djwebb2021 wrote:
John 8:58: Agus duairt Íosa leó: Go deimhin deimhin adeirim libh, táim-se ann ó roimh Ábraham a bheith ann.
Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am.
This is interesting in English, as we don't say "I am" for such perfect-tense circumstances. We would say "I have always been". So Jesus' use of I AM is seen as a reference to Exodus 3:14 (God said to Moses: I AM WHO AM. He said: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: HE WHO IS, hath sent me to you.). This then is seen as a clear statement by Jesus that he was God, who is timeless and therefore always present-tense, as it were.
But in Irish, the use of the present tense is normal for the perfect-tense situations, and in Irish it might not be such a clear reference to the divinity of Christ.
Exodus 3:14: Duairt Dia le Maois: Is mise atá. Duairt sé: Seo mar adéarfair le claínn Israél: An tÉ atá, is é ’ chuir me chúibh.
Because of the tenseless indefinite phrase "róimh Á. a bheith ann" and furthermore because of "ó", since, the present "táimse" is totally unconspicious.
In
An Bíobla Naofa, there is: "sula raibh Abrahám ann, táimse ann.”
Here, I would rather expect past tense "bhí mise ann" (or "bhíos-sa ann"), so present "táimse ann" is as remarkable as it is in English.