egō eimi

Semantic range

1. 1an ordinary self-identification: "it is I"
2. 2the Septuagint's rendering of the divine self-declaration in Exodus 3:14
3. 3used absolutely by Jesus in John's Gospel

Greek does not need the pronoun — the verb already encodes the person — so egō eimi is emphatic. John's Gospel has Jesus use it seven times with a predicate (the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way the truth and the life, the true vine, the door) and several times absolutely.

The absolute uses are the sharp ones. "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58) is not merely a claim to pre-existence, and the response — they took up stones — shows the hearers understood. In Gethsemane, when the arresting party say they seek Jesus of Nazareth and He answers egō eimi, they fall backward to the ground (John 18:5–6).

Restoration scripture continues the formula: "I am Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord; yea, even I am he, the beginning and the end" (D&C 19:1); "I am Jehovah" (D&C 110:3–4).

See also

• יהוהYHWH (Yahweh)
• κύριοςkyrios
• λόγοςlogos