John 8:25

Who art thou? Literally, “Thou, who art thouT ’ There was a vagueness in Jesus’ statement, and so the present question was probably an attempt to draw from Him some statement that could be made the ground of a technical charge. But Jesus avoided giving a definite answer to the question.

From the beginning. Gr. ten archen. There has been much discussion over the translation of this phrase, but on the whole the translation as it appears in the KJV, RSV, etc., seems preferable and is defensible. Some suggest that the phrase should be rendered “primarily [in essence].” Others suggest the translation “at all,” and make the passage a question, “How is it that I even speak to you at all?” (RV margin). However, the context favors the rendering “from the beginning.” Jesus says, in substance, “I have been informing you about it all the time.”