[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: Jn. 1:1c
On Tue, 29 Nov 1994 Dvdmoore@aol.com wrote:
>
> I believe that the
> use of PROS (which is usually translated "with" here), in Jn. 1:1b, is a
> fairly clear indication that the LOGOS is thought of as personal. To
> translate "and 'God' was the word" (or "and the word was 'God'," for that
> matter) IMO loses sight of the personality of the LOGOS.
At this point the only thing I'm reacting to is this comment on PROS: I
don't understand why this preposition by itself should imply that the
LOGOS "is thought of as personal." The range of meanings of PROS
certainly include proximity, direction, being in front of, this last
being interpretable as "facing," if you will, but not necessarily having
a "face." I'm not saying that I would disagree that the LOGOS has a
personal dimension, but I just don't see why the phrasing here
necessarily implies "personhood." What comes much closer to expressing
that idea moves away from the word LOGOS altogether and changes the
metaphor, or, more precisely, is couched in a genuinely "personal"
metaphor: 1.18: theos ho wn eis ton kolpon tou patros ekeinos ejHgHsato.
It's that phrase "wn eis ton kolpon tou patros." But why should PROS
imply that the LOGOS is personal?
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
References: