In the* beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and God was the Word.
John 1:1 NKJV
Click Here to see how the verse reads in:
The Literal English, the Greek Spelling, and the Concordance Number.
Here is the literal breakdown:
"In beginning..."
Notice there is no definite article "the," it does not say, "In the
beginning." John uses this phrase because he wants his readers to know exactly
which beginning he is talking about.
Genesis 1:1 literally translated reads, in both the Hebrew as well as the Greek
translation of the text (called the Septuagint), In beginning God(s) He created the
heavens and the earth. Here again there is no definite article "the" in
the text. John is quoting this opening phrase from Genesis 1:1 so his readers will
know and identify what beginning he is talking about, that is, the beginning of the
creation of the physical universe.
"...was..."
This verb means to exist. It is in the Imperfect Tense which indicates continuous
action in past time.
"...the Word..."
Word is translated from the Greek word Logos. From the Greek word Logos comes
logistics, logic, etc. The Greek philosophers at that time believed the God of the
universe thought of the design for everything in His mind first, then spoke it all into
existance, therefore the Greeks called God "the Word."
(Notice John 1:14 says, "And the Word became flesh..."
In verse 1, it says, "the Word was," which means that at the time of creation
the Word was already in existance. In verse 14, when it says, "the Word became
flesh," it means the Word has always been but became flesh (human) at one point in
time and history.)
"...and the Word was with God..."
Here the word translated with in the English translation is not the preposition with as in
to accompany someone. This with comes from the Greek word pros, which means to or
toward, and makes up part of the Greek word prosopon, which means face. When it says
"to God" in this text it means face-to-face with God and indicates equality with
God.
"...and God was the Word."
Notice the exact wording, it does not say, "and the Word was God," but rather
"and God was the Word."
First of all, there is NO indefinite article "a" in Greek so it cannot be
translated "a God."
Secondly, it is very important to understand the exact wording used here. In this
phrase there is no definite article "the" that goes with the word
"God" so some translators insert the word "a" into the text.
This is stricly a personal choice for an English translation and has nothing to do with
Greek or the original languages.
John purposely did not put the definite article with God. In New Testament times
there was a Gnostic doctrine being taught that said, "The God was in the Word"
which in Greek meant all that God is was in the Word when He became flesh. This
doctrine was not only teaching that all of God was in Christ, but that God was only in
Christ and nowhere else. Sabel (a teacher of this doctrine) taught that indeed
Christ was all God, but was limited to being just in Christ (the Word) and nowhere
else. John did not use the definite article with God because he was refuting this
doctrine, which is now known as Sabellianism.
In Greek when you do not use the definite article in a predicate nominative phrase such as
this, it expresses a quality, nature or characteristic of the subject you are talking
about. John purposely omitted the definite article in order to say that God in His
nature and quality was in Christ when He became the Word, but was everywhere else at the
same time.
In summary, this verse says:
In beginning, at the time of the creation of the physical universe, the Word already
existed and was equal to God, and God, in His nature and quality, was the Word.
NOTE*: inserted word (the); This
word was added by the translators for better readability in the English. There is no
actual word in the Greek text. The word may be displayed in italics, or in parentheses or
other brackets, to indicate that it is not in the original text. (Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek -Hebrew Dictionary.
Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
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