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    I Am That I Am

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    Vlad Marie Sandulescu
    The phrase "I Am that I Am" is a common English translation of God's response to Moses when Moses asks for his name in Exodus 3:14. It is interpreted to mean "I am who I am" or "I will be what I will be." Kabbalists see it as proof of the divine nature of God's name, which is central to Kabbalah. Some religious groups believe it is God's actual name or sole name. It has also been discussed in popular culture and other religious traditions like Hinduism.

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    I Am That I Am

    Uploaded by

    Vlad Marie Sandulescu
    155 views3 pages
    The phrase "I Am that I Am" is a common English translation of God's response to Moses when Moses asks for his name in Exodus 3:14. It is interpreted to mean "I am who I am" or "I will be what I will be." Kabbalists see it as proof of the divine nature of God's name, which is central to Kabbalah. Some religious groups believe it is God's actual name or sole name. It has also been discussed in popular culture and other religious traditions like Hinduism.

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    The phrase "I Am that I Am" is a common English translation of God's response to Moses when Moses asks for his name in Exodus 3:14. It is interpreted to mean "I am who I am" or "I will be what I will be." Kabbalists see it as proof of the divine nature of God's name, which is central to Kabbalah. Some religious groups believe it is God's actual name or sole name. It has also been discussed in popular culture and other religious traditions like Hinduism.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    155 views3 pages

    I Am That I Am

    Uploaded by

    Vlad Marie Sandulescu
    The phrase "I Am that I Am" is a common English translation of God's response to Moses when Moses asks for his name in Exodus 3:14. It is interpreted to mean "I am who I am" or "I will be what I will be." Kabbalists see it as proof of the divine nature of God's name, which is central to Kabbalah. Some religious groups believe it is God's actual name or sole name. It has also been discussed in popular culture and other religious traditions like Hinduism.

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    Some of the key takeaways from the passage are that God revealed His name 'I Am' to Moses to express that He alone exists by Himself and is the eternal, unchanging Creator. His name expresses His essence and identity. Different interpretations understand His name to mean that He simply 'Is' without beginning or end.

    In the passage, God's response of 'I Am that I Am' is considered significant by many as proof of the divine nature of God's name, which is a central idea in Kabbalah. It expresses that God alone simply 'Is' without dependence on anything else.

    The passage discusses interpretations by the Roman Catholic Church, Kabbalists, Hindus and some New Age authors. The Catholic interpretation focuses on God as the fullness of being. Kabbalists see the response as proof of the divine nature of God's name. Hindus and New Age authors understand it to refer to God as pure presence and awareness.

    I Am that I Am 

    (Hebrew: ‫אהיה אשר אהיה‬, pronounced Ehyeh asher ehyeh [ʔehˈje ʔaˈʃer ʔehˈje] is


    a common English translation (King James Bible and others) of the response God used in
    the Bible when Moses asked for His name (Exodus 3:14). It is one of the most famous verses in
    the Torah.[citation needed] Hayah means "existed" or "was" in Hebrew; "ehyeh" is the first person
    singular imperfect form. Ehyeh asher ehyeh is generally interpreted to mean I am that I am,
    though it more literally translates as "I-shall-be that I-shall-be."

    The word Ehyeh is used a total of 43 places in the Old Testament, where it is usually translated
    as "I will be" -- as is the case for its first occurrence, in Exodus 3:12 -- or "I shall be," as is the
    case for its final occurrence in Zechariah 8:8. It stems from the Hebrew conception
    ofmonotheism that God exists by himself, the uncreated Creator who does not depend on
    anything or anyone; therefore I am who I am. Some scholars state the Tetragrammaton itself
    derives from the same verbal root, but others counter that it may simply sound similar as
    intended by God, such as Psalm 119 and the Hebrew words "shoqed" (watching) and "shaqed"
    (almond branch) found in Jeremiah 1:11-12.

    Roman Catholic Church interpretation


    The Roman Catholic Church's interpretation has been summarized in the Catechism of the
    Catholic Church. The interpretation is found in numbers 203-213.

    Some of the salient points are the following:

    203
    God revealed himself to his people Israel by making his name known to them. A name
    expresses a person's essence and identity and the meaning of this person's life. God has a
    name; he is not an anonymous force. To disclose one's name is to make oneself known to
    others; in a way it is to hand oneself over by becoming accessible, capable of being
    known more intimately and addressed personally.
    206
    In revealing his mysterious name, YHWH ("I AM HE WHO IS", "I AM WHO AM" or "I
    AM WHAT I AM"), God says who he is and by what name he is to be called. This divine
    name is mysterious just as God is mystery. It is at once a name revealed and something
    like the refusal of a name, and hence it better expresses God as what he is - infinitely
    above everything that we can understand or say: he is the "hidden God", his name
    is ineffable, and he is the God who makes himself close to men.
    207
    God, who reveals his name as "I AM", reveals himself as the God who is always there,
    present to his people in order to save them.
    210
    After Israel's sin, when the people had turned away from God to worship the golden calf,
    God hears Moses' prayer of intercession and agrees to walk in the midst of an unfaithful
    people, thus demonstrating his love. When Moses asks to see his glory, God responds "I
    will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name 'the
    LORD' [YHWH]." Then the LORD passes before Moses and proclaims, "YHWH,
    YHWH, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and
    faithfulness"; Moses then confesses that the LORD is a forgiving God.
    211
    The divine name, "I Am" or "He Is", expresses God's faithfulness: despite the
    faithlessness of men's sin and the punishment it deserves, he keeps "steadfast love for
    thousands"... By giving his life to free us from sin, Jesus reveals that he himself bears the
    divine name: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will realize that "I
    AM"."
    212
    In God "there is no variation or shadow due to change."
    213
    The revelation of the ineffable name "I AM WHO AM" contains then the truth that God
    alone IS. The Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, and following it
    the Church's tradition, understood the divine name in this sense: God is the fullness of
    Being and of every perfection, without origin and without end. All creatures receive all
    that they are and have from him; but he alone is his very being, and he is of himself
    everything that he is.

    [changer]Kabbalist interpretation
    Kabbalists have long deemed that the Torah contains esoteric information. The response given
    by God is considered significant by many Kabbalists, because it is seen as proof in
    the divine nature of God's name, a central idea in Kabbalah (and to a lesser degree Judaism in
    general).

    [changer]Other views
    Some religious groups believe that this phrase or at least the "I am" part of the phrase is an actual
    name of God, or to lesser degree the sole name of God. It can be found in many lists where other
    common names of God are shown.

    In the Hindu Advaita Vedanta, the South Indian sage Ramana Maharshi mentions that of all the


    definitions of God, "none is indeed so well put as the biblical statement “I am that I am”". He
    maintained that although Hindu scripture contains similar statements, the Mahavakyas, these are
    not as direct as Jehovah. [1] Further the "I am" is explained by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj as an
    abstraction in the mind of the Stateless State, of the Absolute, or the Supreme Reality,
    called Parabrahman. It is pure awareness, prior to thoughts, free from perceptions, associations,
    memories.

    To New Age author Eckhart Tolle, God is and God is omnipresent, in everyone and everything.
    A name, like all words, is just an abstract label, a "sign post" that points to a meaning: God is
    presence. God is real. "And what is God's self-definition in the Bible? Did God say, "I have
    always been, and I always will be?" Of course not. That would have given reality to past and
    future. God said: "I AM THAT I AM." No time here, just presence."[2]

    [changer]In popular culture


     In the 1999 Kevin Smith satire Dogma, a group of characters have been ordered by
    angels on a mission from God to meet with Cardinal Glick (George Carlin) to stop him
    from opening his church the following day, or else demonic forces will destroy the world.
    They are accompanied by the “lost 13th apostle” Rufus (Chris Rock) who has descended
    back to the mortal plane to help them. When they finally get to sit down in Cardinal
    Glick’s office, they find it hard to explain their ludicrous-but-true mission to him, and
    fumble around with an explanation for why they have come. Ultimately, Rufus leaps to
    his feet and dramatically declares “We were sent by Him who is called I Am!!” Glick is
    instantly dismissive and thinks they’re joking, causing Rufus to turn back to his
    companions and make the deadpan remark “It worked for Moses…”
     In the cartoon Popeye, The character of Popeye often uses a variation of this phrase "I am
    what I am."

    [changer]References

    1. ^ Talks with Ramana Maharshi, Talk 106, 29th November, 1935


    2. ^ Tolle, Eckhart. The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. Novato, CA:
    New World Library, 2004. ISBN 1-57731-152-3

    [changer]External links

     Brush Up on Your Bible: The Many Names of God (I am that I am)

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