58Jesus told them, “Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, before there was an Abraham, I AM!” 59At this, they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the Temple. John 8:58’s quotation of Jesus by which he identifies himself as the “I AM” Yahweh Elohim of the Hebrew Scriptures is a constant theme throughout the Gospel of John. Consider, for example, Jesus’ comments to his own disciples on the night of his betrayal. John 13:18-19 quotes Jesus as saying
