I am in the Old Testament because there are many stories that have been passed through generations and still apply today. The phrase “I am” reflects Exodus 3:14, where God introduces himself to Moses with the expression “I am who I am.” This statement became a way to connect with God personally and was used throughout Israel’s history to convey that God always was, always is and always will be. It is connected to the passage in Exodus 3:14 in which God gives his name as אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה, Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, translated most basically as “I am that I am” or “I shall be what I am”. In the Hebrew Bible (Exodus 3:14), it is the personal name of God, revealed directly to Moses.
The “I am” statements found in the Gospel of John are the bread of life (6:35), the light of the world (8:12), the door (10:7), the good shepherd (10:11, 14), the resurrection and the life (11:25), the way the truth and the life (14:6) and the true vine (15:1).
List of I am in the Bible
The phrase “I am” is one of the most significant and powerful declarations in the Bible. It is often used by God Himself to reveal His divine nature, authority, and presence to His people. Throughout the scriptures, we can find numerous instances where God identifies Himself with the phrase “I am.” Here are 12 verses that highlight the significance of “I am” in the Bible:
1. Exodus 3:14
“I am who I am.” This is the response that God gave to Moses when he asked for His name. It signifies God’s self-existence, eternal nature, and sovereignty.
2. John 8:58
“Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.'” In this verse, Jesus affirms His eternal existence and divine identity as the Son of God.
3. John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'” Here, Jesus declares Himself as the only way to salvation and eternal life.
4. John 10:9
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” Jesus is the only gateway to God and His kingdom.
5. John 15:1
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.” In this verse, Jesus uses the metaphor of a vine to symbolize our unity with Him and dependence on His life-giving presence.
6. John 11:25
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.'” Jesus is the source of eternal life and the promise of resurrection for all who believe in Him.
7. John 6:35
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'” Just as physical bread sustains our bodies, Jesus sustains our spirits.
8. John 8:12
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.'” Jesus is the spiritual light that guides us out of darkness and into His truth.
9. John 13:13
“You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.” Jesus acknowledges His authority and positions Himself as the ultimate teacher and master.
10. John 18:37
“Then Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.'” Jesus affirms His kingship and mission to reveal God’s truth to the world.
As we can see from these verses, the phrase “I am” carries great significance in the Bible, revealing the eternal nature, authority, and presence of God and Jesus Christ. It reminds us of the unchanging and faithful character of our Creator and Savior.
”I Am” Statements In The Old Testament
1. Exodus 3:14
In Exodus 3:14, God speaks to Moses from the burning bush and says, “I am who I am.” This powerful statement signifies God’s eternal existence and unchanging nature. It reveals God’s self-sufficiency and sovereignty, emphasizing that He is the ultimate authority.
2. Isaiah 43:10
Isaiah 43:10 declares, “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.” This verse highlights God’s desire for His people to recognize His unique identity and to trust in Him wholeheartedly.
3. Psalms 46:10
The familiar verse in Psalms 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” This verse encourages believers to rest in God’s presence, acknowledging His power and authority over all circumstances. It reminds us to trust in God’s plan and to find peace in His sovereignty.
4. Jeremiah 10:10
Jeremiah 10:10 states, “But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King.” This verse affirms God’s eternal existence and reign over all creation. It emphasizes that there is no other God like Him and that He alone deserves our worship and praise.
5. Ezekiel 36:23
Ezekiel 36:23 declares, “I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations.” This verse reveals God’s desire to display His glory and holiness to the world. It demonstrates God’s commitment to restoring His name and reputation among all people.
As Moses hid his face, the Lord’s merciful words issuing forth from the burning bush must have rung with the echoes of eternity:
“I have surely seen the affliction of my people … ; for I know their sorrows;
“And I am come down to deliver them. …
“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?
“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 3:7–8, 13–14).
Known to ancient Israel as the Lord Jehovah, the premortal Jesus Christ identified Himself as the source to which His people should look for redemption. Thousands of years later, the resurrected Jesus Christ reconfirmed His promise of deliverance to modern Israel with these words: “Be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:6; emphasis added).
The scriptures, the words of life, are designed to point the children of God in every generation to Jesus Christ for deliverance from sin and death and all our earthly problems. The Old Testament is no exception; as with every volume of scripture, it is intended to turn our hearts and minds to our Deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ. But in this ancient record particularly, He must be sought or He might not be found.
When searching for Christ in any book of scripture, it helps to constantly remind ourselves what we are looking for. Jesus Christ is the source of life! To the fatal problems of spiritual and physical death introduced by the Fall, Christ is Israel’s eternal solution. Lehi declared, “He offereth himself … to answer the ends of the law” (2 Nephi 2:7; emphasis added). It is that answer—the Redeemer of Israel, the Great “I Am”—that we seek when searching the scriptures. Within the poetic and often archaic language of the Old Testament, however, the eternal problems—and Jesus Christ, the solution—are not always readily identifiable. Even so, Jesus Christ is there beneath the surface, waiting to be found in the ancient narratives.
As you keep in mind the name of the Lord shared with Moses on Mount Sinai—“I Am”—consider the many things that Jesus Christ is to those who put their trust in Him. The following examples are symbolic teachings from the Old Testament designed to turn our hearts and minds to the Lord Jesus Christ for deliverance.
“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 3:7–8, 13–14). Known to ancient Israel as the Lord Jehovah, the premortal Jesus Christ identified Himself as the source to which His people should look for redemption.
I Am In The Old Testament
Who is God? This question drives much of human history, and is a driving force across the meta-narrative of the Bible. After the fall of man in Genesis, mankind no longer had direct access to God, and even the people of Israel only knew certain aspects of their Creator. In Exodus, God states His own name for the first time: “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14).
The name of I AM is how God chose to introduce himself, becoming so sacred that in Judaism, the name is not to be spoken. The significance of God’s self-given name encompasses all that He is, and how we are to relate to Him.
What Is the Context and Significance of the Name I AM?
The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Bible. The first five books of both the Jewish and Christian Bibles, called the Pentateuch, are historically attributed to Moses. In context, the introduction of the name I AM comes early in Exodus. The Israelites had been in bondage in Egypt for four centuries. Near the end of this time, Moses fled Egypt and lived in Midian for forty years when God came to him and spoke through a burning bush. Moses asks God for His name, so he will have an answer when the people of Israel ask. In English, God’s answer is translated as “I AM WHO I AM … tell them I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). This name is known as the Tetragrammaton.
To understand the power and weight of this name, compare this answer to the Egyptian pantheon. The Israelite nation lived surrounded by temples dedicated to deities with faces, bodies, birth stories, and death stories. Most significantly, they had names and dominion over certain aspects of life. For example, the goddess Isis had dominion over women, children, and medicine. Her name identified her with specific characteristics, and she held sway only over a few elements of life. Not so for the God of Israel.
Prior to this moment with Moses, the Israelites called their god Elohim or El – is a title, not a personal name – or “El Shaddai”, often translated as God Almighty. When God gives a name for His people to call Him it conveys His dominion over all things, the source of His power, and His eternal nature: I AM. He is the self-sufficient, self-sustaining God who was, who is, and who will be.
This eternal nature is conveyed better in the Hebrew than in the English. The first time God says I AM (“I AM WHO I AM”), the Hebrew says, “Ehyeh asher Ehyeh”, which translates as “I will be what I will be.” When God then tells Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent you” (Exodus 3:14), it is “Yahweh.” Yahweh is the third person version of Ehyeh, which is first person. Yahweh could also be translated as He will be.
This video from the Bible project explains this topic more.
Where Else Is the Name I AM in the Bible?
The Tetragrammaton appears over six-thousand times in the Bible, even in modern English translations. The Hebrew scribes were very careful to neither say aloud, nor fully spell out the holy and sacred name of God, Yahweh. Instead they would put it in all capital letters, and say Adonai. They put the vowels of Adonai into the consonants of Yaweh to get YAHOWAH, which English Christians translated into Jehovah. Today, any time a translator wants to acknowledge where YHWH is in the original Hebrew text, they use the word LORD in all capital letters.
Some examples include:
Isaiah 8:1 “Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters…”
Psalm 149:1 “Praise the LORD! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!”
Proverbs 21:3 “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.”
Perhaps the most significant use of the name I AM in the Bible comes from Jesus Christ. The religious leaders would often try to catch Jesus in heresy, in a lie, or blaspheming so they could be rid of him. In John 8, the Jewish people challenged his authority, and they brought up Abraham. Jesus tells them how glad Abraham is to see the day of the Lord. When asked by the crowd how He speaks as if He knows Abraham, “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am’” (John 8:58).
While the original statement in the Book of John comes to us in Greek, the context does indicate that Jesus is invoking the Divine Name of God. First, He is claiming to pre-exist Abraham, a feat rather difficult for an ordinary man. Second, the Jewish people reacted to this statement by trying to stone Jesus, as prescribed in Leviticus 24:15-16, “And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.” The Jewish people took this law seriously, and reacted to Christ invoking I AM by trying to carry out the punishment of the Levitical law. To them it was blasphemy, as Christ took the Divine name for Himself.