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ego eimi in John 8:58

Posted: February 10th, 2013, 3:46 am
by Mike Burke Deactivated
Is it true that ego eimi (as used in John 8:58) would be bad grammar if Jesus wasn't making a Theological statement about His own Divinity?

All the English Translations I've seen translate this verse something like "before Abraham was, I AM," and that's certainly bad English grammar, but is it as glaring in Greek?

Re: ego eimi in John 8:58

Posted: February 10th, 2013, 5:50 am
by Eeli Kaikkonen
This is a recurring topic. See e.g. http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/archives/ ... e.html#624 and http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/b-gr ... html#33107. I'm quite confident that it's "bad grammar" and includes a theological statement, but it's a hotly contested topic for obvious reasons and once you delve into it deeper objectively you may feel confused, not assured. It requires much linguistic, philological and exegetical skills. Please read some old discussions and if you have something new to ask about the topic, go ahead.