Now by Jesus Saying "I_am" identically as God said "I Am" in Exodus 3, Christians assume Jesus is identifying himself as God.

In later centuries, translators manipulated the translation to try to elevate status of Jesus.

"The Munahhemana (God bless and preserve him!) in Syriac is Muhammad; in Greek he is the paraclete." (Ibn Ishaq, Life Of Muhammad, trans. Alfred Guillaume, pp. 103-104)

The Greek Septuagint Version, which is the one the Apostles quoted from in the first century, renders Exodus 3:14 as " ego' eimi' ho Ohn'," which translates "I am the Being". The Greek words at John 8:58 "ego eimi" show the use of the verb "eimi" in the historical present because Jesus was talking about himself in relation to Abraham's past.

"And the angels of the waters say, `You are just, O Holy One, who are and who were, for you have judged these things; because they shed the blood of saints and prophets, you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!' And I heard the altar respond, 'Yes, O Lord, the ALMIGHTY (pantokrator), your judgements are true and just!'" Rev. 16:5-7 NRSV

"Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called: I AM HE (ani hu); I am the First, and I am the Last." Isaiah 48:12 NRSV

"Now then, listen, you wanton creature (i.e. Babylon), lounging in your security and saying to yourself, 'I AM (Greek Septuagint- ego eimi), and there is none besides me’… You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, 'No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, 'I AM, and there is none besides me.'" Isaiah 47:8, 10

"Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, 'Whom are you looking for?' They answered, 'Jesus of Nazareth.' Jesus replied, 'I AM HE' (ego eimi)… When Jesus said to them, 'I am he,' they stepped back and fell to ground." John 18:4-6 NRSV

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, `Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last, and the living one. I was dead, and see I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of Death and Hades'." NRSV

The text reads: prin 'Abraam genesthai ego eimi ("before Abraham was, I am"). On this text, Dennis Light wrote an article in defense of the New World Translation in the Bible Collector (July-December, 1971). In his article he discusses ego eimi which the New Word Translation renders, "I have been." Light defends this translation by saying, "The Greek verb eimi, literally present tense, must be viewed as a historical present, because of being preceded by the aorist infinitive clause referring to Abraham's past" (p. 8). This argument has several flaws in it: (1) The fact that the present tense follows an aorist infinitive has nothing to do with how it should be rendered. In fact, historical presents are usually wedged in between aorist (or imperfect) indicatives, not infinitives. (2) If this is a historical present, it is apparently the only historical present in the NT that uses the equative verb emi. The burden of proof, therefore, lies with the one who sees eimi as ever being used as a historical present. (3) If this is a historical present it is apparently the only historical present in the NT that is in other than the third person.

The translation of the New World Translation understand the implications of ego eimi here, for in their footnote to this text in the NWT, they reveal their motive for seeing this as a historical present: "It is not the same as… (ho ohn, meaning 'the Being' or 'The I Am') at Exodus 3:14, LXX." In effect, this is a negative admission that if ego eimi is not a historical present, then Jesus is here claiming to be the one who spoke to Moses at the burning bush, the I AM, the eternally existing one, Yahweh (cf. Exod. 3:14 in the LXX, ego eimi ho on). (Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996], pp. 530-531 bold emphasis ours)

"The article in question was unable to cite any scholarly writings of any kind in support of their claim that John 8:58 was an historical present. Instead, they simply quoted definitions and illustrations of the idiom from two textbooks in Greek Grammar, Hadley and Allen's Greek Grammar and A. T. Robertson's massive Grammar. Ironically, these two sources themselves disprove that John 8:58 is an historical present, sometimes in the very words quoted by the Watchtower! The following points prove beyond reasonable doubt that the historical present is irrelevant to John 8:58.

1. The historical present is an idiom in which past events are narrated, story-telling fashion, in the present tense, as a vivid, dramatic way of projecting the reader or listener into the narrative. In John 8:58, on the other hand, Jesus' words do not tell a story or describe a past event, but instead simply state a comparison between Abraham and Jesus.

All of the Greek grammars agree on this understanding of the historical present. Hadley and Allen are cited by the Watchtower itself as stating that the idiom is used 'in vivid narration.' Robertson agrees. Some Grammars distinguish between the historical present used in records (sometimes called 'annalistic' use) and that used in narratives (usually called the 'dramatic'); a few divide the dramatic between the historical narratives and reports of dreams and visions. According to Robertson, the New Testament uses the dramatic form of the historical present; but in any case, Christ's words n John 8:58 do not fit any of these categories of historical presents.

This idiom is common in all languages, including English; Funk and Wagnalis Standard Desk Dictionary defines it as 'the present tense used to narrate a past event.' In English it is most common in conversation, not writing. Robert Funk gives the following sentence as an example: 'Then these guys come in see, and I say to them, "Where do you think you're going?"' In both Greek and English, then, the historical present is defined and used the same way. There is simply no valid way to define historical presents to include John 8:58." (Bowman, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus Christ, & the Gospel of John [Grand Rapids, MI; Baker Book House, 1995], pp. 100-101)

The Syriac New Testament, "Jesus said to them: Verily, verily, I say to you, That before Abraham existed, I was."

{Before Abraham was} (prin abraam genesqai). Usual idiom with prin in positive sentence with infinitive (second aorist middle of ginomai) and the accusative of general reference, "before coming as to Abraham," "before Abraham came into existence or was born." {I am} (egw eimi). Undoubtedly here Jesus claims eternal existence with the absolute phrase used of God. The contrast between genesqai (entrance into existence of Abraham) and eimi (timeless being) is complete. See the same contrast between en in # 1:1 and egeneto in # 1:14. See the contrast also in # Ps 90:2 between God (ei, art) and the mountains (genhqhnai). See the same use of eimi in # Joh 6:20; 9:9; 8:24, 28; 18:6.

ginomai: (1) as what comes into existence become, come to be, originate, w. the distinctive sense arising from the context; (a) of persons. be born, appear (RO 1.3)…

ginomai: to come into existence - 'to be formed, to come to exist.' Panta di autou egeneto 'everything came into existence through him' Jn 1.3; prin Abraam genesthai ego eimi 'before Abraham came into existence, I existed' Jn 8:58.

ginomai. This word has little theological interest in the NT apart from the distinction between genesthai and einai in Jn 8:58.

ginomai to be born, produced, grow, Matt 21:9; John 8:58; et al.

ginomai to be born, produced, grow, Matt 21:9; John 8:58; et al.

ginomai 1. to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being: absol., Jn 1:15, 30 (emprosthen mou gegonen); Jn 8:58 (prin Abraham genesthai)…

Was, I am (genesqai, egw eimi). It is important to observe the distinction between the two verbs. Abraham's life was under the conditions of time, and therefore had a temporal beginning. Hence, Abraham came into being, or was born (genesqai). Jesus' life was from and to eternity. Hence the formula for absolute, timeless existence, I am (egw eimi).

eimi I. as predicate to be, to denote what exists; (1) of God's existence (HE 11.6); ho wn the one who is, exists (RV 1.4); (2) of Christ's self-designation of himself ego eimi I am (John 8.58)…

Eimi a verb of existence, to be, to exist, John 1:1; 17:5; Matt 6:30; Luke 4:25, et al.

eimi to be, to exist, John 1:1; 17:5; Matt 6:30; Luke 4:25

I. eimi has the force of a predicate [i.e. is the substantive verb]: to be, i.e. 1. To exist; a. passages in which the idea of the verb preponderates, and some person or thing is said to exist by way of distinction from things non-existent. Estin ho Theos, Heb 11:6; ho on kai ho an [W. 68(66), cf.182(172); B.50(43)], Rev 1:4, [8; iv.8]; 11.17; 16:5; en arche an ho logos, Jn 1:1; prin Abraham genesthai, ego eimi, John 8:58 [so WH mrg in 24, 28; 13:19 (see II.5 below)]

II.5 The formula ego eimi (I am he), freq. In the Gospels, esp. in John, must have its predicate supplied mentally, inasmuch as it is evident from the context… spec. I am the Messiah, Mk 13:6; 14:62; Luke 21:8; john 4:26; 8:24,28; 13:19…

ego eimi as a self-designation of Jesus in Jn 8:58 (cf. 8:24; 13:19) stands in contrast to the genesthai applied to Abraham. Jesus thus claims eternity. As he is equal to the Father (5:18ff.), what is ascribed to the Father is attributed to him too (cf. Is. 43:10 LXX). The context and the ego formulation are both Jewish. The point is not Jesus' self-identification as the Messiah ("I am he") but his supratemporal being.

Once more Jesus solemnly announces, I tell you the truth. If he had wanted to claim only that he existed before Abraham, it would have been simpler to say, 'before Abraham was, I was.' Instead, bringing forward the use of ego eimi found in vv. 24, 28, Jesus says, 'before Abraham was born, I am.' Whatever doubts may attach themselves to whether or not ego eimi should be taken absolutely in vv. 24, 28, here there can be none.

"The words ego eimi in John 8:58 do not function as a title of Christ, but are a statement of his eternality (and, implicitly, his deity)."

p. 118 "Jesus' use of ego eimi constituted a claim to be eternal--to exist without ever having experienced a beginning--in contrast to Abraham."

p. 97 "The vast majority of translators see, as do many commentators, that there is a clear differentiation being made here between the derivative existence of Abraham and the eternal existence of the Lord Christ."

"…it invincibly proves his eternal pre-existence unto his incarnation…".

p. 231 "But perhaps the greatest assertion to eternal preexistence is to be found in Jesus' "I am" saying of John 8:58."

p. 66 "Jesus, therefore, reaffirms his eternal, timeless, absolute existence."

p. 67 "Over against Abraham's fleeting span of life Jesus places his own timeless present. To emphasize this eternal present he sets over against the aorist infinitive, indicating Abraham's birth in time, the present indicative, with reference to himself; hence, not I was, but I am.

p. 237 "Jesus also outrages his opponents by saying, "Before Abraham was, I am" (8:58). It is not easy to see this as anything less than the language of deity, for Jesus is affirming that he has timeless existence."

To the Jews, who claimed Abraham as Father, Jesus asserted, "Before Abraham Came to be, I am" (John 8:58, literal translation). By this Jesus taught there was a sense in which the idea of birth and beginning did not apply to Him; in Him was eternal existence (cf. Exodus 3:14).

The AV reports our Lord as saying to the Jews, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58 AV). "Was" is ginomai, the verb of "becoming," not eimi, the verb of being. It is ingressive aorist, signifying entrance into a new condition. Our Lord said, "Before Abraham came into existence, I am." He does not contrast Abraham's previous existence with His eternity of existence, but Abraham's coming into existence with His eternal being. There is a contrast between Abraham as a created being and our Lord as uncreated, the self-existent, eternal God.

Was, I am (genesqai, egw eimi). It is important to observe the distinction between the two verbs. Abraham's life was under the conditions of time, and therefore had a temporal beginning. Hence, Abraham came into being, or was born (genesqai). Jesus' life was from and to eternity. Hence the formula for absolute, timeless existence, I am (egw eimi).

p. 100 "In this context, Jesus does not merely claim to be older than Abraham. Gabriel or any of the angels, or even the devil, could have claimed as much. Are we really to believe that Gabriel or the devil could say, "Before Abraham came into existence, I am"? The truth is that this statement was a claim to be eternal, to exist without beginning, in contrast to Abraham, who had a beginning."

"It is also indicated in Jesus' bold use of a present tense verb that implies continuing present existence when he replied to his Jewish adversaries, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58)."

John 8:58. Before Abraham was, I am --The words rendered "was" and "am" are quite different. The one clause means, "Abraham was brought into being"; the other,, "I exist." The statement therefore is not that Christ came into existence before Abraham did (as Arians affirm is the meaning), but that He never came into being at all, but existed before Abraham had a being; in other words, existed before creation, or eternally (as # Joh 1:1). In that sense the Jews plainly understood Him, since "then took they up stones to cast at Him," just as they had before done when they saw that He made Himself equal with God (# Joh 5:18).

"Nor do I disapprove of the opinion of Chrysostom, that the present tense of the verb is emphatic; for he does not say, I was, but I am; by which he denotes a condition uniformly the same from the beginning to the end. And he does not say, Before Abraham WAS, but, Before Abraham WAS MADE; which implies that Abraham had a beginning.

Verse 58, 59. "Jesus saith unto them, Before Abraham was, I Am. Then took they up stones to cast at Him."

Seest thou how He proved Himself to be greater than Abraham? For the man who rejoiced to see His day, and made this an object of earnest desire, plainly did so because it was a day that should be for a benefit, and belonging to one greater than himself. Because they had said, "The carpenter's son" (Matthew 13:55), and imagined nothing more concerning Him, He leadeth them by degrees to an exalted notion of Him. Therefore when they heard the words, "Ye know not God," they were not grieved; but when they heard, "before Abraham was, I Am," as though the nobility of their descent were debased, they became furious, and would have stoned Him.

"He saw My day, and was glad." He showeth, that not unwillingly He came to His Passion, since He praiseth him who was gladdened at the Cross. For this was the salvation of the world. But they cast stones at Him; so ready were they for murder, and they did this of their own accord, without inquiry.

But wherefore said He not, "Before Abraham was, I was," instead of "I Am"? As the Father useth this expression, "I Am," so also doth Christ; for it signifieth continuous Being, irrespective of all time. On which account the expression seemed to them to be blasphemous. Now if they could not bear the comparison with Abraham, although this was but a trifling one, had He continually made Himself equal to the Father, would they ever have ceased casting stones at Him?

The most emphatic claim of Jesus to deity is the statement in His discussion with the Jews, "Before Abraham was born, I am" (John 8:58, A.S.V.) The Jews brought the name of Abraham, their physical and spiritual father, into the conversation (vss. 52-53). Jesus seized upon it to lead on to His final claim in the verse already quoted, startling the Jews by saying: "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad" (vs. 56). When the Jews responded with a question as to how a man as young as Jesus could have seen Abraham, "Jesus claims eternal existence with the absolute phrase used of God." [Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, V, 158-59.]

Jesus did not claim mere pre-existence to Abraham, which would have been expressed by the imperfect tense of the verb used concerning Abraham, but eternal existence, the self-existence that belongs to God alone.

In John 8:58 prin Abraham genesthai ego eimi (before Abraham came into existence, I am) the indeclinable Abraham functions as the accusative subject. With the divine ego eimi the idea is more than Christ's existing before Abraham; it means that He eternally exists (Barrett 1978:352).

ego eimi as a self-designation of Jesus in Jn 8:58 (cf. 8:24; 13:19) stands in contrast to the genesthai applied to Abraham. Jesus thus claims eternity. As he is equal to the Father (5:18ff.), what is ascribed to the Father is attributed to him too (cf. Is. 43:10 LXX). The context and the ego formulation are both Jewish. The point is not Jesus' self-identification as the Messiah ("I am he") but his supratemporal being.

{Before Abraham was} (prin abraam genesqai). Usual idiom with prin in positive sentence with infinitive (second aorist middle of ginomai) and the accusative of general reference, "before coming as to Abraham," "before Abraham came into existence or was born." {I am} (egw eimi). Undoubtedly here Jesus claims eternal existence with the absolute phrase used of God. The contrast between genesqai (entrance into existence of Abraham) and eimi (timeless being) is complete. See the same contrast between en in#1:1 and egeneto in#1:14. See the contrast also in # Ps 90:2 between God (ei, art) and the mountains (genhqhnai). See the same use of eimi in # Joh 6:20; 9:9; 8:24,28; 18:6

"… He removes all doubt as to the essential nature of His oneness with the Father by explicitly asserting His eternity ('Before Abraham was born, I am,' Jn 8:58)…"

*I am. That our Lord by this expression asserted his divinity and eternal existence, as the great I AM, appears evident from the use of the present tense, instead of the past tense, from its being in answer to the Jews, who enquired whether he had seen Abraham, and from its being thus understood by the multitude, who were exasperated at it to such a degree that they took up stones to stone him.

John 1:1 also points to Jesus' preexistence as the Logos: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." While he became (egeneto) "flesh" at a specific point in time (1:14), the Word already was (en) in the beginning of time as we know it. Along the same lines Jesus makes an astounding claim to his Jewish antagonists in 8:58: "Before Abraham came into existence, I am." The sacred name of the God of Israel seems to underlie this claim, and in any case the attribute of preexistence is clearly emphasized. But even more is implied here. The contrast between the verbs genesthai (aorist) as applied to Abraham and eimi (present) as applied to Christ is striking. C. H. Dodd puts it this way:

As great as Abraham was in God's purposes, he was only human and thus inferior to the eternal Son of God.

Christ Himself spoke of His preexistence in connection with His claims of deity, as in John 8:58, "Before Abraham was, I AM."

Our blessed Lord solemnly claims to himself what is intended in this Divine name JAH, John 8:58: "Before Abraham was, (genesqai, was born,) egw eimi, I AM," not I was, but I am, plainly intimating his Divine eternal existence. Compare Isaiah 43:13. And the Jews appear to have well understood him, for then took they up stones to cast at him as a blasphemer.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. A solemn and official declaration, preceded by 'Verily, verily' [see PNT 'Joh 3:3']. The utterance is a remarkable one. It does not merely assert that he was before Abraham, but before Abraham was, I AM. It identifies with the I AM of the Old Testament. Divinity has no past tense, no future tense, but always the present."

Jesus knew he existed before the world was made, but this doesn't prove he was God Almighty. (John 17:5) Many angels also existed before the world was created. (Job 38:7).

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made… He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:1-3, 10, 14

When Jesus used the phrase he was not using it as a name or title. He was only explaining his pre-human existence:

A Bible scholar Dr. J.H. Hertz said that in that phrase 'I am that I am' the main emphasis in on the active manifestation of God's Divine existence

"Jesus said to them: 'Most truly I say to YOU, Before Abraham came into existence, I have been.'"

"Allegedly many of these translations are viewing the phrase as what Dr. A. T. Robertson called a 'progressive present.' There are many instances in historical narrative or conversation where the Greek will use a present tense verb that is best rendered in English by the perfect tense. John 15:27 would be a good example: 'because you have been with me from the beginning.' The verb is in the present tense, but the context makes it clear that it is in reference to both the past and the present. Robertson notes that this is a common idiom in the New Testament, though he also adds the fact that, in his opinion, John 8:58 is 'absolute' and should be rendered as such (which he always does in his works). It should also be noted that it is the deficiency of the English that is to blame for the rendering-to place weight on the meaning of the English perfect tense when rendering the Greek present tense in this way would be in error." (White, The Forgotten Trinity- Recovering the Heart of Christi an Belief [Minneapolis MN; Bethany House Publishers, 1998], p. 97)