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An Examination of John 1:1
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Examining the Greek of John 1:1
"Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος."
The words we are concerned with to understand the theology of John 1:1 are nouns. Greek nouns can be used in 1 of 4 cases: nominative, genitive, dative or accusative. Greek is not restricted by word order like English. Instead, the form of the noun changes with respect to its case. The two nouns that we are addressing in John 1:1 are Θεὸς (God) and Λόγος (Word).
Greek nouns can be rendered with or without the article. In English, we display the article as either “definite” (“the”) or “indefinite” (“a”). In Koine Greek, the definite article takes on the same case as the noun it is in reference to. The definite article is not always translated into English. Here’s an example from John 1:4: "ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων." The English translation of this passage reads, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Bible translators consistently drop the definite article before ἀνθρώπων, translated as, “men,” or, “mankind.” The Watchtower has done the same thing in the New World Translation’s rendering of John 1:4: “by means of him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
In contrast to the definite article, there is no indefinite article in Greek. Indefinite nouns will lack a definite article. Here’s an example from John 1:6: "Ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ Θεοῦ ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ἰωάννης." In English, this passage reads: "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.” ἄνθρωπος appears again here; this time, there is no definite article to accompany the noun. Thus, it is translated indefinitely into English by the use of the word, “a.”
The third clause of John 1:1 reads, “καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος.” Note the presence of the two nouns, Θεὸς and Λόγος. You’ll note also the presence of the definite article, ὁ, before Λόγος, but not before Θεὸς.
Based strictly on the Greek word order, the English equivalent of this passage would be, “…and God was the Word.” Referencing the absence of a definite article before Θεὸς (God), this would seem to indicate that the English reading of this passage is, “…and a god was the Word.” This is the crux of the argument for why the Jehovah’s Witnesses translate John 1:1 as, "and the Word was a god".
However, every translation, the NWT included, begins the third clause with, “…and the Word was…” so there is obviously something else going on in this passage.
Sometimes, definite nouns will also lack an article. We have an example of this in John 1:6. The argument could be made the that word for God, Θεοῦ, is indefinite, because it lacks the article. However, this is not the case, because we know which God John is referring to – Yahweh (Jehovah). As such, Θεοῦ is properly rendered in English as, “God.” Even though there is no article before, “God,” in the Greek, the Watchtower still has correctly translated this verse by rendering, “God,” as definite.
To identify the subject of a statement, we must look for a noun in the nominative case. At this point, we run into a problem – both Θεὸς and Λόγος are in the nominative case. Which one is the subject?
Compare the third clause with the second clause of John 1:1: "καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν..." Notice that Λόγος here is in the nominative case. This identifies it as the subject of this clause. Now, look at the word for God, Θεόν. Here, Θεόν is in the accusative case.
The accusative case is used for direct objects. “God,” here, is the direct object of, “the Word,” which explains why Θεόν is written in this form. Θεόν accompanied by the definite article, τὸν. John includes the definite article to specify which God he is referring to – Yahweh (Jehovah). Why does John include the definite article here, and not in the third clause? Only Λόγος is in the nominative case. Θεόν is not the subject of this clause, therefore it is not identified with Λόγος (the Word).
In the third clause, we encounter a predicate nominative. When we have two nouns in the nominative case, the nominative subject will have the definite article, while the nominative predicate will not.
The part of a sentence containing the verbal idea is called the predicate. When the verb is a linking verb, nouns in the predicate that are connected with the subject by means of the linking verb are nominatives.
In the case of the third clause of John 1:1, the verb is a linking verb – ἦν (was). What is ἦν (was) linking together? Θεὸς (God) and ὁ Λόγος (the Word). The fact that Λόγος has the definite article while Θεὸς does not makes it clear that John is telling us something about the Word – that the word was God in His nature or essence. When we translate this passage into English, we reverse the word order from the Greek. The verse is properly recited, “and the Word was God,” because the Word is the subject and God is the predicate nominative.
Examining the Greek of John 1:1
"Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος."
The words we are concerned with to understand the theology of John 1:1 are nouns. Greek nouns can be used in 1 of 4 cases: nominative, genitive, dative or accusative. Greek is not restricted by word order like English. Instead, the form of the noun changes with respect to its case. The two nouns that we are addressing in John 1:1 are Θεὸς (God) and Λόγος (Word).
Greek nouns can be rendered with or without the article. In English, we display the article as either “definite” (“the”) or “indefinite” (“a”). In Koine Greek, the definite article takes on the same case as the noun it is in reference to. The definite article is not always translated into English. Here’s an example from John 1:4: "ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων." The English translation of this passage reads, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Bible translators consistently drop the definite article before ἀνθρώπων, translated as, “men,” or, “mankind.” The Watchtower has done the same thing in the New World Translation’s rendering of John 1:4: “by means of him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
In contrast to the definite article, there is no indefinite article in Greek. Indefinite nouns will lack a definite article. Here’s an example from John 1:6: "Ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ Θεοῦ ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ἰωάννης." In English, this passage reads: "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.” ἄνθρωπος appears again here; this time, there is no definite article to accompany the noun. Thus, it is translated indefinitely into English by the use of the word, “a.”
The third clause of John 1:1 reads, “καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος.” Note the presence of the two nouns, Θεὸς and Λόγος. You’ll note also the presence of the definite article, ὁ, before Λόγος, but not before Θεὸς.
Based strictly on the Greek word order, the English equivalent of this passage would be, “…and God was the Word.” Referencing the absence of a definite article before Θεὸς (God), this would seem to indicate that the English reading of this passage is, “…and a god was the Word.” This is the crux of the argument for why the Jehovah’s Witnesses translate John 1:1 as, "and the Word was a god".
However, every translation, the NWT included, begins the third clause with, “…and the Word was…” so there is obviously something else going on in this passage.
Sometimes, definite nouns will also lack an article. We have an example of this in John 1:6. The argument could be made the that word for God, Θεοῦ, is indefinite, because it lacks the article. However, this is not the case, because we know which God John is referring to – Yahweh (Jehovah). As such, Θεοῦ is properly rendered in English as, “God.” Even though there is no article before, “God,” in the Greek, the Watchtower still has correctly translated this verse by rendering, “God,” as definite.
To identify the subject of a statement, we must look for a noun in the nominative case. At this point, we run into a problem – both Θεὸς and Λόγος are in the nominative case. Which one is the subject?
Compare the third clause with the second clause of John 1:1: "καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν..." Notice that Λόγος here is in the nominative case. This identifies it as the subject of this clause. Now, look at the word for God, Θεόν. Here, Θεόν is in the accusative case.
The accusative case is used for direct objects. “God,” here, is the direct object of, “the Word,” which explains why Θεόν is written in this form. Θεόν accompanied by the definite article, τὸν. John includes the definite article to specify which God he is referring to – Yahweh (Jehovah). Why does John include the definite article here, and not in the third clause? Only Λόγος is in the nominative case. Θεόν is not the subject of this clause, therefore it is not identified with Λόγος (the Word).
In the third clause, we encounter a predicate nominative. When we have two nouns in the nominative case, the nominative subject will have the definite article, while the nominative predicate will not.
The part of a sentence containing the verbal idea is called the predicate. When the verb is a linking verb, nouns in the predicate that are connected with the subject by means of the linking verb are nominatives.
In the case of the third clause of John 1:1, the verb is a linking verb – ἦν (was). What is ἦν (was) linking together? Θεὸς (God) and ὁ Λόγος (the Word). The fact that Λόγος has the definite article while Θεὸς does not makes it clear that John is telling us something about the Word – that the word was God in His nature or essence. When we translate this passage into English, we reverse the word order from the Greek. The verse is properly recited, “and the Word was God,” because the Word is the subject and God is the predicate nominative.
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