John 8:58 Before Abraham was, I AM

Another one is John 8:58-59,

 “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am (ἐγὼ εἰμί).  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”

There are three questions we should ask.

1. Does the context make sense to translate it this way?
2. Does the Greek need to be translated this way?
3. Does the Greek match the “I AM” in Exodus?
   Does the context make sense to translate it this way? 
   Let’s look at the larger context.  
   John 8:39-59 ESV

39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,

40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.

The Jews already wanted to kill Jesus.  The Abraham statement was not the reason they wanted to kill him.  It was only the straw that broke the camel’s back.

41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”

The Jews claimed to be sons of God and accused Jesus of being an illegitimate child.

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.

43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Jesus said they were the sons of the Devil.

45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.

50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.

51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’

53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?”

The Jews accused Jesus of being demon possessed and were enraged that he suggested he was greater than Abraham.

54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’

55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep hisi word.

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Here the context shows that the Jews already wanted to kill Jesus.  They were enraged that Jesus called them sons of the Devil and said he was greater than Abraham.  They finally picked up stones when Jesus said he existed before Abraham.

Does the Greek need to be translated this way?

The Greek phrase translated as “I AM” is (εγω ειμι) . It can certainly be translated this way.  John 14: 9 uses it in a different way.

In the King James it is, “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you”.  So, (ειμι) can be used to simply convey existing from a point in the past until now.  This means that the phrase in John 8:58 could have been translated as “since before Abraham was, I have been”. I believe translating it that way would make more sense in the context of the preceding verses. 

 Does the Greek match the “I AM” in Exodus?

Jesus was probably speaking Aramaic to the Jews during this argument.  The author of John translated the argument into Greek.  Most of the Greek speaking Jews and Christians used the Septuagint.  The New Testament authors often copied the Septuagint when quoting Old Testament passages.  So, if the author of John wanted to indicate that Jesus was indicating that he was the “I AM” in Exodus 3: 14, he would have most effectively done this by using the phrasing of the Septuagint.  

This is how the Septuagint renders

Exodus 3: 14. 

Imagine it was me talking.  “And Ben said to Moses, ‘I am Ben’.  And he said thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Ben has sent me to you’”.  You wouldn’t think that my name was ‘I am Ben’.  Obviously, my name is Ben. 

People get confused because they think God said, “I AM that I AM”.  They think this because they read the common English translations.  Exodus wasn’t written in English.  It was originally written in Hebrew.  If you read it in Hebrew, you will read אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה.  The most direct translation is "I Will Be What I Will Be" or "I Will Become What I Will Become".  “I AM that I AM” is not the most accurate way to translate the Hebrew.

If the author of John was trying to indicate that Jesus was claiming to be the “I AM”, he would have most effectively done this by writing (ο ων), or (εγώ ειμι ο ων), not (εγώ ειμι).  (εγώ ειμι) by itself does a terrible job of connecting Jesus’ statement to Exodus 3:14. 

In fact, John did use (ο ων) to refer to God in Revelation.  Revelation 1:8,

εγω ειμι το αλφα και το ω λεγει κυριος ο θεος ο ων και ο ην και ο ερχομενος ο παντοκρατωρ

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is (ο ων), and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” 

This shows that John connected (ο ων) with God.