Translation, Please?

Have you ever been trying to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak or understand English? Have you ever tried to translate an English word that another language has no words for?

Sometimes it’s difficult to express to someone a concept, idea, or word when there is a language barrier. When the person you’re speaking to has no knowledge of what you are talking about, you do the best you can by using what you know of their language. You meet them where they are at by taking some of their ideas and concepts and applying them to the conversation. You do the best you can and use a word that most closely explains what you’re saying.

This is what happens in the book of Exodus when Moses starts talking to God and asks Him what His name is.

God shows up in a burning bush. God speaks and tells Moses to bring a message to Pharaoh. This isn’t a friendly message and Moses knows the danger. God tells Moses to say to Pharaoh “let my people go.” These are Pharaoh’s slaves. Moses has no right or authority to demand anything of the Pharaoh.

Moses realizes he also has to go to the Israelites and tell them that he was sent to help them. They have no idea who he is and why they should listen to him.

So Moses asks God, what is your name so I may tell them who sent me? God replies “you are to say to the Israelites I AM has sent me to you.”

Come again? Something went wrong in the translation, right? I asked for your name. Names are nouns, not verbs.

Moses asks God His name and God responds, I AM.

“I am” is a verb. It’s not a noun. It’s what we call a “being verb.” “Am” is a tense of “BE.” The tenses include; am, is, was, were, been, being, and are.

God is declaring that I AM. I exist. I am in the past, present, and the future. I just am.

Moses wants to know God’s name. Moses understands that all creation has a name. Moses is one of God’s creation. Moses has a name. Everyone he knows has a name. Every town has a name. Every object has a name. Persons, places, and things have names. Creatures have names. That’s the language of man. Everything has a label.

God is not a creature. God is not a created being. There is no-one able to give Him a name. He just Is. God has no beginning and He has no end.

He is so much bigger and greater and outside our understanding. God intersects humanity. He comes down to our level and meets us where we are. When He engages with Moses and is asked for a name, God does His best, in human terms, to translate his divinity into humanity.

Humans label everything. When we name things we define them. We are placing things in a box of sorts. We even give people nicknames to describe what they mean to us or something that reflects their character. We like to categorize things, but God can’t be placed in a box. When God was asked His name he simply said “I AM”.

Any name we give him falls completely short of who He is. How we perceive Him is how we label Him. Throughout the Bible, He is given many names. He is called Jehovah Jireh, Adonai, El shaddai, El Ohim, Yahweh, and more. He is all those and yet they can never be enough. He is I AM.

Jesus reaffirms this in the New Testament. When Jesus was talking to the Jews he said, “I assure you; Before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58. Jesus didn’t say “I was” before Abraham, he said “I am” before Abraham. Jesus is saying the same thing God told Moses. I exist. I always have, I always will. I am not created. I just AM. I AM then and I AM now.

And, he is.

He is the alpha and omega. The beginning and the end. He is from everlasting to everlasting. He is the creator who has no creator. No human name can do justice. He is divinity tying to explain to humanity who he is, and the best translation is “I AM.”