Самоопределение Бога в Исх 3:14: «Я есмь Сущий» или «Я Тот, кто Я есть»? Экзегеза современных интерпретаторов и грамматика древних текстов

Государство, религия, церковь в России и за рубежом. 2017. № 4(35). С. 162–186.

Seleznev M.

M. Seleznev. God’s Self-Identification in Exodus 3.14: “I am the Being” or “I am who I am”? Modern Exegesis and Ancient Grammar

The article compares two interpretations of God’s self-definition in Exodus 3:14. The first is the traditional “ontological” interpretation (“I am the One who really is”, “I am the Being”), which is represented in Philo and in the patristic exegesis of the Septuagint, as well as in the standard Russian translation (the so-called Synodal version). The second is the “apophatic” interpretation (“I am what I am”), which is predominant in modern exegesis and modern translations of the Hebrew Bible. Analysis of the Hebrew text clearly shows that the “apophatic” understanding is the original one. The Septuagint rendering of the Hebrew text is often regarded as having been influenced by Greek philosophy, but it may well be explained as the translator’s attempt to retain the parallelism between the two halves of Exodus 3:14 without violating the norms of the Greek grammar. If this is the case, the LXX translators did not invent the “ontological” understanding of this verse, but rather involuntarily prepared the way for it.

Keywords: теология, theology, Septuagint, Септуагинта, библейская экзегеза, Biblical exegesis, Classical Hebrew, древнееврейский язык