What Did Jesus Mean By “Before Abraham Was, I Am”?

Jehovah’s Witnesses read John 8:58John 8:58 · King James VersionJesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.John 8:58 · King James VersionOpen source as a claim that Jesus existed before Abraham, and their New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) prints “I have been.” The Greek verb in the clause is εἰμί, a present “I am.” The King James reads “Before Abraham was, I am.” In the next verse the hearers take up stones. Jesus is God. The catalog of the other “I am” sayings is What Are the I AM Statements of Jesus?.

Key Points

• The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 8:58John 8:58 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to you, before Abraham came into existence, I have been.”John 8:58 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open source (1) says, “before Abraham came into existence, I have been.”
• John 8:58John 8:58 · King James VersionJesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.John 8:58 · King James VersionOpen source (2) in the King James says, “Before Abraham was, I am.”
• The verb is present active indicative. “I have been” is an English perfect. That perfect is the translation’s choice.
• The study note on that verse says Jesus was telling them of a prehuman existence as a mighty spirit creature, and that he was not portraying himself as the same person as his Father.
• Exodus 3:14Exodus 3:14 · King James VersionAnd God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.Exodus 3:14 · King James VersionOpen source (4) is “I AM THAT I AM.” Isaiah 43:10Isaiah 43:10 · King James VersionYe are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.Isaiah 43:10 · King James VersionOpen source (5) says that before the LORD no God was formed.
• John 8:59John 8:59 · King James VersionThen 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.John 8:59 · King James VersionOpen source (3) says they took up stones to cast at him. In John 10:33John 10:33 · King James VersionThe Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.John 10:33 · King James VersionOpen source (6) they name the charge as making himself God.

What the Two English Lines Say

John 8:57John 8:57 · King James VersionThen said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?John 8:57 · King James VersionOpen source is the objection: he is not yet fifty, and has he seen Abraham? The answer is the next verse.

The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of John 8:58John 8:58 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to you, before Abraham came into existence, I have been.”John 8:58 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open source (1) says:

Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to you, before Abraham came into existence, I have been.”

John 8:58 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)

John 8:58John 8:58 · King James VersionJesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.John 8:58 · King James VersionOpen source (2) in the King James says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” The Greek clause is πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι ἐγὼ εἰμί. γενέσθαι is “to come to be.” εἰμί is “I am,” present, not a perfect. The side-by-side lines, with a verdict on the English, are on How Does the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) Change Verses About Jesus?.

What the Study Note Says

The study note “I have been” grants the preexistence and refuses the identification with God. It says the opposing Jews wanted to stone Jesus for claiming he had seen Abraham though he was not yet fifty, and that his response told them about his prehuman existence as a mighty spirit creature in heaven before Abraham was born. It then says some claim the verse identifies Jesus with God, because e·goʹ ei·miʹ, rendered “I am” in some Bibles, alludes to the Septuagint of Exodus 3:14.

The note’s own reason for the English perfect is this:

In this context, however, the action expressed by the Greek verb ei·miʹ started “before Abraham came into existence” and was still in progress. It is therefore properly translated “I have been” rather than “I am,” and a number of ancient and modern translations use wording similar to “I have been.”

The same note points to John 14:9John 14:9 · King James VersionJesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?John 14:9 · King James VersionOpen source (7), where the King James already reads “Have I been so long time with you.” That sentence has a length of time in it. John 8:58 does not. The contrast there is Abraham’s coming into being, set against a present “I am.” The note also says John 8:54–55 shows Jesus was not trying to portray himself as the same person as his Father. A real concession is on the page: εἰμί can be read as a state that reaches the present, and John 14:9 shows English sometimes using a perfect for that verb when the sentence names a span of time.

Why Did God Call Himself I AM?

Exodus 3:14Exodus 3:14 · King James VersionAnd God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.Exodus 3:14 · King James VersionOpen source (4) is God’s answer to Moses: “I AM THAT I AM,” and “I AM hath sent me unto you.” Isaiah 43:10Isaiah 43:10 · King James VersionYe are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.Isaiah 43:10 · King James VersionOpen source (5) says, “understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” The study note treats the allusion as a claim other people make, and it answers that John 8:58 should not be rendered the same way as that name. The Christian reading is that the present “I am,” after “before Abraham was,” is Jesus taking the name the crowd already knew, which is why the next sentence is stones rather than a debate about grammar.

Where Does Jesus Say I AM?

“Before Abraham was, I am” is the absolute saying, with no predicate. The predicate sayings are a different list. John 6:35John 6:35 · King James VersionAnd Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.John 6:35 · King James VersionOpen source says, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” John 8:24John 8:24 · King James VersionI said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.John 8:24 · King James VersionOpen source and John 8:28John 8:28 · King James VersionThen said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.John 8:28 · King James VersionOpen source say “I am he.” John 13:19John 13:19 · King James VersionNow I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.John 13:19 · King James VersionOpen source says the same, so that they may believe that “I am he.” John 10:30John 10:30 · King James VersionI and my Father are one.John 10:30 · King James VersionOpen source says, “I and my Father are one.” The full list is What Are the I AM Statements of Jesus?. The word page for the verb is εἰμί.

Did Jesus Ever Say He Was God?

John 8:58John 8:58 · King James VersionJesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.John 8:58 · King James VersionOpen source (2) does not contain the sentence “I am God.” It contains “I am,” set before Abraham. John 10:33John 10:33 · King James VersionThe Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.John 10:33 · King James VersionOpen source (6) is the crowd’s reading of a later saying: “thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” Thomas answers the risen Jesus, “My Lord and my God,” in John 20:28John 20:28 · King James VersionAnd Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James VersionOpen source. Is Jesus God? and What Is the Deity of Christ? are those pages. The Trinity is the confession that the Son is God with the Father, not a second Almighty beside him. Jehovah’s Witnesses say the study note’s last line: he was not the same person as his Father. Christians say the same distinction of persons, and they say the person who says “I am” is God.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does John 6:35 Say?

John 6:35John 6:35 · King James VersionAnd Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.John 6:35 · King James VersionOpen source is “I am the bread of life,” with a predicate. It is one of the seven predicate sayings on What Are the I AM Statements of Jesus?. John 8:58 has no predicate.

What Does John 8:44 Mean?

John 8:44John 8:44 · King James VersionYe are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.John 8:44 · King James VersionOpen source is earlier in the same dispute. Jesus says, “Ye are of your father the devil,” and that the devil was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth. It is about whose word they are following. It is not the “I am” sentence.

What Are the Sayings From the Cross?

Readers who search this verse also ask for the words from the cross. Those sentences are a different day. They include Luke 23:34Luke 23:34 · King James VersionThen said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.Luke 23:34 · King James VersionOpen source, Luke 23:43Luke 23:43 · King James VersionAnd Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.Luke 23:43 · King James VersionOpen source, John 19:26John 19:26 · King James VersionWhen Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!John 19:26 · King James VersionOpen source, Matthew 27:46Matthew 27:46 · King James VersionAnd about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?Matthew 27:46 · King James VersionOpen source, John 19:28John 19:28 · King James VersionAfter this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.John 19:28 · King James VersionOpen source, John 19:30John 19:30 · King James VersionWhen Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.John 19:30 · King James VersionOpen source, and Luke 23:46Luke 23:46 · King James VersionAnd when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.Luke 23:46 · King James VersionOpen source. The comma in the paradise sentence is What Does Luke 23:43 Mean?.

Why Did They Take up Stones?

John 8:59John 8:59 · King James VersionThen 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.John 8:59 · King James VersionOpen source (3) says they took up stones to cast at him. The verse does not print the charge. John 10:33John 10:33 · King James VersionThe Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.John 10:33 · King James VersionOpen source (6), after “I and my Father are one,” does: blasphemy, because he, being a man, made himself God.

Keep Reading

• What Are the I AM Statements of Jesus?
• How Does the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) Change Verses About Jesus?
• Is Jesus God?
• The Trinity
• εἰμί