[B-Greek] John 1:1c

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Mon Jul 3 21:36:53 EDT 2006


On Jul 3, 2006, at 8:38 PM, frjsilver at optonline.net wrote:

> Dear Friends --
>
> My Greek texts of John's Gospel have KAI QEOS HN hO LOGOS.
>
> This particular predicative construction is indeed emphatic,  
> saying  -- almost as an exclamation --  'and the Word was GOD'.
>
> Please also note that QEOS is anarthrous, categoric in character,  
> while the articulated LOGOS is specific.

Actually it is pretty standard order for the predicate word to  
precede the copula with the subject following it.  But attention has  
also been called by many to the "staircase" pattern of alternation in  
the three clauses of Jn 1:1 -- LOGOS at the end of the first clause,  
and the beginning of the second clause, at the end of the third clause:

EN ARCHi HN hO LOGOS
KAI hO LOGOS HN PROS TON QEON
KAI QEOS HN hO LOGOS.

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Roger Kohlstedt <ronrukohl at verizon.net>
> Date: Monday, July 3, 2006 7:54 pm
> Subject: [B-Greek] John 1:1c
>
>> In the last phrase  of John 1:1 the English Bible
>> states that  "the word was God".   In the Greek Bible
>> it is " QEOS HN LOGOS".  Why is the word order
>> different in the Greek?  Is it to emphasize the divine
>> nature of the logos?
>>
>>
>> Roger Kohlstedt
>> ---
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Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad2 at mac.com
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/





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