Footnote

“I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE.” Heb., אֶהְיֶֽה אֲשֶֽׁר אֶהְיֶֽה (ʼEh·yehʹ ʼAsherʹ ʼEh·yehʹ), God’s own self-designation; Leeser, “I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE”; Rotherham, “I Will Become whatsoever I please.” Gr., E·goʹ ei·mi ho on, “I am The Being,” or, “I am The Existing One”; Lat., eʹgo sum qui sum, “I am Who I am.” ʼEh·yehʹ comes from the Heb. verb ha·yahʹ, “become; prove to be.” Here ʼEh·yehʹ is in the imperfect state, first person sing., meaning “I shall become”; or, “I shall prove to be.” The reference here is not to God’s self-existence but to what he has in mind to become toward others. Compare Ge 2:4 ftn, “Jehovah,” where the kindred, but different, Heb. verb ha·wahʹ appears in the divine name.