John 1:1

From Textus Receptus

Revision as of 22:15, 22 October 2010

John 1:1 in the 1611 King James Version

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Theology

The phrase "the Word" (a translation of the Greek word "Logos") refers to Jesus Christ, as indicated in other verses later in the same chapter (John 1:14). This verse set the stage for later developments in Trinitarian theology and Christology. It clearly demonstrates that the Son has eternal pre-existence with the Father.

Of the Gospels, John has the highest Christology. Here Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the True Vine, etc. In 1:1, John identifies Jesus as the Logos, that source which made the existence of the created world possible.

Gordon Clark a Calvinist theologian and expert on pre-Socratic philosophy, famously translated Logos as "Logic": "In the beginning was the Logic, and the Logic was with God and the Logic was God." He meant to imply by this translation that the laws of logic were contained in the Bible itself and were therefore not a secular principle imposed on the Christian worldview.

Following Jesuit translations of the 18th Century, today most Chinese Bible translations use the word "Tao" in John 1:1 to translate "Logos", following the use as "Idea" in Taoism.

In unitarian Christology there are other interpretations of John 1:1. In the commentaries on John ch.1 by Lelio Sozzini (Zurich, c.1559) and his nephew Fausto Sozzini (Lyons, c.1562) the "word" being "made flesh" is taken as a reference to the virgin birth, and not to the personal pre-existence of Christ. The passages in the New Testament referring to the Logos were explained by Fausto Sozzini as relating to the foreknown work of Christ as the author of the new creation, not as relating to the "old" Genesis creation. Fausto Sozzini aimed to "completely de-Platonize" the reading of John 1:1-15.

Patristic quotes

Christian apologist Justin Martyr (c 150) identified Jesus as the Logos:

I shall give you another testimony, my friends, from the Scriptures, that God begot before all creatures a Beginning, [who was] a certain rational power [proceeding] from Himself, who is called by the Holy Spirit, now the Glory of the Lord, now the Son, again Wisdom, again an Angel, then God, and then Lord and Logos; (Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter 61.)

The famous "Prologue" or John's "Hymn to Logos" in the findings dating back to 200, also known as Papyrus 66 Papyrus Bodmer II currently stored at Geneva

Greek

Textus Receptus

John 1:1 in the Greek Complutensian Polyglot

• 1514 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. (Complutensian Polyglot)

• 1550 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. (Stephanos)

• 1598 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. (Beza)

• en arche en ho logos kai ho logos en pros ton theon kai theos en ho logos. Textus Receptus transliteration

Other Greek

John 1:1 in the Greek Codex Sinaiticus

• 360 ΕΝ ΑΡΧΗ ΗΝ Ο ΛΟΓΟC ΚΑΙ Ο ΛΟΓΟC ΗΝ ΠΡΟC ΤΟΝ ΘΝ ΚΑΙ ΘC ΗΝ Ο ΛΟΓΟC (Codex Sinaiticus)

• 400 ΕΝ ΑΡΧΗ ΗΝ Ο ΛΟΓΟC ΚΑΙ Ο ΛΟΓΟC Η ΠΡΟC ΤΟΝ ΘΝ ΚΑΙ ΘC ΗΝ Ο ΛΟΓΟC (Codex Alexandrinus)

John 1:1 in the Greek Codex Alexandrinus

• 1869 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. (Tischendorf - Editio Octava Critica Maior)

English Translations

• 1380 In the biginnynge was the word and the word was at god, and god was the word, Wycliffe's Bible

• 1526 In the begynnynge was that worde and that worde was with god: and god was thatt worde.

• 1535 In the begynnynge was the worde, and the worde was with god, and god was ye worde.

• 1560 In the beginning was the Worde, and the Worde was with God and that Worde was God. (Geneva Bible)

• 1568 In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, and that Word was God. (Bishops' Bible)

• 1611 In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (King James Version)

• 1898 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.(Young's Literal Translation)

• 1999 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (American King James Version)

• 1901 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (American Standard Version)

• 1973 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (NIV)

• 1984 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (NIV)

• 1995 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (NASB)

• 2001 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (ESV)

• 2007 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. (NLT)

• 2008 In the beginning, the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. (ISV)

Foreign Language Translations

John 1:1 in the Latin Complutensian Polyglot

Albabian

Në fillim ishte Fjala dhe Fjala ishte pranë Perëndisë, dhe Fjala ishte Perëndi.

Armenian

Սկիզբէն էր Խօսքը, ու Խօսքը Աստուծոյ քով էր, եւ Խօսքը Աստուած էր. (Western)

Arabic

Croatian

• U početku je bio on, Riječ, i on, Riječ, bio je s Bogom i on, Riječ, bio je Bog.

French

• 1864 Au commencement était le Verbe, et le Verbe était en Dieu, et le Verbe était Dieu. (Augustin Crampon)

• 1910 Au commencement était la Parole, et la Parole était avec Dieu, et la Parole était Dieu. (Louis Segond)

• 2006 Au commencement était la Parole, et la Parole était avec Dieu, et celui qui est la Parole était Dieu. (King James Française)

Italian

The term "logos" in the Christian tradition is rendered in Italian as "verb," taking a calculated Latin "verbum."

• 1649 NEL principio la Parola era, e la Parola era appo Dio, e la Parola era Dio. (Diodati Bible)

• 1927 Nel principio era la Parola, e la Parola era con Dio, e la Parola era Dio. (Riveduta Bible)

Latin

• in principio erat Verbum et Verbum erat apud Deum et Deus erat Verbum (Vulgate)

Russian

The first translation of this type in the Slavic language translators implemented the Holy Scriptures of Saints Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher and his brother Methodius.

• В начале было Слово, и Слово было у Бога, и Слово было Бог. (RUSV)

• Ен архэ̃ь э̃н ъо Ло́гос, ка̀й ъо Ло́гос э̃н про̀с то̀н Тъео́н, ка̀й Тъео̀с э̃н ъо Ло́гос. Russian Transliteration of the Greek

• В началѣ бѣ слово и слово бѣ къ Богу и Бог бѣ слово (Church Slavonic)

Spanish

Versions agreeing with the KJV

ASV, Darby, Douay, EMTV, ERV, KJV21, LO, Noyes, RWebster, WEB, Webster, WEY, Youngs.

John 1:1 from the Ostromir Gospel, with John's Evangelist portrait, 1056 or 1057.

Other Mistranslations

• 1 From the first he was the Word, and the Word was in relation with God and was God. (BBE)

• 1 In a beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God, and a god was the Word. (Diaglot)

• 1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. (GWV)

• 1 Originally, was, the Word, and, the Word, was, with God; and, the Word, was, God. (Rotterham)

• 1 In the beginning the Word existed; and the Word was face to face with God, yea, the Word was God Himself. (Williams)

Translations by James Moffatt, Hugh J. Schonfield and Edgar Goodspeed render it:

"...and the Word was divine."

Commentaries

• Wesley's Notes

• Geneva Study Bible

• Scofield Reference Notes

• Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

See Also

• John 1:1 (NWT) John 1:1 in the New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses

• Jesus Christ the Logos

External Links