I am words

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First and foremost, various self-statements by Jesus of Nazareth that indirectly reveal his messianic sense of mission are referred to as I-am-words . "Ich bin" is the German translation of the ancient Greek expression ἐγὼ εἰμί ( ego eimi ), with which each of the statements begins. The best known are seven I-am-words of Jesus with predicative determination in John's Gospel. In addition to this use of the I-am-formula with a figurative word, there are also “absolute” I-am statements without predicative determination. For a long time, research gave these theologically greater weight. In recent research, this view is no longer consensus.

In addition to the New Testament I-am-words, the self-revelation of God to be found in the Old Testament in the announcement of his name YHWH and the related statements of sovereignty and promises of salvation are discussed as I-am-words.

New Testament

Occurrence

I am statements are found in the New Testament in all four Gospels : three in the Gospel of Mark , eight each in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke and 24 in the Gospel of John. The conspicuous accumulation in John's Gospel indicates that these statements were of high theological relevance for John . Udo Schnelle considers it a “center joh. Theology of Revelation and Hermeneutics ”.

language

In the New Testament Koine - Greek the finite verb form actually sufficiently determines the grammatical person, the personal pronoun (here: ἐγὼ 'I') is not required for it. Nevertheless, the personal pronoun is sometimes used in addition to achieve linguistic stress. The designated person is highlighted in this way. ἐγὼ εἰμί thus emphasizes the speaker as a person: " I am (it) ..."

The I-am-words in the Gospel of John differ in two linguistic features. On the one hand there are “absolute” I-am-statements without predicative determination in the same sentence ( Joh 8,24.25  EU .58 EU ; 13.19 EU ; 18.6 EU ). This is grammatically noticeable because ἐγὼ εἰμἰ actually always requires a predicative determination. On the other hand, there are I-am statements whose predicative determinations are intentionally absurd and which can therefore only be understood metaphorically.

The I-am-words in the Gospel of John

Theological classification

In older research, a clear distinction was made between the absolute and the predicative I-am-words in John's Gospel. This was accompanied by a weighting of the theological significance. Rudolf Bultmann and others traced the predicative I-am-words back to Gnostic - Mandaean sources, but viewed the absolute I-am-words as “actual speech” that could be located in the Old Testament self-revelation formula of YHWH .

In more recent research, this clear distinction has largely been abandoned, especially since a further group of I-am-words was identified, the "implicitly predicative I-am-words" or "elliptical I-am-words", which have a predicative addition in the The same sentence is missing, but it can be implied by the context (e.g. Joh 4,26  EU ; 6,20 EU ; 18,5.8 EU ). This observation leads to different theological evaluations as to whether the absolute I-am-words are the key to understanding the predicative I-am-words or not. Hartwig Thyen speaks of a "process of mutual metaphorization of the two groups of I-am-words".

I am words with predicative determination in the Gospel of John

In exegetical literature, the keyword "I am words of Jesus" often refers to the following seven, sometimes eight statements of Jesus that are predicatively determined by image words:

Occasionally the eighth I-am-word is listed:

  • Joh 18,37  EU : "I am a king."

interpretation

These I-am-statements in the Gospel of John are “top sentences of New Testament Christology”, which describe the salvation meaning of Jesus Christ with the help of catchy words and symbols. These do not necessarily have to be verbatim quotations from speeches by Jesus of Nazareth . Interpreters of the historical-critical school assume that these formulations developed as “master's words” through “christologically stimulated memory work” in that typical preaching themes, speech forms and linguistic images of Jesus as well as his messianic claim were processed in them.

The I-am-words have their basis in an Old Testament revelation formula, the “I am” of God. See below in the “Old Testament” section .

The symbols “bread”, “light”, “door”, “shepherd”, “way”, “vine” and the original words “life” and “truth” are used both in the history of religion and in Rooted in Old Testament theology. In this way, they create points of contact for understanding the New Testament message of Jesus Christ . In simple and understandable language they convey at the same time the invitation to allow Jesus to give you fellowship with the Father and the claim to follow Jesus .

Other I-am words in the New Testament

Synoptic

When asked by the high priest Caiaphas : "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed," Jesus answered, "I am." ( Mk 14.61 to 62  ELB ). This answer led to his death sentence, not because Jesus pronounced the forbidden Name of God , but because his claim to be the Messiah was condemned as blasphemous . This “It is I” of the Passion story is related to statements in which Jesus explains his mission with “I came to ...” or “The Son of Man came to ...” (the so-called “Elthon words” from Ancient Greek ἦλθον , I have come ': Mt 5.17  EU ; 11.19 EU ; Mk 2.17  EU ; 10.45 EU ; Lk 19.20  EU ). When Jesus spoke of his mission, he only referred indirectly to his messianic mission - unlike the false messiahs who say of themselves: "I am the Christ!" ( Mt 24,5  EU ).

Revelating of the Johannes

In the Revelation of John , the “I am” is first spoken of by God, who reveals himself to the prophet as “ Alpha and Omega ” ( Rev 1,8  EU ). Only a few verses later the prophet hears from the mouth of the exalted Son of Man the sovereign statement “I am the first and the last and the living one” ( Rev 1:17 f.  EU ). At the end of Revelation, the I am statements made up to that point are repeated again, this time spoken by Christ: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" ( Rev 22:13  EU ), who reveals himself as the judge (22.12.15 EU ) and the giver of eternal life 22.14 EU . The I-am-statements of Jesus in the John apocalypse take on an eschatological character in that they reveal the Bringer of eternal salvation.

Old testament

In Ex 3.14  EU , God reveals himself to Moses when asked about his name as “I am who I am” (or in other translation as “I will be who I will be”). From the context, this mysterious statement can be interpreted as an indication of God's temporal superiority as well as his willingness to work in the history of salvation by rescuing Israel from slavery. (For details see: YHWH, section "The Revelation of Name" .)

Especially in the book of Isaiah , the name of God is interpreted through I-am-words. The verse Isa 45.18  EU assigned to Deutero-Isaiah is central. The אֲנִי יְהוָה ( anî JHWH 'I am YHWH') spoken there by Yahweh was reproduced in the Septuagint with the absolute ἐγὼ εἰμί ( ego eimi I am), so that Heinrich Zimmermann drew the conclusion in 1960 that Jesus with his “I am” the took up the Old Testament revelation formula. Hartwig Thyen also works a. a. Finds parallels between Jes 43  EU and Joh 8  EU and finds Zimmermann's point of view confirmed by his studies.

literature

  • Otto Betz : Article I-am-words. In: Helmut Burkhardt et al. (Ed.): The great Bible lexicon. Special edition, R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal 2004, p. 610 f.
  • Georg Braumann: Article I am. In: Colin Brown (Ed.): New International Dictionary of the New Testament. Vol. 2, Revised Edition, Paternoster Press, Carlisle 1986, pp. 278-281
  • Hanna Roose:  I-am-words. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.
  • Rudolf Schnackenburg : The Gospel of John. 3 volumes, Herder's Theological Commentary on the New Testament, Herder, Freiburg 1965–1975; In particular, excursus 8: Origin and meaning of the formula ἐγώ εἰμι , Vol. 2, pp. 59–70
  • Heinrich Zimmermann : The Absolute I AM as a biblical revelation formula. Bonn 1953.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ These numbers according to Hanna Roose:  I-am-words. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (eds.): The scientific biblical dictionary on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff .; others count differently, Schnackenburg has z. B. Mt: 5, Mk: 3, Lk: 4, Joh: 29 - Rudolf Schnackenburg: The Gospel of John. Vol. 2, Herder, Freiburg 1971, p. 59
  2. ↑ Udo Schnelle: The Gospel according to John ( ThHNT 4). Leipzig 2009, p. 139; quoted from Hanna Roose:  I-am-words. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.
  3. ↑ Hanna Roose:  I-am-words. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (eds.): The scientific biblical lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff. With reference to F. Blass, A. Debrunner: Grammar of New Testament Greek. 17th ed., Edit. by F. Rehkopf, Göttingen 1990, § 277; E. Schweizer: Grammar of New Testament Greek. 2nd ed., Edit. by F. Rehkopf, Göttingen 1965, pp. 9-10; R. Zimmermann: Christology of the images in the Gospel of John. The Christopoetics of the fourth Gospel with special consideration of Joh 10. In: WUNT 171, Tübingen 2004, p. 123
  4. ↑ a b Hanna Roose:  I-am-words. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.
  5. ↑ Hanna Roose:  I-am-words. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (eds.): The scientific biblical dictionary on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff .; with quote from Hartwig Thyen: I am the light of the world. The I and I am saying of Jesus in the Gospel of John. In: JAC. 35, 1992, pp. 19-46
  6. ↑ Hanna Roose:  I-am-words. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (eds.): The scientific biblical dictionary on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff. Refers to: Ruben Zimmermann : Christology of Images in the Gospel of John. The Christopoetics of the fourth Gospel with special consideration of Joh 10. ( Scientific investigations on the New Testament. Vol. 171), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2004
  7. ↑ a b c d Thomas Söding: The I-am-words of the Gospel of John. At www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de (accessed on June 21, 2013)
  8. ↑ a b c Otto Betz: Article I-am-words. In: Helmut Burkhardt et al. (Ed.): The great Bible lexicon. Special edition, R. Brockhaus, Wuppertal 2004, p. 610 f.
  9. ↑ Hanna Roose:  I-am-words. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (eds.): The scientific biblical lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff. With reference to Heinrich Zimmermann: The absolute ἐγώ ἐιμι as the New Testament revelation formula. In: Biblical Newspaper. 4, 1960, pp. 54-69.266-276
  10. ↑ Hanna Roose:  I-am-words. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (eds.): The scientific biblical lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff. With reference to Hartwig Thyen: Ich-Bin-Words. In: Real Lexicon for Antiquity and Christianity . Vol. 17, 1996, pp. 147-213.