The “I AM WHO I AM”

Q: What is the meaning of the expression “I AM WHO I AM” in Exodus 3:14?

A: This is a difficult question to answer because the Hebrew enigmatic expression you quoted can be translated and interpreted in different ways. I do not have space to explore all the different interpretations, but will mention some of the most important ones and share with you what I think is contextually a good possibility.

The Question

“I AM WHO I AM” is God’s answer to Moses’ request to God to tell him His name (Ex. 3:14). As some scholars have indicated, the question is not so much “What is Your name?” as “Who are You?” It is impossible, however, to pull these two questions apart, for the name reveals to some extent who God is. It seems to me, then, that Moses’ question is a request for God to reveal to him aspects of His nature that Moses would then share with the Israelites. The Israelites as well as Moses knew that “Yahweh” was God’s name. He was the God of their forefathers and was now to become, in a special way, the God of the people of Israel through a very specific and awesome self-revelation that would occur in Egypt, during their journey, and at Sinai.

Possible Answers

The phrase emphasizes the verb “to be” by using it two times. This has led to different interpretations. “I am who I am” could mean that God is the self-existent God who has always been (“I am He who is”). In this sense the phrase points to His uniqueness among the pagan gods, who in ancient Near Eastern mythology always had a beginning. Another possibility is to interpret the answer as declaring that God is the Creator (“I am He who causes to be”). As Creator He has authority over and cares for everything there is. The phrase could also mean that God “will be who He will be” in the sense that He will reveal Himself as the one who is the deliverer of Israel from the enslaving power of Pharaoh. This will be a display of divine power never before witnessed by any human being. He is the God of redemption. The “I am who I am” could be signifying that God is the one who is always present and will always be with Israel (“I am the one who will be with you”). His presence will be permanent among the people, for He will establish a covenant relationship according to which He will be their God and they will be His people and He will dwell among them.

It could be that our enigmatic phrase is telling us that there is not a word or group of words that could encapsulate the fullness of God’s majestic nature

A Suggestion or Two

The truth is that all the previous interpretations appear to be possible and defensible. Perhaps the best thing we can do is to incorporate all of them into a summary statement that emphasizes God’s eternal existence and His power as Creator and Redeemer. It could be that our enigmatic expression is telling us that there is not a word or group of words that could encapsulate the fullness of God’s majestic nature. I will add that if we have to choose a possible primary translation for “I am who I am,” it could be “I am He who is,” or perhaps even better, as suggested by others: “ ‘I am’ is who I am.” God is the self-existent one, and everything else flows from this. This could be supported by the fact that in verse 14 God tells Moses, “You shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” The verbal clause is used here almost as a proper name, and it is followed by another divine declaration: “Say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord [Yahweh] . . . has sent me to you’ ” (verse 15). The name Yahweh is based on the verb “to be.” Here, it is good to remember that Jesus used the phrase “I am” to identify Himself and to reveal His divine nature (John 18:5, 6; 8:24, 28, 58). He is the great I AM!