In the discussion of
the phrase εγω ειμι in verses 8:18, 24 and 28, I followed the work of a number of scholars
who look to Deutero-Isaiah as the most likely background for the Johannine expression.
The context of the final εγω ειμι in verse 54 may also be best elucidated
through Isaiah, particularly the targumic version:
MT Isa 43:10-12 |
Tg Isa 43:10-12 |
10. You are my witnesses, says the That you may know and believe me
11. I, I am the LORD |
You are witnesses before me, says the
Lord |
Abraham has been
inserted into the text of the Targum in connection with the deliverance from
Egypt. Abraham is added to Isaiah in other places expressing a similar theme of
Abraham as savior. In some cases he replaces the original reference to Cyrus
who was considered a savior figure (41:2; 48:15-16). The reference above to
43:10-12 is particularly striking as the Gospel picks up the theme of “knowing”
and “believing” (8:24, 28). The Gospel (v. 56) and Targum (v. 12) follow the
Jewish tradition found already in Jubilees (16:26) that future events were
revealed to Abraham:
Targum—I declared to
Abraham your father what was about to come
Jubilees—He knew and perceived that from him there would be a righteous
planting for eternal generations
Gospel—Abraham rejoiced to see my day
Both Targum and
gospel speak of the pre-existence of the “I Am.”
Targum—“I am he that was from the beginning” (Is. Tg. V. 10).
Gospel—“Before Abraham was I am” (8:58).
The similarities
between the Gospel and Targum suggest that both draw upon a common source of
traditional material concerning Abraham available to a first-century author. (Mary
L. Coloe, God Dwells with Us: Temple Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel
[Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 2001], 141-42)