Is Exodus 3:14 a Protophilosophical Foreign Body?

Abstract

Ex 3:14 is a verse whose possible philosophical and metaphysical meaning has been the subject of a controversial debate for quite a long time. The present paper argues that Ex 3:14 can be interpreted as the result of a Hellenistic influence on the development of the biblical names of God. According to our interpretation, Ex 3:14 expresses an aspect of God’s being that is hardly ever mentioned in Holy Scripture, i.e. his autarchy. This does not mean that God ceases to be the one who engages in a history of salvation, but only that he is not completely reducible to his redemptive relationship with humanity.