[B-Greek] Question on John 1:1
Minton, Ron
rminton at bible.edu
Thu Nov 25 10:58:09 EST 2004
I prefer "The word was deity." Divine is an older way of saying the same
thing, but it emphasizes the qualitative aspect, which I think is correct
here. A concordance study of all applicable cases where John has THEOS
without the article shows that the NWT has "god" (instead of "God") only
here, obviously translated theologically rather than grammatically. The NWT
translation does, however, call Jesus "God" three times.
Ron Minton
.................
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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