Hebrew Name
Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh — I AM WHO I AM
'Ehyeh 'Asher 'Ehyeh
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה
- Meaning
- 'I am who I am', 'I will be what I will be', or 'I will be present as I will be present' — the Hebrew imperfect leaves the tense open.
- Occurrences
- Once, Exodus 3:14
- First occurrence
- Exodus 3:14
- Languages
- Biblical Hebrew
Pronunciation
eh-YEH ah-SHER eh-YEH
Origin
God's self-identification at the burning bush, immediately before the Tetragrammaton is given. The first-person form Ehyeh and the third-person form Yahweh are the same verb from different perspectives — the name means what God says about himself, spoken back by others.
Usage & scribal practice
Foundational for the Jewish and Christian doctrine that God's being is self-derived. The Septuagint's Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν ('I am the Being One') pushed the phrase toward Greek ontology, shaping centuries of philosophical theology.
Cross-references
Exodus 3:14
'God said to Moses, EHYEH ASHER EHYEH.'
John 8:58
'Before Abraham was, I am' — the Greek egō eimi echoes the LXX.
Revelation 1:8
'who is and who was and who is to come.'
How translations render it
Theories, myths & conspiracy claims
Each claim is stated as its proponents state it, then assessed against the manuscript and linguistic evidence.
Is it 'I am' or 'I will be'?
The claim: Hebrew imperfect can be present or future; the translation choice is theologically loaded.
Assessment: Genuinely undecidable on grammar alone. 'I am' emphasizes timeless being (the Greek reading); 'I will be' emphasizes covenant presence in coming events, which fits the Exodus narrative better. Most scholars grant both are defensible.
'I AM' is a refusal to give a name
The claim: God evades Moses's question rather than answering it.
Assessment: A popular reading, but the very next verse does give a name (YHWH). Better understood as a name that defines itself by presence rather than by attribute.