Use without a predicate in Hellenistic Greek is largely consistent with earlier 'classical' use, even in Jewish texts: Ambrose (ca.
In his Exposition of the Christian Faith, Book III wrote: "In its extent, the preposition “before” reaches back into the past without end or limit, and so “Before Abraham was, [ἐγώ εἰμι]” clearly does not mean “after Adam,” just as “before the Morning Star” does not mean “after the angels.” But when He said “before [πριν],” He intended, not that He was included in any one's existence, but that all things are included in His, for thus it is the custom of Holy Writ to show the eternity of God.
[7] In Protestant commentaries it is often stated that "whenever John reports Jesus as saying ego eimi, a claim to deity is implicit.
But identifies either an implied predicate: or: It is generally considered, for example by Daniel B. Wallace,[13] that if that the intention of John was to state "I was" then the text should instead contain the corresponding past tense form which is ego ēn "I was", as in English and elsewhere in the New Testament.
However in John 8:58 a few Bibles have renderings of eimi in past tenses: This reading is supported by a minority of modern scholars: Jason BeDuhn, cites Herbert Weir Smyth's grammar[14] which shows examples in classical narratives of where a use of Greek present can be translated by English present perfect progressive, and BeDuhn argues for a "past progressive" translation such as "I have been.
[17] BeDuhn has objected to Howe's critique, describing it as "a mess of circular argument, special pleading, and irrelevant 'evidence.
[25] He considers this to be contextually more probable and additionally sees a connection to Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.