I Am that I Am (,
ehyeh ašer ehyeh ) is the common English translation (
JPS among others) of the response
God used in the
Hebrew Bible when
Moses asked for his name (
Exodus 3:14). It is one of the most famous verses in the
Torah. Hayah means "existed" or "was" in Hebrew; "ehyeh" is the first person singular imperfect form and is usually translated in English Bibles as "I am" or "I will be" (or "I shall be"), for example, at Exodus 3:14.
Ehyeh asher ehyeh literally translates as "I Am Who I Am." The ancient Hebrew of Exodus 3:14 lacks a future tense as modern English does, yet a few translations render this name as "I Will Be What I Will Be", given the context of Yahweh promising to be with His people through their future troubles. Both the literal present-tense "I Am" and the future-tense "I will be" have given rise to many attendant theological and mystical implications in Jewish tradition. However, in most English Bibles, in particular the
King James Version, the phrase is rendered as
I am that I am.