Bible Strands
John 8:58
“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus answers the Jews' challenge in John 8:57 ("You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?") while in the temple area; they respond by picking up stones (v. 59).
The words — The crux is εἰμι (eimi), present-tense "I am," the same formula God uses for himself in Exodus 3:14; it is not "I was" or "I will be" but a standing, self-existent declaration.
The thread — The "before Abraham" claim echoes Colossians 1:17 ("before all things") and John 17:5 ("before the world existed"), while the "I am" formula ties directly to the divine name in Exodus 3:14.
Why it lands — The verse forces a binary: either Jesus is claiming the divine name for himself, or he is lying; the surrounding crowd chose the second and reached for stones, so the reader must decide which reading the text supports.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Cross-references
- Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
- Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
- John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.
- John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
- John 17:24 Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
- Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
- Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Isaiah 48:12 Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called: I am He; I am the first, and I am the last.