Babylon Bee: Roman Authorities Investigating Jesus For Violating Stay-In-Tomb Order
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Jesus defeated death, surely He can defeat grammar rules. After all, He is the son of God, who says "I am the Word."
You gotta admit though, sending a kid to Catholic school and teaching him "I am who am" in one class and then teaching him proper English grammar in another is a stress on his faith.
Fortunately, you don't have to circle back for this one.
Its context is the encounter of the burning bush (Exodus 3:14): Moses asks what he is to say to the Israelites when they ask what God ['Elohiym] has sent him to them, and YHWH replies, "I am who I am", adding, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I am has sent me to you.'" ’Ehyeh is the first person form of hayah, "to be", and owing to the peculiarities of Hebrew grammar means "I am", "I was", and "I will be".] The meaning of the longer phrase ’ehyeh ’ăšer ’ehyeh is debated, and might be seen as a promise ("I will be with you") or as statement of incomparability ("I am without equal").
In other words (no pun intended), the statement doesn't match English grammar, because it is spoken in Hebrew and follows Hebrew grammar rules. Furthermore with those few words, God isn't just saying "I am", but saying "I am", "I was" and "I will be." God is saying that He is without equal and that He will be there with you - that "you" being with Moses, with Abraham, with David, with the apostles, with all of His believers.
It would be an especially fitting message for Easter, as Jesus showed us that He will always be with us, even death could not take Him away or defeat Him.
Interesting. Also sounds like a clever and terse way to express transcendence.