“I AM” in the Pentateuch

“And He said to him, ‘I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.’”  Genesis 15:7

There are seven “I am’s” in the Book of Genesis. The first is a beautiful figure of speech - “I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great” (Gen. 15:1), but the others are all names and titles of God. The first of these is in our text above, identifying Jehovah Himself (the Lord) with the “I am.”

The next is Gen. 17:1: “I am God Almighty.” The Hebrew here is El “Shaddai” (“God the nourishing sustainer”), also found in Gen. 35:11. Next is in Gen. 26:24: “I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you.” Then, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac” (Gen. 28:13). “I am the God of Bethel” (Gen. 21:12). “Beth-el” means “the house of God.” Finally, God says: “I am God, the God of your father” (Gen. 46:3).

In Exodus there are 21 places where God says: “I am.” Most of these are merely variations of the different names of God as noted above in the “I am’s” of Genesis, but six do give new insight. The first, of course, is the great assertion of Exodus 3:14, where God identifies Himself as “I AM WHO I AM.” The others: “I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land” (Ex. 8:22); “I, the Lord, am your healer” (Ex. 15:26); “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Ex. 20:5); “I am gracious” (Ex. 22:27); “I am the Lord who sanctifies you” (Ex. 31:13).

In the remaining books of the Pentateuch, the phrase “I am the LORD your God” occurs very frequently, but there are two important new “I am’s.” “I am holy” occurs six times (e.g. Leviticus 11:45), and “I am your portion and your inheritance” is recorded in Numbers 18:20. The great theme of all these claims and names of God is that the mighty God of time and space is also a caring, personal God. We can trust Him, and He cares for us.