John 1 Greek Exegesis with Revd Dr Brian Rosner

Revd Dr Brian Rosner, Principal of Ridley College, demonstrates in this video how he would exegete and translate the beginning prologue in John's gospel and the issues that arise in translation.

[chrisg.k]

Εύγε κε Καθηγητά.

Είστε Λακωνικός, περιεκτικός και πλήρως διαφωτιστικος.

[michelleweatherspoon]

Thank you for making this lesson. It is very helpful to me.

[theupperlanai]

Wished you could read all of it at the beginning in Greek just to hear the pronunciation. But still helpful thank you

[issith]

Just a fashionable text of a moderately educated person of that period, to express what he wanted to say in greek language. This is how this text sounds to a mother tongue, greek speaking person if today. All the words are widely in use today in modern greek, as they appear here

[andrewsmith]

In the Tyndale translation he translates the word as "it" not "his" or "him". Who has the correct original Greek??/

[issith]

Literally: “in beginning was the word( word/reason) and the word(word/reason) was toward god and god was the word ( word/reason), who was in beginning towards the god, everything through himwas made, and without himwas made, nothing…… “ from a simple greek speaking person from Greece. I didn’t check at all if my translation is close to yours. But I tried to translate literally what i see. The main thing here is that logos means both :word and reason, in this sentence inclined towards reason mainly.

[makarov]

An example of the Greek (2316) θεὸς “God” in the predicate nomitive case, and without the article, as being capitalized. This is the Unitarians and JWs excuse for translating JN 1:1C as “The Logos was a god.” Mark 12:27 refutes that. ASV “He is not [the] God of the dead, but of the living: ye do greatly err.” Interlinear: “not He is God of [the] dead but”
The article “the” is not there preceding the noun θεὸς in the Greek text. And yet the context demands the capitalization of “God.” And so it does in JN 1:1C

Using this example, Jn 1:1C could just as legally, by biblical Greek example, be translated: “The Logos was the God.” and be just as correct.
Thank you for an excellent lesson in Greek!

[tabasco]

Have you done anything like this with Jhn 20:28?

[scripturial]

I have always found it interesting how the article is not used at the start. However we understand the time period of ἀρχηῇ, we know the word was there. I love the chaiasm in this text. It is interesting that the imperfectivity of ἦν is pointed out here. The fact that there is no pure aorist of ἧν makes me wonder if we should take care to read too much into verbal aspect here. Although ultimately, perhaps the reason there is no aorist of ἦν is because the perfective form is filled with the perfect tense-form.

[rodveljumantoc]

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was same with God.

[dieandereseite]

Why in all Videos i watch to this topic, no one argues about the definite article in Front of the first appearence of the word god? Doesn't it has to be translated " and the word was with/towards THE god?

[ElCineHefe]

The repetitions are indicative of the parallelism, bracketing the ellipsis. "And [with] God was the Word" is the only rendering that conforms to the structure of the grammar.

Verse 1:2 belongs to 1:1, despite the latter day verse enumeration.

[simossosias]

The beginning of humanity is language and the first words were about the divine and thus language became divine. All things appeared through language and nothing appeared that was not language. So it is language that creates human life, and therefore consciousness. Consciousness (light) cancels the animal mind (darkness) and animals do not comprehend this.
- This is what John wants to say and it has nothing to do with the Old Testament’s “bara bereshyt”. He was a hellenist jew and his “gospel” was rejected by the early Church for this very reason.

[MurmilloTV]

I don't understand how he calls nouns which do not need an article!?

[MichaelTheophilus]

Deut 6.4-6, Mark 12.28-32, John 17.3, John 20.17, Rom 15.6, Rom 16.27, I Cor 8.6, II Cor 11.31, I Tim 2.5, Rev 3.2, Rev 3.12, and many other scriptures.

[RosarioCinquerrui]

I don't agree with the translation "and the word was God" . The lack of the article makes it: "and the word was A god"...! (was "divine")

[david]

this is a biased video. He simply translated logos as "Jesus" though it can also mean "something said; by implication, a topic, also reasoning or motive" and verse 2 he translated it as "he" though it could also mean "it".

[randomperson]

Εν αρχη ο λογος, και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον, και θεος ην ο λογος. Ουτος ην εν αρχαη προς τον θεον. Παντα δι αυτου εγενετο, και χωρις αυτου εγενετο ουδε εν ο γεγονεν. Εν αυτω ζοη ην και η ζωη ην το φως των ανθρωπων, και το φως εν τη σκοτια φαινει και η σκοτια αυτο ου κατελαβεν

[thepreacherxi]

Hi sir. Can I ask how to say/write "The Word has a beginning" in Greek? Thanks! God bless!

[tongakhan]

Tweaking around with the Greek in John 1:1:to override what the rest of the scriptures say is for what reason?
Jesus was WITH God as any Firstborn would be lohically with his parents before the others came along.