In English, the order of the sentence generally determines the use of the noun. The subject usually comes first. However, in Greek, the word order is flexible, and is used for emphasis rather than for strict grammatical functions. For example, if there are two nouns and one has the definite article, it is the subject.
Word order is also employed for the sake of emphasis. Generally, if a word is thrown to the front of a clause or sentence, it is done so for emphasis. When the predicate nominative is thrown in front of the verb, by virtue of word order it takes on emphasis.
A good illustration of this is John 1:1c. English versions usually say, “and the Word was God.” But in Greek, the word order is reversed.
Καί θεός ήν ό λόγος or (Kai theos en ho logos) literally below:
"And God was the Word"
We know that “the Word” ho logos (ό λόγος), is the subject, because it has the definite article and is in the nominative case and we translate it accordingly “and the Word was God.” It is sometimes called a "predicate nominative" in Greek.
Two questions, both of theological importance, come to mind
1. Why was θεός (theos or god) thrown forward, when it actually comes at the end of the sentence?
2. Why does Theos or God lack the article in Greek, or the word "the" in English?
The emphatic position of θεός (theos) stresses its essence of quality” “What God was, the Word was” is how one translation brings out this force. Its lack of a definite article keeps us from identifying the Person of the Word (Jesus Christ) with the person of “God” (the Father).
That means that the word order tells us that Jesus Christ has all the divine attributes that the Father has: lack of the article tells us the Jesus Christ is not the Father.
John’s wording here is beautifully compact! It is in fact, one of the most elegantly terse theological statements one could ever find. As Martin Luther said, the lack of an article is against Sabellianism; the word order is against Arianism
To state this another way, let’s look at how the different Greek constructions would be rendered:
1. καί ό λόγος ήν ό θεός
“and the Word was the God” Sabellianism*
2. καί ό λόγος ήν θεός
“and the Word was a god” Arianism+
3. καί θεός ήν ό ΄λόγος
“and the Word was God” Orthodoxy
(Number 2, is the translation the JW's use, being Arians. Besides being a wrong translation, it turns them into polytheists, with a BIG God (Almighty) and a small god (mighty).
Just to note, I had the JW's on my door step a few months back.I told them about my Greek studies, and I would love to have them come back so we could discuss the Greek and translations. They took off fast, and never came back! Sigh. I would not normally let them in my door, but I thought this would be a good time to discuss the Greek, which they did not want to hear! It might just work to say to JW missionaries, that you want to invite them in to discuss the Greek. You can copy and paste this post and the next, and discuss it with them, if they dare.
Word order is also employed for the sake of emphasis. Generally, if a word is thrown to the front of a clause or sentence, it is done so for emphasis. When the predicate nominative is thrown in front of the verb, by virtue of word order it takes on emphasis.
A good illustration of this is John 1:1c. English versions usually say, “and the Word was God.” But in Greek, the word order is reversed.
Καί θεός ήν ό λόγος or (Kai theos en ho logos) literally below:
"And God was the Word"
We know that “the Word” ho logos (ό λόγος), is the subject, because it has the definite article and is in the nominative case and we translate it accordingly “and the Word was God.” It is sometimes called a "predicate nominative" in Greek.
Two questions, both of theological importance, come to mind
1. Why was θεός (theos or god) thrown forward, when it actually comes at the end of the sentence?
2. Why does Theos or God lack the article in Greek, or the word "the" in English?
The emphatic position of θεός (theos) stresses its essence of quality” “What God was, the Word was” is how one translation brings out this force. Its lack of a definite article keeps us from identifying the Person of the Word (Jesus Christ) with the person of “God” (the Father).
That means that the word order tells us that Jesus Christ has all the divine attributes that the Father has: lack of the article tells us the Jesus Christ is not the Father.
John’s wording here is beautifully compact! It is in fact, one of the most elegantly terse theological statements one could ever find. As Martin Luther said, the lack of an article is against Sabellianism; the word order is against Arianism
To state this another way, let’s look at how the different Greek constructions would be rendered:
1. καί ό λόγος ήν ό θεός
“and the Word was the God” Sabellianism*
2. καί ό λόγος ήν θεός
“and the Word was a god” Arianism+
3. καί θεός ήν ό ΄λόγος
“and the Word was God” Orthodoxy
(Number 2, is the translation the JW's use, being Arians. Besides being a wrong translation, it turns them into polytheists, with a BIG God (Almighty) and a small god (mighty).
Just to note, I had the JW's on my door step a few months back.I told them about my Greek studies, and I would love to have them come back so we could discuss the Greek and translations. They took off fast, and never came back! Sigh. I would not normally let them in my door, but I thought this would be a good time to discuss the Greek, which they did not want to hear! It might just work to say to JW missionaries, that you want to invite them in to discuss the Greek. You can copy and paste this post and the next, and discuss it with them, if they dare.
