Re: A different look at John 1:1c

Paul S. Dixon (dixonps@juno.com)
Fri, 12 Jun 1998 00:58:33 EDT

On Thu, 11 Jun 1998 13:38:22 +0000 Steve Long <steve@allegrographics.com>
writes:
>I searched the archives and found a vast amount of information
>concerning John 1:1c, and it is not my intention to restart a thread
>that has been successfully concluded, but I have found something in the
>Septuagint which gave rise to another question, that I didn't see
>addressed in the former thread. If it was dealt with, please forgive my
>lack of thoroughness.
>
>
><bigger>Ruth 4:21 KAI SALMAN EGENNHSEN TON BOOZ KAI BOOZ >EGENNESEN TON
WBED
>
>
></bigger>Here we see Boaz taking the definite article as the subject of
>the first phrase in the accusative, but the second phrase which is
>joined by KAI, the definite article is dropped in the nominative. I am
>assuming it is because the words are joined by KAI that the definite
>article not needed. We know Boaz in the second phrase, is clearly the
>same as in the first phrase. Is the same grammatic format as John 1:1?

Boaz is taking the definite article as the object of the first phrase in
the
accusative, not "as the subject of the first phrase," but I don't think
this
as any bearing on what you're saying.

>
>Is this a valid comparison verse grammatically? John seemed to phrase
>his Greek by from the Septuagint in several places, at least in my very
>humble opinion: [EN ARCH Gen 1, EGW EIMI Ex 3:14]). Could it be that
>John 1:1 is sort of an anti-geneology, ie. the LOGOS was not born or
>never did not exist, so John explains his preexistence in a geneologic
>phrase, in an allusion perhaps to Matthew beginning with Jesus' legal
>geneology?
>
>I could be way off-base, since I am mostly self-taught, but if the
>comparison holds up, the correct translation would then be "The Word
>was with God and God was the Word." Does that violate some other rule
>of grammar?
>
Yes, the general rule (which we have gone over) is that when two nouns
are the subject and predicate nominative respectively in a sentence, and
one is articular and the other is anarthrous, then the subject is almost
always identified by the articular construction.

This means, of course, that in Jn 1:1c hO LOGOS is the subject and
QEOS is the predicate nominative.

Paul Dixon

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