[B-Greek] John's prologue prose or poetry?

Daveat168 at aol.com Daveat168 at aol.com
Sun Dec 18 18:48:42 EST 2005


Dear Friends,
   The words now found in John 1:1-4, which indeed reade like an antiphonal hymn, are first recorded, to my best knowledge about 172AD, used by Tatian as the opening of his Magnus Opus.  Tatian used this in place of the introduction now found in the opening of Luke.  Whether he found it in the archive of John, or it was placed there as a result of his work is open to doubt.

<<I come at this from the other angle. I have no experience with Hebrew poetry
( beyond translation), but am more familiar with Greek forms. Usually one
of, perhaps *the*, defiinng characteristic of poetry is whether it's
metrical, not just merely well-constructed, occasionally rhythmic, or
euphonious--these are attributes of rhetoric as well as poetry. But just in
passing I haven't the opportunity yet to try scanning it. Mr. Kilmon, when
you suggest that it is antiphonal, do you believe that it forms regular
metrical lines? Does it scan as poetry?

On 12/17/05, Jack Kilmon <jkilmon at historian.net> wrote:
>
> There are many, including myself, who think the prologue is an antiphonal
> hymn added to the Gospel (which originally began at 1:19) sometime in the
> 2nd...or perhaps the 3rd century.>>


-- 
Best regards,
    Dave Smith.
    (B.A.2,1, Science & Technology, Open Univerity.)
    168 Bristol Road,
    Frampton Cotterell,
    Bristol, BS36 2AX,
    U.K.
eMail    <DaveAt168 at aol.com>
WWW:     <http://www.sangallen56.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk>




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