And God said unto Moses,
I AM THAT I AM:
and he said,
Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, I AM has sent me unto you.
All Commentaries on Exodus 3:14 Go To Exodus 3
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
But now the Lord speaks to Moses—you know all this, and I won’t keep you longer on it, for lack of time—”I am who I am; he who is sent me.” When he asked God’s name, you see, this is what was said: “I am who I am. And you shall say to the children of Israel, he who is sent me to you.” What’s this all about? O God, O Lord of ours, what are you called? “I am called He is,” he said. What does it mean, I am called He is? “That I abide forever, that I cannot change.” Things which change are not, because they do not last. What is, abides. But whatever changes was something and will be something; yet you cannot say it is, because it is changeable. So the unchangeableness of God was prepared to suggest itself by this phrase “I am who I am.”