I AM WHO I AM: What Does it Mean?
I AM that I AM: What does it mean?
This name of God is another critical one to understand. But so worth spending time to understand better.
There are two Hebrew words that at translated to the English words I AM.
The first one translated as “I Am” is the Hebrew word “Ani.” God uses this word “Ani” (Strong’s Hebrew 589) hundreds of times in His word. Here is one example of where God uses “Ani”:
“And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations.’” (He is speaking about a rainbow.) Genesis 9:12.
The second Hebrew word that is translated as I AM is anokhi. This word begins with the root word “ani” as above – then adds “khi” at the end. The word “anokhi” indicates a definite, deliberate action with intense purpose. Another way to look at it is that “anokhi” means:
ME, AND NO OTHER BUT ME HAS DONE THIS.
God describes Himself as “anokhi” more than one hundred times in His word.
When God called to Moses from the burning bush and told him to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Moses had a lot of questions.
“Then Moses said to God, ‘Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” Exodus 3:13.
Now just pause here for a second. Get ready for God’s answer.
“And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Genesis 3:14.
But wait, there’s more. God continues:
“And God, furthermore, said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever and this is MY memorial-name to all generations.” Genesis 3:15.
God explains here to Moses (and to us today) who HE IS.
I AM WHO I AM.
If we apply the meaning to I AM (anokhi) which He says twice for emphasis. God is saying:
ME AND NO OTHER BUT ME HAS DONE THIS, (That is who I am.) ME AND NO OTHER BUT ME HAS DONE THIS.
Then He goes even deeper when He tells Moses that He is the LORD (YHVH which we learned last week means: THE EXISTING ONE.)
When God calls Himself “I AM” it is deep and meaningful. There is NO OTHER GOD.
Other verses where God uses the word “anokhi” are:
“After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great.’ Genesis 15:1.
“I, even I, am the LORD; And there is no savior besides Me.” Isaiah 43:9.
When God uses I AM to describe Himself, He emphatically explains the He, the Lord, The Existing One, will do what He determines to do.
Now, we can take what we understand about the LORD as I AM and apply the same meanings to the words of Jesus.
The New Testament is written in Greek, but the meanings are basically the same as the Hebrew meanings.
The word translated “I” means an emphatic I. (Me and no one else.)
The word translated “AM” means to exist. (Present, to exist.)
There are seven “I AM” statements in the book of John. Jesus teaches that He is I AM, just like His father (YHVH=LORD). Jesus is God, the second part of the trinity.
Jesus said:
I AM the bread of life. John 6:35.
I AM the light of the world. John 8:12.
I AM the door. John 10:7.
I AM the good shepherd. John 10:11.
I AM the resurrection and the life. John 11:25.
I AM the way the truth and the life. John 14:6.
I AM the true vine. John 15:1.
The father, the son, and the Holy Spirt are “I AM.” The ONLY GOD.
The great I AM.
Carla Killough McClafferty