I Am He: The Interpretation of A̓nî Hû ̓in Jewish and Early Christian LiteratureNew Testament scholars often claim that the interpretative key to Jesus' pronouncement of the words ego eimi in the Gospel of John lies in the use of this phrase in the Septuagint of Isaiah to render the Hebrew expression 'ani hu' . While previous studies have paid particular attention to the New Testament usage of ego eimi, Catrin H. Williams sets this evidence within a broader framework by offering a detailed analysis of the interpretation of 'ani hu' in biblical and Jewish traditions. She examines the role of 'ani hu' as a succinct expression of God's claim to exclusiveness in the Song of Moses and the poetry of Deutero-Isaiah, and attempts to reconstruct its later interpretative history from the substantial body of evidence preserved in the Aramaic Targumim and several midrashic traditions. Biblical 'ani hu' declarations are cited by rabbinic authorities as proof-texts against a variety of heretical claims, particularly the 'two powers' heresy, but new 'ani hu' formulations, not necessarily confined to divine speeches, are also attested. In the concluding chapters Catrin H. Williams considers the role of 'ani hu' when seeking to interpret Jesus' utterance of the words ego eimi in Synoptic and Johannine traditions. |
Contents
The Hebrew Bible | 16 |
9 | 57 |
The Interpretation of 87 888 in the Targumim | 86 |
Rabbinic Interpretations of The Use of Deut 3239 | 114 |
The Pronouncement | 116 |
Rabbinic Interpretations of SelfDeclarations by | 157 |
The Eternal Steadfastness of God | 166 |
Textual Traditions and Ancient Versions | 167 |
The Interpretation of έyw eiui in the Gospel of Mark | 214 |
The Interpretation of yw eiμ in the Gospel of John | 255 |
Summary and Conclusions | 304 |
Bibliography | 311 |
363 | |
371 | |
403 | |
Concluding Remarks | 177 |
Common terms and phrases
acts Amoraic Aramaic attributed Bahodesh biblical bipartite Chapter Christian Christology citation cited claim clauses cleft sentences context declaration deliverance demonstrate Deut Deutero-Isaianic Deuteronomy disciples divine name E.J. Brill eiui eschatological exegetical Exod expression ɛiu ɛiui formulations Fourth Gospel God's Haggadah Hebrew highlight idem interpretation Israel J.C.B. Mohr Paul Jerusalem Jesus Jewish Johannine John linked Lord LXX Isaiah Mark Markan Mekhilta Memra messianic Metatron midrashic midrashic traditions Mohr Paul Siebeck Moses narrative occurs parallel particularly passages Pentateuch Peshitta PesK PesR phrase poetry of Deutero-Isaiah present Press pronouncement proof-texts prophetic proposed PsJ Deut Qumran rabbinic traditions rendering role salvific Samaritan scriptural self-declaration Septuagint Shirta significance statements Studies syntactic Talmud TanB Tannaitic Targum Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Targumim Testament tetragrammaton texts theme Theology TIsa Torah translation Tübingen twofold versions vols words Yahweh ἐγώ εἰμι καὶ τοῦ אנא אֲנִי אני הוא