edition New Testament of 1534, Joshua to 2 Chronicles of 1537, and Jonah). It was also compared word for word with the Authorized Version (by King James) of 1611.” – The Jubilee Bible. PAGE 2 “A G reek - English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature.” By Walter Bauer. Translated and adapted by William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich. Revised and Augmented by F. Wilbur Gingrich a n d Frederick W. Danker. Second Edition, 1979. It shall from henceforth, be referred to as “BAGD”. All English translated texts that are taken from the Jewish made, Greek translation of the Old Testament Scriptures, that is known as the Septuagint [ i t shall be referred to from now on as the LXX ] , have been taken from Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s 1851 English translation. PAGE 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS: - Introduction. A brief examination of the Greek expression ἐ γώ ε ἰ μί - “ e go eimi”. Jesus’ “I am” sayings in the synoptic gospels 2 . Jesus’ “I am” sayings in John’s gospel. i . “I am” sayings with a predicate. ii . Absolute “I am” sayings. iii . John 8:58 compared with Exodus 3:14 & 15. Jesus’ “I am” sayings in the Book of Acts. “I am” sayings in the Book of Revelation. ”ani hu” and Greek ἐ γώ ε ἰ μί – “ego eimi“ - אֲנִי הוּא Important Hebrew 3 sayings in the Old Testament Scriptures. Concluding summary. APPENDIX: - Other uses by Jesus of ἐ γώ ε ἰ μί - “ego eimi” in John’s Gospel. A com plete list of the use of ἐ γώ ε ἰ μί – “ego eimi” by persons other than Jesus, as recorded in the New Testament Scriptures. 2 “ The gospels of Matthew , Mark , and Luke are referred to as the Synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical wording. They stand in contrast to John , whose content is comparatively distinct. The term synoptic ( Latin : synopticus ; Greek : συνοπτικός , translit. synoptikós ) comes via Latin from the Greek σύνοψις, synopsis , i.e. "(a) seeing all together, syno psis"; [n 1] the sense of the word in English, the one specifically applied to these three gospels, of "giving an account of the events from the same point of view or under the same general aspect" is a modern one. ” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synoptic Gospels 3 Biblical Hebrew is read from right to left, and not from left to right as in English. PAGE 4 INTRODUCTION: - “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the mi dst of them, and so passed by. ” – John 8:58 & 59 . The above verse s from the Apostle John’s gospel, ha ve been traditionally understood as being a self - identification passage by Jes us, where he plainly asserts to be the “I AM” of Exodus 3:14 & 15 . It is further claimed in this long established belief, that the response of the unbelieving Jews in VS. 59, where they wanted to stone Jesus for making this claim, confirms this traditiona l understanding, that Jes us was claiming to be the “I AM ” of the Old Testament. I personally have held to this traditional belief concerning this passage, for nearly all the years of my Christian walk. Recently, as I was researching various Bible subjec ts on the Internet, I came across some Bible articles, which either elaborated on this traditional interpretation of the above passage; or, which have given a radically different interpretation of this passage. This contrary interpretation denie s that Jesu s is the I AM of the Old Testament; and also denies the D eity of Christ. It came as rather a shock to come across so many of these Websites and W eb articles , which while claiming to be Christian, were denying Jesus’ divinity in no uncertain terms , based up on th eir interpretation of this passage . I n light of this situation , I have been doing some in depth Bible study into the various aspects that encompass this subject for the last few months. B oth in undertaking my own personal research ; a n d also , in read ing many hundreds of pages of Bible studies and articles that are found on the Internet , concerning Jesus and the “I AM” statements . Having now completed this research, I can truthfully say that I have seen a depth of truth concerning this subject, which I have never seen before. I have also had my conviction that the traditional interpretation of John 8:58 & 59, is indeed the true one, concerning Jesus Christ ’s claim to be the I AM of the Old Testament , particularly at the burning bush, when he appeared to Moses in Exodus 3:14 & 15 . I shall now share the findings of my research in this Study Document. There will be times whe n I will be referring to the Greek “ Received Text ” of the KJV’s New Testament. T here will be other times whe n I will be referring t o the Greek text of the LXX; and there will b e few times where I will be examining some issues of the Hebrew Masoretic text. In a ll such references to the original Biblical languages, the facts will be stated in as simple a way for the reader to follow. As there will be a number of references to the Greek New Testament, and Greek grammar, the compiler should acknowledge, that he has been a keen student of New Testament Greek for more than a dozen years now. So I do have some understanding of the Greek gramm atical issues which may have impact on the understanding of ἐ γώ ε ἰ μί – “ego eimi” as it relates to Jesus’ “I am” sayings. May the same Holy Spirit who inspired the New Testament writers to pen the famous “I AM” sayings of Jesus, guide and teach all those who will read this Study Document, so that our Divine Lord a nd Saviour Jesus Christ, can receive the glory and worship which is truly his right to receive, as the I AM of the Scriptures. Rick Henwood – October , 2018. PAGE 5 A BRIEF EXAMINATION OF T HE GREEK EXPRESSION ἐ γώ ε ἰ μί - “ e go eimi” : - The simple Greek expression ἐ γώ ε ἰ μί - “ego eimi” , is made up of the two single Greek words ἐ γώ – “ego”, and ε ἰ μί – “eimi”. The Greek word ἐ γώ – “ego” – Strong’s Greek Number, 1473, appears 367 times in the New Testament . It is translated as “I” – 362x; “me” – 2x; “my” – 2x; “trust ” - once. It is defined as “personal pronoun for the first person ... ἐ γώ ε ἰ μί it is I (in contrast to others) Mt 14:27; Lk 24:39; J 6:20; I am the man 9:9; with strong emphasis : I am he (i. e. the Messiah) Mk 13:6; Lk 21:8; J 8:24, 28.” – BAGD., p. 217. The Greek verb ε ἰ μί - “eimi” – Strong’s Greek Number, 1510, appears 145 times in the New Testament . It is translated as “a” – once; “am” – 128x; “be” – 5x; “been” – once; “come” – once; “fear” - once; “is” – 6x; “stand” – once; “was” – once. It is defin ed as “ 5. the formula ἐ γώ ε ἰ μί is often used in the Dt 32:39; Is 43:10), in such a way that the predicate must be אֲנִי הוּא gospels [corresponding to Hebrew understood from the context : Mt. 14:27; Mk 6:50; 13:6; 14:62; Lk 22:70; J 4:26; 6:20; 8:24, 28 ; 13:19; 18:5f and often; see on ἐ γώ . – In a question μ ἡ τι ἐ γώ ε ἰ μί ; surely it is not I? Mt. 26:22, 25.” – BAG D ., p. 224. The form ε ἰ μί - “eimi” is the Lexical, first person singular, present active, indicative form of the verb, and means “I am”. When it is coupled together with the pronoun ἐ γώ – “ego” , the pronoun gives greater emphasis to the verb.

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