Êxodo 3:14

14 Respondeu Deus a Moisés: EU SOU O QUE SOU. Disse mais: Assim dirás aos olhos de Israel: EU SOU me enviou a vós.

Êxodo 3:14 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 3:14

And God said unto Moses, I am that I am
This signifies the real being of God, his self-existence, and that he is the Being of beings; as also it denotes his eternity and immutability, and his constancy and faithfulness in fulfilling his promises, for it includes all time, past, present, and to come; and the sense is, not only I am what I am at present, but I am what I have been, and I am what I shall be, and shall be what I am. The Platonists and Pythagoreans seem to have borrowed their (to on) from hence, which expresses with them the eternal and invariable Being; and so the Septuagint version here is (o wn) : it is said ^F26, that the temple of Minerva at Sais, a city of Egypt, had this inscription on it,

``I am all that exists, is, and shall be.''

And on the temple of Apollo at Delphos was written (ei) , the contraction of (eimi) , "I am" ^F1. Our Lord seems to refer to this name, ( John 8:58 ) , and indeed is the person that now appeared; and the words may be rendered, "I shall be what I shall be" ^F2 the incarnate God, God manifest in the flesh: thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto
you;
or as the Targum of Jonathan has it,

``I am he that is, and that shall be.''

This is the name Ehjeh, or Jehovah, Moses is empowered to make use of, and to declare, as the name of the Great God by whom he was sent; and which might serve both to encourage him, and strengthen the faith of the Israelites, that they should be delivered by him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F26 Phutarch. de Iside & Osir.
F1 Plato in Timaeo.
F2 (hyha rva hyha) "ero qui ero", Pagninus, Montanus, Fagius, Vatablus.

Êxodo 3:14 In-Context

12 Respondeu-lhe Deus: Certamente eu serei contigo; e isto te será por sinal de que eu te enviei: Quando houveres tirado do Egito o meu povo, servireis a Deus neste monte.

13 Então disse Moisés a Deus: Eis que quando eu for aos filhos de Israel, e lhes disser: O Deus de vossos pais me enviou a vós; e eles me perguntarem: Qual é o seu nome? Que lhes direi?

14 Respondeu Deus a Moisés: EU SOU O QUE SOU. Disse mais: Assim dirás aos olhos de Israel: EU SOU me enviou a vós.

15 E Deus disse mais a Moisés: Assim dirás aos filhos de Israel: O Senhor, o Deus de vossos pais, o Deus de Abraão, o Deus de Isaque, e o Deus de Jacó, me enviou a vós; este é o meu nome eternamente, e este é o meu memorial de geração em geração.

16 Vai, ajunta os anciãos de Israel e dize-lhes: O Senhor, o Deus de vossos pais, o Deus de Abraão, de Isaque e de Jacó, apareceu-me, dizendo: certamente vos tenho visitado e visto o que vos tem sido feito no Egito;