Grammar Analysis: Exodus 3:13-15¶
The Divine Name Revealed at the Burning Bush
Core passage for the self-revelation of YHWH. The grammatical core is the three-fold ehyeh (אֶהְיֶה) of v.14 linked to the tetragrammaton יהוה of v.15, with asher (אֲשֶׁר) as the relative particle binding them into a single self-predicating formula. Part of the ongoing study "What does YHWH mean — grammar and word study."
Text¶
Exodus 3:13 (Hebrew)¶
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶל־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֗ים הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֣י בָא֮ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ וְאָמַרְתִּ֣י לָהֶ֔ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י אֲבֹותֵיכֶ֖ם שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם וְאָֽמְרוּ־לִ֣י מַה־שְּׁמֹ֔ו מָ֥ה אֹמַ֖ר אֲלֵהֶֽם׃
KJV: And Moses said unto God, Behold, [when] I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What [is] his name? what shall I say unto them?
Exodus 3:14 (Hebrew)¶
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כֹּ֤ה תֹאמַר֙ לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה שְׁלָחַ֥נִי אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃
KJV: And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exodus 3:15 (Hebrew)¶
וַיֹּאמֶר֩ עֹ֨וד אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה כֹּֽה־תֹאמַר֮ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ יְהוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבֹתֵיכֶ֗ם אֱלֹהֵ֨י אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִצְחָ֛ק וֵאלֹהֵ֥י יַעֲקֹ֖ב שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם זֶה־שְּׁמִ֣י לְעֹלָ֔ם וְזֶ֥ה זִכְרִ֖י לְדֹ֥ר דֹּֽר׃
KJV: And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this [is] my name for ever, and this [is] my memorial unto all generations.
Word-by-Word Parsing¶
Exodus 3:13¶
| # | Hebrew | Lemma | Parsing | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | וַ | ו | Conj | and |
| 2 | יֹּ֨אמעֶר | אמר | Verb.Qal.Wayq.3ms | say |
| 3 | מֹשֶׁ֜ה | משׁה | PropN.ms.Abs | Moses |
| 4 | אֶל | אל | Prep | to |
| 5 | הָֽ | ה | Art | the |
| 6 | אֱלֹהִ֗ים | אלהים | Noun.mp.Abs | God |
| 7 | הִנֵּ֨ה | הנה | Interj | behold |
| 8 | אָנֹכִ֣י | אנכי | PersPron.1s | I |
| 9 | בָא֮ | בוא | Verb.Qal.Ptcp.ms.Abs | coming |
| 10 | אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י | אל / בן | Prep + Noun.mp.Cst | to the sons of |
| 11 | יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ | ישׂראל | PropN.s.Abs | Israel |
| 12 | וְאָמַרְתִּ֣י | אמר | Conj + Verb.Qal.Perf.1s (weqatal) | and I will say |
| 13 | לָהֶ֔ם | ל | Prep.+3mp | to them |
| 14 | אֱלֹהֵ֥י אֲבֹותֵיכֶ֖ם | אלהים / אב | Noun.mp.Cst + Noun.mp.Abs.+2mp | the God of your fathers |
| 15 | שְׁלָחַ֣נִי | שׁלח | Verb.Qal.Perf.3ms.+1cs | he sent me |
| 16 | אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם | אל | Prep.+2mp | to you |
| 17 | וְאָֽמְרוּ־לִ֣י | אמר / ל | Conj + Verb.Qal.Perf.3p + Prep.+1cs (weqatal) | and they will say to me |
| 18 | מַה־שְּׁמֹ֔ו | מה / שׁם | IntPron + Noun.ms.Abs.+3ms | what is his name |
| 19 | מָ֥ה אֹמַ֖ר | מה / אמר | IntPron + Verb.Qal.Impf.1s | what shall I say |
| 20 | אֲלֵהֶֽם | אל | Prep.+3mp | to them |
Exodus 3:14¶
| # | Hebrew | Lemma | Parsing | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | אמר | Conj + Verb.Qal.Wayq.3ms | and he said |
| 2 | אֱלֹהִים֙ | אלהים | Noun.mp.Abs | God |
| 3 | אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה | אל / משׁה | Prep + PropN.ms | to Moses |
| 4 | אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה | היה | Verb.Qal.Impf.1cs | I am / I will be |
| 5 | אֲשֶׁ֣ר | אשׁר | Conj (relative particle) | who / that / which |
| 6 | אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה | היה | Verb.Qal.Impf.1cs | I am / I will be |
| 7 | וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | אמר | Conj + Verb.Qal.Wayq.3ms | and he said |
| 8 | כֹּ֤ה | כה | Adv | thus |
| 9 | תֹאמַר֙ | אמר | Verb.Qal.Impf.2ms | you shall say |
| 10 | לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | ל / בן / ישׂראל | Prep + Noun.mp.Cst + PropN | to the sons of Israel |
| 11 | אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה | היה | Verb.Qal.Impf.1cs | I AM |
| 12 | שְׁלָחַ֥נִי | שׁלח | Verb.Qal.Perf.3ms.+1cs | he sent me |
| 13 | אֲלֵיכֶֽם | אל | Prep.+2mp | to you |
Exodus 3:15¶
| # | Hebrew | Lemma | Parsing | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | וַיֹּאמֶר֩ | אמר | Conj + Verb.Qal.Wayq.3ms | and he said |
| 2 | עֹ֨וד | עוד | Adv/Noun | again / moreover |
| 3 | אֱלֹהִ֜ים | אלהים | Noun.mp.Abs | God |
| 4 | אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה | אל / משׁה | Prep + PropN | to Moses |
| 5 | כֹּֽה־תֹאמַר֮ | כה / אמר | Adv + Verb.Qal.Impf.2ms | thus you shall say |
| 6 | אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ | אל / בן / ישׂראל | Prep + cst. chain | to the sons of Israel |
| 7 | יְהוָ֞ה | יהוה | PropN.ms.Abs | YHWH (LORD) |
| 8 | אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבֹתֵיכֶ֗ם | אלהים / אב | Noun.mp.Cst + Noun.mp.Abs.+2mp | the God of your fathers |
| 9 | אֱלֹהֵ֨י אַבְרָהָ֜ם | אלהים / אברהם | cst. chain | the God of Abraham |
| 10 | אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִצְחָ֛ק | אלהים / יצחק | cst. chain | the God of Isaac |
| 11 | וֵאלֹהֵ֥י יַעֲקֹ֖ב | אלהים / יעקב | Conj + cst. chain | and the God of Jacob |
| 12 | שְׁלָחַ֣נִי | שׁלח | Verb.Qal.Perf.3ms.+1cs | he sent me |
| 13 | אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם | אל | Prep.+2mp | to you |
| 14 | זֶה־שְּׁמִ֣י | זה / שׁם | DemPron.ms + Noun.ms.Abs.+1cs | this is my name |
| 15 | לְעֹלָ֔ם | ל / עולם | Prep + Noun.ms.Abs | forever |
| 16 | וְזֶ֥ה זִכְרִ֖י | ו / זה / זכר | Conj + DemPron + Noun.ms.Abs.+1cs | and this is my memorial |
| 17 | לְדֹ֥ר דֹּֽר | ל / דור | Prep + Noun.ms.Abs + Noun.ms.Abs | to generation [of] generation |
Clause Structure (Ex 3:14)¶
From hebrew_parser.py --clause "Exo 3:14":
| # | Type | Domain | Text | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WayX | N (narrative) | וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־מֹשֶׁה | Narrative mainline: God speaks |
| 2 | ZYq0 | Q (quote) | אֶהְיֶה | Zero-marked yiqtol — bare predicate "I am" |
| 3 | xYq0 | Q (quote) | אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה | x-yiqtol with asher as relative head — "who I am" |
| 4 | Way0 | N | וַיֹּאמֶר | Narrative mainline: and he said |
| 5 | xYq0 | Q | כֹּה תֹאמַר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל | Command formula introducer |
| 6 | ZYq0 | Q | אֶהְיֶה | Bare 1cs impf. as proper-noun subject |
| 7 | XQtl | Q | שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם | "Ehyeh has sent me to you" |
Decisive observation: In Clause 6, the verb-form ehyeh is used as if it were a proper name— the predicate-subject of the qatal verb שְׁלָחַנִי ("he sent me"). A finite 1cs imperfect verb stands in the syntactic slot where a divine name is expected. This is the morphological bridge to v.15's יהוה.
Key Grammatical Features¶
1. ehyeh (אֶהְיֶה) — Qal Imperfect 1cs of היה¶
- Form: Qal.Impf.1cs of the verb היה ("to be, become, happen, exist").
- Morphology: Prefix א- (1cs marker) + stem -הי- + suffix -ה. The short/jussive equivalent would be אֱהִי; the full yiqtol אֶהְיֶה is the normal long-form imperfect.
- Semantic range of יהה: Hebrew imperfect is non-past aspect — it covers present-continuous, future, habitual, modal, and "whatever X is/does" generic readings. The verb היה itself ranges from bare existence ("be, exist") through identity-copula ("be X") to eventive ("become, come to pass"). This triple ambiguity is precisely why Ex 3:14 resists a single translation: "I am," "I will be," and "I become whatever I choose to become" are all grammatically licit readings of ehyeh.
- Word study: H1961-hayah — comprehensive study of היה including the Exodus 3:14 crux.
2. asher (אֲשֶׁר) — Relative Particle Functioning as Nominal Head¶
- Parsing: The BHSA codes אֲשֶׁר in 3:14 as
Conj(conjunction/subordinator); traditional grammars classify it as the pan-purpose relative particle (GKC §138, Joüon §158). - Function in ehyeh asher ehyeh: אֲשֶׁר introduces a relative clause modifying (and here, substantivizing) the antecedent predicate. Because Hebrew relatives can be headless, the whole phrase אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה = "[that which / who] I am."
- Translation consequences:
- "I AM THAT I AM" (KJV) — renders the relative as identity-predicate ("I am the-very-one-who I am"); tautological-sounding but faithful to the Hebrew self-referential loop.
- "I will be who I will be" — takes the imperfect as future and asher as personal relative ("the one who").
- "I am the one who is" — reads asher ehyeh as a headless relative substantivized ("the [one] who is"), matching the LXX ὁ ὤν rendering.
- "I am because I am" / "I will be whatever I will be" — emphatic/sovereign-freedom reading (Rashi, von Rad): the relative absorbs a clause of free self-determination.
- Grammar reference: The asher + yiqtol relative clause is the core grammar here; no dedicated library entry for asher yet (candidate for future entry).
3. Person-Shift: 1cs ehyeh (v.14) → 3ms YHWH (v.15)¶
- Morphological bridge: The tetragrammaton יהוה has traditionally been analyzed as a 3ms form of the same root היה/הוה ("he is / he will be"), i.e. the third-person counterpart of the first-person ehyeh. The parser confirms both belong to the same lemma-family: v.14's אֶהְיֶה is parsed
היה Verb.Qal.Impf.1cs; v.15's יְהוָה is parsed asיהוה PropN.ms.Abs— the name has been nominalized. - Grammatical shift:
- God speaking of himself → 1cs: "I am" (אֶהְיֶה)
- Moses/Israel speaking of him → 3ms: "He is" (יהוה)
- Why it matters: The very same semantic content ("the One who is / will be") is grammaticalized twice — once as a finite verb in God's mouth, once as a proper noun on human lips. This is a deliberate person-switch, not a change of deity. It is the single clearest point in Scripture where the divine name is explained morphologically rather than etymologically.
- Consonantal arithmetic: Root ה-י-ה (or the alternate ה-ו-ה) + 3ms prefix י- yields יהוה. The middle waw/yod reflects the weak III-ה / II-waw alternation well-attested in this verb (cf. הֹוֶה "being," Ecc 2:22; הָוָה "falls/happens," Neh 6:6). The 3ms imperfect thus reads phonetically as yihyeh / yahweh / yahaweh — "he is" / "he will be" / "he causes to be" (Hiphil-causative is a minority reading, defended by Albright, contested by most).
4. zeh shemi le-olam (זֶה־שְּׁמִי לְעֹלָם) — Verbless Predicate-Nominal Naming Formula¶
- Parsing: DemPron.ms זֶה + Noun.ms.Abs.+1cs שְּׁמִי — a zero-copula predicate-nominal clause ("this [is] my name"). The parallel וְזֶה זִכְרִי ("and this [is] my memorial") repeats the pattern.
- Force: Explicit self-identification formula — the demonstrative זֶה points anaphorically backward to the name just uttered (יהוה in v.15, or the whole ehyeh-formula of vv.14–15 together). The 1cs pronominal suffix on שֵׁם locks it as God's own declaration ("my name"), not merely a human ascription.
- Temporal extent: לְעֹלָם ("to long-duration, forever") + the reduplicated construction-paralleled phrase לְדֹר דֹּר ("to generation [of] generation") declare the name as permanently binding on all subsequent Israel and the whole biblical corpus that follows. The reduplication לְדֹר דֹּר is an idiomatic perpetuity-formula (cf. Ps 45:18; 77:9; 119:90).
- Grammar reference: symbol-decoding-predicate-nominal — same verbless
DemPron + Nounpredication schema used in vision-decoding (Dan 8:20–21), here deployed for divine self-naming rather than symbol-reference resolution.
5. Speech-Frame Architecture: Triple wayyomer + Triple ehyeh¶
The pericope is structured around three successive divine speech-introductions (וַיֹּאמֶר, each Qal.Wayq.3ms of אמר) and three occurrences of אֶהְיֶה:
| Speech | Verb | Content |
|---|---|---|
| v.13 | Moses speaks | Question: "What is his name?" (מַה־שְּׁמֹו) |
| v.14a | וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים | אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (the formula) |
| v.14b | וַיֹּאמֶר (God to Moses) | אֶהְיֶה שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם (the shortened name) |
| v.15 | וַיֹּאמֶר עֹוד אֱלֹהִים | יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֵיכֶם... (the permanent name) |
Progressive revelation pattern: 1. First utterance: full three-word self-predicating formula (ehyeh asher ehyeh) 2. Second: abbreviated to bare ehyeh (the finite verb treated as name) 3. Third: person-shifted to the nominal יהוה bound to the patriarchal-covenant titles אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם / יִצְחָק / יַעֲקֹב
The עֹוד ("moreover") of v.15 signals an additional, amplifying disclosure — not a correction. The name YHWH of v.15 is thus grammatically equated with the ehyeh of v.14.
Translation History of ehyeh asher ehyeh¶
| Version | Rendering | Grammar logic |
|---|---|---|
| MT (Hebrew) | אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה | Qal impf. 1cs + rel. + Qal impf. 1cs |
| LXX | Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν (Ex 3:14a), ὁ ὤν ἀπέσταλκέν με (3:14b) | 1cs pers. pron. + pres. ind. εἰμι + articular pres. ptcp. ὤν ("the Being-One") — reifies the relative clause as a nominal title |
| Vulgate | Ego sum qui sum | "I am who I am" — relative qui for אֲשֶׁר, indicative sum for ehyeh; preserves present-tense identity-copula |
| Targum Onkelos | אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (Aramaic transliteration retained — untranslated) | Paraphrase refuses: "The one who said to the world, 'Be!' and it was; who said to it, 'Be!' and it shall be" (modal/future reading) |
| Targum Pseudo-Jonathan | "I am he who is and who will be" | Explicitly expands the imperfect into dual present+future |
| KJV | I AM THAT I AM | Small-caps marks the formula; "that" = archaic relative (= "who/which") |
| Rashi | "I will be with them in this distress as I will be with them in future oppressions" | Reads both ehyehs as modal future of presence (cf. Ex 3:12 ki-ehyeh immak) |
The LXX ὁ ὤν tradition was absorbed into Christian theology as the ontological self-existence predicate, preserved in Revelation's self-designation formula ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος (Rev 1:4, 8; 4:8; 11:17; 16:5). Greek εἰμί (G1510) carries this forward; see G1510-eimi.
Cross-References¶
Grammar Library¶
- hebrew/symbol-decoding-predicate-nominal — verbless
DemPron + Nounpredication schema (shared with v.15 zeh shemi) - hebrew/syntax-waw-conjunction — conjunctive vs. disjunctive waw, relevant for v.15's וְזֶה זִכְרִי parallel
- greek/genitive-of-quality-apposition — for LXX-attested phrase structures
Word Studies¶
- H1961-hayah — the verb היה ("to be") in all stems, including Ex 3:14
- G1510-eimi — Greek εἰμί and its LXX correspondence with היה
- TR-hayah-ginomai — translation correspondence הָיָה ↔ γίνομαι/εἰμί
Linked Passages¶
- Gen 17:1 — אֲנִי אֵל שַׁדַּי (1cs + predicate title pattern, same self-disclosure genre)
- Ex 3:6, 15, 16; 4:5 — the patriarchal triadic formula "God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob" re-invoked as the exegesis of יהוה
- Ex 6:2–3 — direct follow-up: "I appeared to Abraham… as אֵל שַׁדַּי, but by my name יהוה I was not known to them"; grammatically continues 3:14–15's name-revelation
- Ex 33:19; 34:6–7 — third name-proclamation scene (wayyikra be-shem YHWH); syntactically parallel self-predication
- Deut 32:39 — אֲנִי אֲנִי הוּא ("I, I am he") — reduplicated 1cs + 3ms pronoun equivalent to the ehyeh/yhwh shift
- Isa 41:4; 43:10, 13; 46:4; 48:12 — Deutero-Isaiah's אֲנִי הוּא ("I am he") formulas as prophetic echoes of Ex 3:14
- Hos 1:9 — לֹא־אֶהְיֶה לָכֶם ("I will not be ehyeh to you") — covenant-reversal inversion of Ex 3:14
- Rev 1:4, 8; 4:8 — Greek ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, the tripartite temporal unfolding of the LXX ὁ ὤν
- John 8:58 — Jesus' πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι ἐγὼ εἰμί; εἰμί used as a predicate-less absolute, echoing LXX Ex 3:14 / Isa אֲנִי הוּא
Summary¶
The grammatical core of Ex 3:13–15 is a three-move self-predication:
- Formula (v.14a): Qal impf. 1cs + asher rel. + Qal impf. 1cs — a self-referential loop of pure being/becoming, grammatically open-ended by design (the imperfect aspect refuses tense-pinning; the relative particle refuses predicate-restriction).
- Abbreviation (v.14b): The bare finite verb אֶהְיֶה functions as a proper name — a 1cs verb-form in the slot of a divine name — binding identity to grammar.
- Nominalization (v.15): The same verb is re-cast in the 3ms as יהוה, shifted from God's own speech into what humans may say of him; then sealed with the zero-copula predicate-nominal zeh shemi le-olam ("this is my name forever").
The morphological link ehyeh ↔ YHWH via the root ה-י-ה / ה-ו-ה is the single load-bearing grammatical fact of the passage; translation traditions (LXX ὁ ὤν; Vulg. qui sum; KJV I AM) each preserve only part of the Hebrew's deliberate triple ambiguity between existence, presence, and self-determining becoming.