One of the most popular textual interpretations used to prove the divinity of Jesus Christ, in particular by Evangelical systematic theologians and apologists, is the idea that Jesus called himself the “I AM” in John 8:58.1 According to this argument, Yahweh of the Old Testament appears to Moses in the burning bush and commissions him to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt. When Moses asked what he should tell the Israelites by whose name he would lead them, God said,
I AM THAT I AM; thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. (Exodus 3:14)
The LXX renders this verse this way:
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Author: Jaco van Zyl
Keywords: Jesus existed before Abraham, Christ existed before Abraham, Greater than Abraham, Existed before Abraham, Before Abraham, Jesus preexisted, Jesus pre-existed, Jesus' preexistence, Jesus' pre-existence, Christ preexisted, Christ pre-existed, Christ's preexistence, Christ's pre-existence, Jesus's preexistence, Jesus existed before he was born, ego eimi, septuagint, ego eimi septuagint
Bible reference(s): John 8:56-58
Source: “Is Jesus of the Fourth Gospel the I AM of the Old Testament?,” Journal of Biblical Unitarianism, Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 2015, pp. 38-48.
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