NOTE: This information in this entry is slightly inaccurate. Check blog entry "Clearing up the Articulars."
Have you ever seen the movie "Luther?" Not the old one, but the newer? There is a line in that movie that stuck with me, as Martin Luther is busy translating the Bible from Greek and Latin into German. He comes to the word "will," which in German has the connotation of power, authority, as in bending one to your will, but in the Greek, it means things along the lines of fire, passion and desire. After he ponders it a moment he says, "It's not the word that's important, but what it says about God."
I thought of that as I pondered this word λόγος (logos), which is found in John 1:1-2. I know I've already done bits and pieces on this chapter, but it gets better. I think it's amazing what this word says about God.
(1) Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. (2) οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν.
John 1:1 - In the beginning was the word (logos), and the word (logos) was with God, and the word (logos) was God. He (the logos) was with God in the beginning.
This is my own personal analysis in this paragraph, but you'll notice that in John it says ὁ λόγος, using an article, "The word." It's characteristic of divine expression in this case. This is not any common word, but is the word. This is similar to the Greek phrase αἱ γραφαί, which translated to us as "Scripture" or "The Scriptures." In Greek, it literally means "the writings," but a writing could be any piece of work, so the definite article makes it specific. What writings? The writings. To the believers in Yahweh, those could mean only one set of writings; thus following, the word can only refer to one word, and it the word originated from God, and to a culture that treasures God above all things, there is nothing so specific, unique and set apart as that which originates from God (which, truthfully, is how we should all learn to think); yet we haven't touched yet,"Just what is this logos?"
I read something very interesting today about that word "logos." In Greek, there are two words for "word." One is rhema (ῥῆμα), the other is logos (λόγος). A question occured to me, "Why is it that one of these is used and not the other? Why not rhema?" My mother had bought a copy of the MacArthur Study Bible, and I began reading the commentary, and there it was! I have my Strong's Concordance with me, and there's nothing really unique about the word "rhema." Here's what it says:
"An utterance (collective, individual, specific); by implication, a matter or topic." Nothing very special about it.
However, logos is a different story.
According to John MacArthur, the word, and John's meaning behind it, drew both from Old Testament meaning and Greek philosophy. In Greek philosophy, logos meant another kind of word, which was usually impersonal, and signified principles such as divine reason, the mind or perhaps wisdom. This of course is a closer to John's intentions in talking about Jesus Christ than is the word "rhema." John doesn't rely on Greek philosophy itself to get the meaning across, but its cultural implications are needed to make it work. Instead, John uses it in the sense that it was used in the Old Testament; as God's divine and powerful expression, such as in Genesis 1:3. Read over John 1 and notice the glory that John attributes to this logos, and you can see immediately it is something unique, something unlike anything else. The beauty of the word though is that both the Greeks and the Jews would understand what was meant by it, and it's that Christ is something more than just mere words.
When I think about it, I believe John is conveying something through this word that actually gets into the mind of God, for John Chapter 1 is a powerful overview of Jesus Christ and all that He came to accomplish. All the things that Christ is, are the things that are even now in the heart of God. Think on these things:
He is not just the spoken words of God; He is the powerful expression of God.
He is the embodiment of what is in the mind of God.
This logos was there when the world was created, and before.
This logos was His companion when He created the world, a funnel (if you will) through which everything was run.
This logos was the mind and thoughts that God used when creating the world.
This logos was the revelation of God that the world had been waiting for since Genesis 3:15.
And He has come and been revealed to us, and is the one by which God even now speaks to us (Hebrews 1:1-2).
You know why the world hates Christ and disputes Him so much? The thing that the world hates about Christ is just what was mentioned above; He is the ultimate expression of the mind of God, all of Himself wrapped up in skin and bones, all brought down to something which we could potentially understand. Everything about Him was in the mind of God; He did not live a moment outside the will of God, for Him and the Father are One. The unity is very hard to comprehend, but when you see Christ, you see the Father! In no former moment in history did the light so shine in the darkness as to shatter it the way that Christ has. All is now in the light, and a sinful world cannot take it.
ὁ λόγος ἐστίν. He is the Word.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
John 1:6-8
Copied directly from greekbible.com:
Ἰωάννης 1.6-8
(6) Ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ θεοῦ, ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ἰωάννης: (7) οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν, ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός, ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσιν δι' αὐτοῦ. (8) οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς, ἀλλ' ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός.
English (NIV)
(6)There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. (7)He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. (8)He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
I boldfaced a couple of words in each one, so that you could get a corresponding idea. I'm going to try and go into a little detail on what's going on in each word.
ἀπεσταλμένος -apestalmenos -Verb, taken from the stem ἀποστέλλω (apostellw), which means according to the Strong's Concordance, means "to send out." You see where we get the word "apostle?" GreekBible.com states "one who is ordered to go to a particular place."
Tense: Perfect, as in "has been sent"
Voice: Passive, equivalent to "was sent"
Mood: Participle, a "verbal adjective," if you will. Usually relates to duty, capability, quality, etc. "Loving," "caring," etc.
Case: Nominative, the case of the subject. In English, we might say in a nominative statement, "the one who was sent."
Number: Singular
Gender: Masculine
I see a few things in here. The mood interests me the most, as it's as if to say that John was the one to do this work, that he was made for it. He was fulfilling his God-given role.
ἦλθεν - Eelthen - Verb, from the stem ἐρχομαι, which means "to come," usually in reference to a person, and either coming or going from one place to another. My Stron'gs concordance says this verb is usually only used in the present and imperfect tenses.
Person: Third
Tense: Aorist, same as past indefinite, absolute fact. "He came."
Voice: Active, meaning the subject actively doing the verb.
Mood: Indicative, which would be like saying, "He comes."
Number: Singular
μαρτυρίαν - Marturian - Declension of the word μαρτυρία, which means to testify or give witness. The word is accusatively inclined, being like the case of the object. Think of it this way: In the same way we capitalize a letter "j vs. J," you see how the letter changes, and what it does. The accusative, in a way, is modifying "he" (οὑτος) in the verse, saying something about it. In other ways, it's the object of a preposition (ie., as a WITNESS, in the FIELD, for the CAUSE)
ἵνα - Hina - In order that, so that, to the intent (that), so as
πιστεύσωσιν -Pisteuswsin - Verb, from the word πιστεύω, which is where we get the word "faith." For more precise definition, (from GreekBible) "To be sure of, to think true, be persuaded of, to have confidence in a conviction." A good definition in here is, "the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul ," and also describes the ability to trust in either God or Jesus as being able to aid or do something.
Person: Third
Tense: Aorist, see ηλθεν
Voice: Active, see ηλθεν
Mood: Subjunctive, conveying a desire, wish or hope ("that they might," "in hopes that they might")
Number: Plural. The verb is referring to the preceeding word παντες which is translated as "all men."
I notice that GreekBible.com does not provide a case for it. The aorist, when combined with an indicative cast, represents a "pure and simple" action, but without a case, there's no such thing. I looked on a few other sites, and it's not given there either. I take this to mean that what John stated, the intended effects run through till today.
ἦν - Een - This is just the past form of the word "to be." It's third person, so it's the same as saying, "he was."
ἐκεῖνος - Ekeinos - "That one; often intensified by the art," according to Strong's Concordance. GreekBible.com, "he, she, it." I'm thinking that this is an intensified version of "he/she/it," so as to be translated "He himself."
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Ἰωάννης 1.6-8
(6) Ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ θεοῦ, ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ἰωάννης: (7) οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν, ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός, ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσιν δι' αὐτοῦ. (8) οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς, ἀλλ' ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός.
English (NIV)
(6)There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. (7)He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. (8)He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
I boldfaced a couple of words in each one, so that you could get a corresponding idea. I'm going to try and go into a little detail on what's going on in each word.
ἀπεσταλμένος -apestalmenos -Verb, taken from the stem ἀποστέλλω (apostellw), which means according to the Strong's Concordance, means "to send out." You see where we get the word "apostle?" GreekBible.com states "one who is ordered to go to a particular place."
Tense: Perfect, as in "has been sent"
Voice: Passive, equivalent to "was sent"
Mood: Participle, a "verbal adjective," if you will. Usually relates to duty, capability, quality, etc. "Loving," "caring," etc.
Case: Nominative, the case of the subject. In English, we might say in a nominative statement, "the one who was sent."
Number: Singular
Gender: Masculine
I see a few things in here. The mood interests me the most, as it's as if to say that John was the one to do this work, that he was made for it. He was fulfilling his God-given role.
ἦλθεν - Eelthen - Verb, from the stem ἐρχομαι, which means "to come," usually in reference to a person, and either coming or going from one place to another. My Stron'gs concordance says this verb is usually only used in the present and imperfect tenses.
Person: Third
Tense: Aorist, same as past indefinite, absolute fact. "He came."
Voice: Active, meaning the subject actively doing the verb.
Mood: Indicative, which would be like saying, "He comes."
Number: Singular
μαρτυρίαν - Marturian - Declension of the word μαρτυρία, which means to testify or give witness. The word is accusatively inclined, being like the case of the object. Think of it this way: In the same way we capitalize a letter "j vs. J," you see how the letter changes, and what it does. The accusative, in a way, is modifying "he" (οὑτος) in the verse, saying something about it. In other ways, it's the object of a preposition (ie., as a WITNESS, in the FIELD, for the CAUSE)
ἵνα - Hina - In order that, so that, to the intent (that), so as
πιστεύσωσιν -Pisteuswsin - Verb, from the word πιστεύω, which is where we get the word "faith." For more precise definition, (from GreekBible) "To be sure of, to think true, be persuaded of, to have confidence in a conviction." A good definition in here is, "the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul ," and also describes the ability to trust in either God or Jesus as being able to aid or do something.
Person: Third
Tense: Aorist, see ηλθεν
Voice: Active, see ηλθεν
Mood: Subjunctive, conveying a desire, wish or hope ("that they might," "in hopes that they might")
Number: Plural. The verb is referring to the preceeding word παντες which is translated as "all men."
I notice that GreekBible.com does not provide a case for it. The aorist, when combined with an indicative cast, represents a "pure and simple" action, but without a case, there's no such thing. I looked on a few other sites, and it's not given there either. I take this to mean that what John stated, the intended effects run through till today.
ἦν - Een - This is just the past form of the word "to be." It's third person, so it's the same as saying, "he was."
ἐκεῖνος - Ekeinos - "That one; often intensified by the art," according to Strong's Concordance. GreekBible.com, "he, she, it." I'm thinking that this is an intensified version of "he/she/it," so as to be translated "He himself."
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Saturday, July 11, 2009
katalambanw (καταλαμβάνω)
καταλαμβάνω
Ἰωαννην 1.5 - ...καὶ ἡ σκοτία εν τῃ σκοτία φαίνει, καὶ ἠ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.
John 1:5 - That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.
Copied directly from greekbible.com:
1) to lay hold of 1a) to lay hold of so as to make one's own, to obtain, attain to, to make one's own, to take into one's self, appropriate 1b) to seize upon, take possession of 1b1) of evils overtaking one, of the last day overtaking the wicked with destruction, of a demon about to torment one 1b2) in a good sense, of Christ by his holy power and influence laying hold of the human mind and will, in order to prompt and govern it 1c) to detect, catch 1d) to lay hold of with the mind 1d1) to understand, perceive, learn, comprehend
As I look at this definition, and one of the reasons I like the idea of studying Greek, is the general essence of character that you could get from a word. Some translations will translate this as "overcome," the KJV translates it "comprehend." But do you realize how this is used to characterize darkness?
Darkness is a captor. It seizes opportunities to oppress. It doesn't just take opportunities to conquer, but takes prisoners. Yet all of a sudden, here comes this thing called LIGHT. Perhaps the forces of darkness were at first confident, gathering weapons and chains so as to oppress, capture and bind the intruder, yet much to their surprise, the light was far too powerful. The 4,000 years of practice and planning had come to nothing!
And when you think about it, this verse is a foreshadow of the rest of the Gospel. Jesus comes in; He heals the sick; He drives out demons; He nourishes people with truth; He gives up Himself so that men may be free from sins; He sends the Holy Spirit. Satan had done everything within His own power to subdue this light, by murder, by oppression, by persecution, by unnatural self-righteousness, and hoped in the end to have taken what would have been just a rather difficult prisoner, but this time He couldn't. People pursued righteousness. Demons fled instantly. People were wholly healed. To assist us, the Holy Spirit was given. When Jesus came, He showed this darkness for what it was; utterly powerless in the presence of God.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Ἰωαννην 1.5 - ...καὶ ἡ σκοτία εν τῃ σκοτία φαίνει, καὶ ἠ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.
John 1:5 - That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.
Copied directly from greekbible.com:
1) to lay hold of 1a) to lay hold of so as to make one's own, to obtain, attain to, to make one's own, to take into one's self, appropriate 1b) to seize upon, take possession of 1b1) of evils overtaking one, of the last day overtaking the wicked with destruction, of a demon about to torment one 1b2) in a good sense, of Christ by his holy power and influence laying hold of the human mind and will, in order to prompt and govern it 1c) to detect, catch 1d) to lay hold of with the mind 1d1) to understand, perceive, learn, comprehend
As I look at this definition, and one of the reasons I like the idea of studying Greek, is the general essence of character that you could get from a word. Some translations will translate this as "overcome," the KJV translates it "comprehend." But do you realize how this is used to characterize darkness?
Darkness is a captor. It seizes opportunities to oppress. It doesn't just take opportunities to conquer, but takes prisoners. Yet all of a sudden, here comes this thing called LIGHT. Perhaps the forces of darkness were at first confident, gathering weapons and chains so as to oppress, capture and bind the intruder, yet much to their surprise, the light was far too powerful. The 4,000 years of practice and planning had come to nothing!
And when you think about it, this verse is a foreshadow of the rest of the Gospel. Jesus comes in; He heals the sick; He drives out demons; He nourishes people with truth; He gives up Himself so that men may be free from sins; He sends the Holy Spirit. Satan had done everything within His own power to subdue this light, by murder, by oppression, by persecution, by unnatural self-righteousness, and hoped in the end to have taken what would have been just a rather difficult prisoner, but this time He couldn't. People pursued righteousness. Demons fled instantly. People were wholly healed. To assist us, the Holy Spirit was given. When Jesus came, He showed this darkness for what it was; utterly powerless in the presence of God.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Discipline - The breakaway key
I'm reading through a book right now called "Meat for Men" by Leonard Ravenhill, and chapter 4, "The Harness of Discipline," broke through to me, because it described what I am not in many different ways. I am accomplished, and disciplined when need be, though I read through and realized that I can afford to really tighten the reins.
My biggest weakness is how easily I'm distracted, or lose track of something. For example, today at work I tried reviewing Greek in my head (the work is rote enough to where I can dual-focus), but it amazed me that it took no more than, I'm positive, ten seconds to forget the Greek and start thinking about something else.
I also realized that I do not have my learning schedule for Greek down-pat. If you want an exhaustive analysis of how I have been going about practicing and studying Greek, it looks like this:
Day 1: What do I feel like studying today?
Day 2: What do I feel like studying today?
Day 3: What do I feel like studying today?
That's about the furthest it's broken down.
And I forget that I have other things I'm trying to do. For one, I'm an accounting student, working towards an MBA with an Accounting focus, and my goal is to pass both the CPA and CFE exams my first time through, so I need to be thinking ahead for that.
In this sermon, Ravenhill talks about how a crucial item lacking in churches today is discipline. A time ago, when you became a new believer, you would get two books: A bible, and a book on discipline. Nowadays, you pretty much only get the former and not the latter. However, this is what separates the tenor from the choir boy.
Ravenill gives the story of an opera singer named Maria Callas, who was one of the most demanded opera singers of her time. She was the kind that managers would clamor for her signature, who had to hold the music business at arm's length. She was an opera superstar of her time. It wasn't always this way though; she had fought many battles to get there. She used to weight 250 lbs--in four months, she cut that down to 130. And she took that same discipline and applied it to her voice. It was no longer her begging for the audition, her seeking the contracts; as she grew and the world saw her disciplined talent, they came to her. That is what got her out of the choir.
With whatever you want to do, you have to be disciplined. Those who are diligent and disciplined are the ones who are at the forefront of the field, ahead of the game. Those who put in the average effort, get average results, and you're in the choir with everyone else.
One more quote:
The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight
But they, while their companions slept
Were toiling upward through the night
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
My biggest weakness is how easily I'm distracted, or lose track of something. For example, today at work I tried reviewing Greek in my head (the work is rote enough to where I can dual-focus), but it amazed me that it took no more than, I'm positive, ten seconds to forget the Greek and start thinking about something else.
I also realized that I do not have my learning schedule for Greek down-pat. If you want an exhaustive analysis of how I have been going about practicing and studying Greek, it looks like this:
Day 1: What do I feel like studying today?
Day 2: What do I feel like studying today?
Day 3: What do I feel like studying today?
That's about the furthest it's broken down.
And I forget that I have other things I'm trying to do. For one, I'm an accounting student, working towards an MBA with an Accounting focus, and my goal is to pass both the CPA and CFE exams my first time through, so I need to be thinking ahead for that.
In this sermon, Ravenhill talks about how a crucial item lacking in churches today is discipline. A time ago, when you became a new believer, you would get two books: A bible, and a book on discipline. Nowadays, you pretty much only get the former and not the latter. However, this is what separates the tenor from the choir boy.
Ravenill gives the story of an opera singer named Maria Callas, who was one of the most demanded opera singers of her time. She was the kind that managers would clamor for her signature, who had to hold the music business at arm's length. She was an opera superstar of her time. It wasn't always this way though; she had fought many battles to get there. She used to weight 250 lbs--in four months, she cut that down to 130. And she took that same discipline and applied it to her voice. It was no longer her begging for the audition, her seeking the contracts; as she grew and the world saw her disciplined talent, they came to her. That is what got her out of the choir.
With whatever you want to do, you have to be disciplined. Those who are diligent and disciplined are the ones who are at the forefront of the field, ahead of the game. Those who put in the average effort, get average results, and you're in the choir with everyone else.
One more quote:
The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight
But they, while their companions slept
Were toiling upward through the night
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Monday, July 6, 2009
Different book order?
I have a Greek copy of the New Testament, and one of the first things I noticed is that the order of books is different. I am not sure on what this is based, it might be the original order or perhaps just the Byanztine Textform standard, but here's the order--and their original names.
See if you can guess these books, and then scroll to the bottom for the English.
In Greek:
ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝ
See if you can guess these books, and then scroll to the bottom for the English.
In Greek:
ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝ
- ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΝ
- ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΡΚΟΝ
- ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ
- ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ
- ΠΡΑΞΕΙΣ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΩΝ
ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΑΙ ΚΑΘΟΛΙΚΑΙ
- ΙΑΚΩΒΟΥ
- ΠΕΤΡΟΥ Α
- ΠΕΤΡΟΥ Β
- ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ Α
- ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ Β
- ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ Γ
- ΙΟΥΔΑ
ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΑΙ ΠΑΥΛΟΥ
- ΠΡΟΣ ΠΩΑΙΟΥΣ
- ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΟΥΣ Α
- ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΟΥΣ Β
- ΠΡΟΣ ΓΑΛΑΤΑΣ
- ΠΡΟΣ ΕΦΕΣΙΟΥΣ
- ΠΡΟΣ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΗΣΙΟΥΣ
- ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΛΑΣΣΑΕΙΣ
- ΠΡΟΣ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΕΙΣ Α
- ΠΡΟΣ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΕΙΣ Β
- ΠΡΟΣ ΕΒΡΑΙΟΥΣ
- ΠΡΟΣ ΤΙΜΟΘΕΟΝ Α
- ΠΡΟΣ ΤΙΜΟΘΕΟΝ Β
- ΠΡΟΣ ΤΙΤΟΝ
- ΠΡΟΣ ΦΙΛΗΜΟΝΑ
ΑΠΟΚΑΛΥΨΙΣ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ
And now, for the English
In order...
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
- John
- Acts
- James
- 1st Peter
- 2nd Peter
- 1st John
- 2nd John
- 3rd John
- Jude
- Romans
- 1st Corinthians
- 2nd Corinthians
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Phillipians
- Colossians
- 1st Thessalonians
- 2nd Thessalonians
- Hebrews
- 1st Timothy
- 2nd Timothy
- Titus
- Philemon
- Revelation
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Sunday, July 5, 2009
John 1:1-5, πρός
Memorized: ΚΑΤΑ ἸΩΑΝΝΗΝ 1.1-5
(1)Ἐν ἀρχῆ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ό λόγος ἦν πρός τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεός ἦν ὁ λόγος. (2)οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν. (3)πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν ὃ γέγονεν. (4)ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων: (5)καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.
That word πρός confused me at first. I see that it's in an accusative relationship with the word God, though I got my first headache figuring out how the Strong concordance was. At base, it means "on the side of," or "in the direction of." It's a strange word, because it means many different things. Next to a genitive definite article, it means "for," but only in Acts 27:34. In the dative, it means "at, close, by," and in the accusative, it means towards, in reference to, and in consideration of. At least in the Bible, this is the one spot where it means "with."
On a minor note, I can see a point where someone might try and make a case for Jehovah's Witnesses, because instead of "and the Word was God," the JW bible translates it, "... and the word was a god." I noticed there's no use of a definite article for the second use of God, and that usually indicates what would be the equivalent of an indefinite article in English (NT Greek doesn't use indefinite articles "a, an, the"), so if you're not careful and don't know what you're doing, it could come out sounding like "and a God was the Word." Part of Greek grammar is that the definite article may also be used to determine what is the subject and what is the predicate, and the predicate is sometimes indicated by having no definite article, although what is meant is understood. This is mainly the case when a form of "to be" is used. I believe that's why we translate it "and the Word was God" instead of "and God was the Word." Funny too is that sometimes the predicate will come before the form of "to be," and in some cases the subject comes behind it, though I believe that's done intentionally, for emphasis sake.
On that note, as I consider the word προς, I now understand why John orders things the way that he does in his book. John 1 is all making a statement about Christ, His deity, godhood, and purposes. John 2 goes on to demonstrate his authority. When you get into John 3, you start getting into His actual teachings in life. It seemed odd, because you'll notice that the story of the temple cleansing is at the beginning of this book, where in the other books it's found towards the end. I think John specifically had it in mind to make a clear statement that Jesus was God, and He used such authority when He cleansed out the temple.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
(1)Ἐν ἀρχῆ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ό λόγος ἦν πρός τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεός ἦν ὁ λόγος. (2)οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν. (3)πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν ὃ γέγονεν. (4)ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων: (5)καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.
That word πρός confused me at first. I see that it's in an accusative relationship with the word God, though I got my first headache figuring out how the Strong concordance was. At base, it means "on the side of," or "in the direction of." It's a strange word, because it means many different things. Next to a genitive definite article, it means "for," but only in Acts 27:34. In the dative, it means "at, close, by," and in the accusative, it means towards, in reference to, and in consideration of. At least in the Bible, this is the one spot where it means "with."
On a minor note, I can see a point where someone might try and make a case for Jehovah's Witnesses, because instead of "and the Word was God," the JW bible translates it, "... and the word was a god." I noticed there's no use of a definite article for the second use of God, and that usually indicates what would be the equivalent of an indefinite article in English (NT Greek doesn't use indefinite articles "a, an, the"), so if you're not careful and don't know what you're doing, it could come out sounding like "and a God was the Word." Part of Greek grammar is that the definite article may also be used to determine what is the subject and what is the predicate, and the predicate is sometimes indicated by having no definite article, although what is meant is understood. This is mainly the case when a form of "to be" is used. I believe that's why we translate it "and the Word was God" instead of "and God was the Word." Funny too is that sometimes the predicate will come before the form of "to be," and in some cases the subject comes behind it, though I believe that's done intentionally, for emphasis sake.
On that note, as I consider the word προς, I now understand why John orders things the way that he does in his book. John 1 is all making a statement about Christ, His deity, godhood, and purposes. John 2 goes on to demonstrate his authority. When you get into John 3, you start getting into His actual teachings in life. It seemed odd, because you'll notice that the story of the temple cleansing is at the beginning of this book, where in the other books it's found towards the end. I think John specifically had it in mind to make a clear statement that Jesus was God, and He used such authority when He cleansed out the temple.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Jake
Hello! - Brief Introduction
Hello readers,
You probably stumbled onto this wondering exactly what it is? Well, I've decided about a month ago now that I would start learning the New Testament Greek, as I very much want to read the Bible in its original languages (that's means Hebrew eventually too). This is something that I will commit to, as it would do the honor of increasing my insight into the Word of God. As I go, I am keeping this all in prayer, continually seeking strength and wisdom on how to do it.
What will I be doing? Well simply, I am going to be keeping notes on what I've learned and the progress I've made, and some insights I've gained by reading it in Greek. I can expect a couple of things:
You probably stumbled onto this wondering exactly what it is? Well, I've decided about a month ago now that I would start learning the New Testament Greek, as I very much want to read the Bible in its original languages (that's means Hebrew eventually too). This is something that I will commit to, as it would do the honor of increasing my insight into the Word of God. As I go, I am keeping this all in prayer, continually seeking strength and wisdom on how to do it.
What will I be doing? Well simply, I am going to be keeping notes on what I've learned and the progress I've made, and some insights I've gained by reading it in Greek. I can expect a couple of things:
- For one, after reading the Bible in English for fourteen years, it starts feeling familiar (dangerous!!). Doing it this way, you feel as if you're reading Scripture fresh again.
- Some things which probably did not make sense at one point may begin to make more sense.
- Some things that don't translate too well in English will come out.
I do have a few rough goals in mind: To eventually have the New Testament memorized in Greek (it has been done before!), and I will begin with the book of John. These are both very intimidating goals, yes, but greater feats than this have been accomplished. This is where the prayer aspect is important.
So what will you, the reader, probably be seeing?
- You'll probably see a lot of mistakes. This is not a professional blog by any means, and I reserve the right to be wrong about a great number of things :)
- You'll read stuff you already knew (especially if you have been studying Greek already).
- You'll learn things you didn't know before.
- You'll see me explaining different aspects of Greek grammar, vocabulary, syntax, etc.
- Expect it to get very technical at times
- You'll see me bringing all this knowledge into personal application. None of this will be good unless it does exactly what the Word of God is supposed to do: To take me from where I am now to where I am supposed to be.
- You'll feel inspired to study the Word of God deeper yourself.
One other note: I am using Byzantine textform at the moment for my studies. There's many different compilations of the Greek, including Byzantine Textform, Alexandrian Textform, and the Textus Receptus (from which the KJV was translated). I might do a blog on those sometime.
By the way, if you stumble across this blog and you happen to know something I don't, I'm more than happy to learn, whether it be a spiritual note or something about Greek. Look forward to hearing from any readers. God bless!
With that, God bless you, and welcome to my blog!
Soli deo gloria!
Jake
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