[B-Greek] Question on John 1:1
chuckles77 at juno.com
chuckles77 at juno.com
Wed Nov 24 20:33:39 EST 2004
Dear list members,
I'm beginning to engage in a conversation with a friend of mine who is a Jehovah's Witness about our differing beliefs. One of those things is our differing understanding about the Deity of Christ.
My friend uses a New World Translation, which renders John 1:1 as:
"In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god."
If you as a list member could please help me to understand the following:
1.) Is the translation "the Word was a god" grammatically possible?
2.) Moffatt, Goodspeed, and others have translated this section as "the Word was divine". Again, is this translation possible?
3.) Is there anything in the text that has led most modern translations to prefer "the Word was God" over the translations "the Word was a god" or "the Word was divine"?
4.) I have heard of a grammatical rule called "Colwell's Rule" and that it is a pertinent part of discussing this passage. Would someone be able to help me understand what Colwell's Rule is, and its application to John 1:1?
I am just beginning to study Greek, so this will be of benefit both to the conversation with my friend as well as myself.
Cordially yours,
Chuck Wynn
Campus Staff, Riverview Church
P.S. I'm sure I'll have further questions as we progress in our conversation. Thank you so much for your help!
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