Saturday, February 03, 2018

A case of smoke and mirrors


The NET Bible for John 8:58 says:

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am!”

Its footnote for this states:
I am! is an explicit claim to deity. Although each occurrence of the phrase “I am” in the Fourth Gospel needs to be examined individually in context to see if an association with Exod 3:14 is present, it seems clear that this is the case here (as the response of the Jewish authorities in the following verse shows).
As can be seen, it is presented as a “proof text” for the “deity of Christ,” which is a code-word (sociolect or circumlocution) for “second person of the Trinitarian Godhead.” The “I AM” of John 8:58 is connected to the “I AM” of Exodus 3:14. Let’s now explore this popular John 8:58-Exodus 3:14 connection:

1996 New Living Translation:

Jesus answered, “The truth is, I existed before Abraham was even born!” F42

F42 Or “Truly, truly, before Abraham was, I am.”

http://classic.studylight.org link

Exodus 3:14
God replied, “I AM THE ONE WHO ALWAYS IS.F7 Just tell them, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

F7 Or I AM WHO I AM, or I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE.

http://classic.studylight.org link


New International Version (NIV):

Exodus 3:14
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.[a] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

[a] Exodus 3:14 Or I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE

My comments: Having the Hebrew not be “I AM” is highly significant for ones who think Jesus was calling himself “I AM” in John 8:58. This is especially true as John 8:58 does not necessarily state “I AM.”

Let’s now compare these two scriptures in both Hebrew and Greek:

click to enlarge

Question: If the “I AM” in John 8:58 is the “I AM” in Exodus 3:14 which the Pharisees wanted to stone Jesus for, then why do the Hebrew translations of John 8:58 NOT have the Hebrew of “I AM” in Exodus 3:14? If the Pharisees understood Jesus as saying “I AM” in Exodus 3:14, then why are the same Hebrew words not used in John 8:58?

This is a serious question for Trinitarians in light of what the Trinitarian Dr. Fred Sanders said concerning their alleged “proof texts”:
Some of these proof texts evaporated because they were, in fact, never anything but Trinitarian mirages.—The Triune God (2016) page 164.
The data just doesn’t add up to support the classic Trinitarian claim as expressed in the NET Bible footnote. The Trinitarian take on John 8:58 is a mirage—smoke and mirrors—nothing more. If you have used this erroneous and falsifiable reasoning before, then now is the time to cease and desist from doing so. Promoting falsehood and error is a disservice to everyone.

Appendix: Other Renderings
The Living Bible:
“The absolute truth is that I was in existence before Abraham was ever born!”

The New Testament in the Language of Today, 1964 ed., William F. Beck:
“I was in existence before Abraham was ever born”

New Believers Bible, New Living Translation, (1996):
“Jesus answered, “The truth is, I existed before Abraham was even born!”

The Concise Gospel and The Acts, C.J. Christianson, (1973):
“I existed even before Abraham was born.”

New Simplified Bible:
“Jesus said, I tell you the truth, I existed before Abraham was born.”

An American Translation, Smith and Goodspeed, (1939):
“Jesus said to them, “I tell you, I existed before Abraham was born!”

The New Testament in the Language of the People, Charles B. Williams, (1937):
“Then Jesus said to them, “I most solemnly say to you, I existed before Abraham was born.”

Cotton Patch Version, (1970) [that this is a fanciful paraphrase is irrelevant and a red herring]:
“To this Jesus replied, I existed before Abraham was born.”

New Testament, Noli, M.F.S., (1961):
“Jesus answered them: Well, well, I tell you, I existed before Abraham was born.”

The Original New Testament, H.J. Schonfield, (1956):
“I tell you for a positive fact, I existed before Abraham was born.”

The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, George Swann, (1947):
“Jesus said to them, verily, verily I say unto you, I existed before Abraham was born.”

The Clarified New Testament, P.G. Parker:
“Jesus answered, before Abraham existed, I existed.”

A Translators Handbook to the Gospel of John, Nida:
“Before Abraham existed, I existed, or I have existed.”

The Documents of the New Testament, G.W. Wade, (1934):
“Jesus said to them, in very truth I tell you, before Abraham came into being, I have existed.”

The Complete Gospels Annotated Scholars Version, Miller, (1992):
“I existed before there was an Abraham.”

The Bible, A New Translation, Dr. James Moffatt, (1935):
“Truly, truly I tell you,” said Jesus, “I have existed before Abraham was born.”

The New Testament Or Rather the New Covenant, Sharpe, (1881):
“I was before Abraham was born.”

The Worldwide English New Testament Bible:
“Jesus answered, I tell you the truth. I already was before Abraham was born.”

Good News for the World, (1969):
“Jesus answered, I tell you the truth. I already was before Abraham was born.”

International English Version, (2001):
“I was alive before Abraham was born.”

International Bible Translators, (1981):
“Jesus said to them, I am telling the truth: I was alive before Abraham was born!”

The Simple English Bible, (1978):
“Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth: I was alive before Abraham was born.”

The Four Gospels and Revelation, Richmond Lattimore, (1979):
“Truly, truly I tell you, I am from before Abraham was born.”

New Covenant, J.W. Hanson, (1884):
“Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I am before Abraham was born.”

A Literal Translation from the Syriac Peshito Version, James Murdock, D.D., from 5th century manuscripts, (1896):
“Jesus said to them: Verily, verily I say to you, That before Abraham existed, I was.”

Twentieth Century New Testament:
“In truth I tell you,” replied Jesus, “before Abraham existed I was.”

The New Testament According To The Eastern Text, George Lamsa Translation, (1940):
“Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was born, I was.”

The Curetonian Version of the Four Gospels, Burkitt, from 5th century manuscripts, (1904):
“Before Abraham came to be, I was.”

The Old Georgian Version of the Gospel of John, P. Blake, M. Briere, in Patrologia Orientallis, Vol. XXVI, faxcicle 4, Paris, from 5th century manuscripts, (1950):
“Before Abraham came to be, I was.”

Ethiopic-Edition: Nouvum Testamentum Æthiopice, T.P. Platt, revised by F. Praetorius, Lepzig, (1899:
“Before Abraham was born, I was”

The New Testament, Curt Stage, (1907):
“Before Abraham came to be, I was.”

The New Testament, Kleist & Lilly, (1956):
“I tell you the plain truth. replied Jesus, I am here - and I was before Abraham.”

New American Standard Bible, 1963 and 1971 editions alternative rendering:
“I have been”

The New Testament, George Rh. Noyes, D.D., “Professor Of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages and Dexter Lecturer on Biblical Literature in Harvard University”, (1869):
“Jesus said, truly I tell you, from before Abraham was, I have been.”

“The Four Gospels” According to the Sinaitic Palimpsest, Agnes Smith Lewis, from a 4th-5th century manuscript, (1886):
“He said unto them, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I have been.”

The New Testament in Hebrew, Franz Delitzsch, 1937 edition:
“Before Abraham was, I have been.”

The Unvarnished New Testament, Andy Gaus:
“Truly, truly I tell you, Before Abraham was born, I have already been.”

The New Testament: a New Translation and Explanation Based on the Oldest Manuscripts, Johannes Greber, (1937) [that he claimed to be a spiritist is irrelevant and a red herring]:
“I am speaking the truth, Jesus answered, I am older than Abraham.”

The New Testament (in German), Friedreich Pfaefflin, (1949):
“Jesus: Before there was an Abraham, I was already there.”

The New Testament in Hebrew, Isaac Salkinson and David Ginsberg, 1941 edition:
“I have been when there had as yet been no Abraham.”

Translation of New Testament, Wakefield, G., (1795):
“Jesus said unto them: Verily verily I say unto you, before Abraham was born, I am He.”

Ledyard, G.H. New Life Testament, (1969):
“Jesus said to them, for sure I tell you, before Abraham was born, I was and sum and always will be.”

The Coptic Version of the New Testament in the Southern Dialect, George William Horner, (1911):
“Before Abraham became, I, I, am being.”

The New Testament, James A. Klist, S.J., and Joseph L. Lilly, C.M., (1954):
“I am here - and I was before Abraham.”


Additional reading:

Link to color-coded scripture source:


HUMOR:
“Sometimes the footnotes smell like actual feet.”
dilbert.com/strip/2008-08-07

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posted by JimSpace at 10:11 PM