Greek: Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος.
While reading a paper on John 1:1 today, I came across the claim that Θεὸς is the subject in John 1:1c and ὁ Λόγος is the predicate since the former noun comes before the latter. I'm here to say the writer is wrong, and he should read some Daniel Wallace or William Mounce.
Similarly, Alexander Smarius writes:
"There is little doubt that ὁ λόγος is the subject in all of its three occurrences in 1:1a–c, so that θεός in the phrase 'and the Word was theos' (1:1c) is a predicate noun.5 From a strictly grammatical viewpoint, this predicate noun can be interpreted in three different ways."
https://brill.com/view/journals/hbth/44/2/article-p141_2.xml#ref_FN000005
Thursday, November 28, 2024
John 1:1c (Subject and Predicate Nouns)
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7 comments:
The claim that θεός is the subject in John 1:1c and ὁ λόγος the predicate is grammatically incorrect and misrepresents standard Greek syntax. In Koine Greek, when a sentence contains a definite noun (with the article) and an anarthrous noun, the definite noun is typically the subject. Here, ὁ λόγος has the article, and θεός does not. This makes ὁ λόγος the subject, and θεός the predicate nominative.
Greek word order often emphasizes the predicate for stylistic or theological reasons. In John 1:1c, θεός precedes ὁ λόγος to stress the divine nature of the Word, not to invert grammatical roles. Linguists and biblical scholars like Daniel Wallace and Alexander Smarius affirm this interpretation. Smarius correctly notes that θεός functions as the predicate nominative describing the Word’s divine nature.
This construction avoids modalism or henotheism. By using an anarthrous θεός, John highlights the qualitative nature of the Word's divinity without equating ὁ λόγος fully with ὁ θεός (the person of God the Father).
Thus, the claim misunderstands Greek grammar. ὁ λόγος is the subject, and θεός is the predicate nominative, emphasizing the qualitative divinity of the Word without denying its distinct personhood from the Father.
A noun as the subject without the article when you have another noun with the article makes little to sense in Greek..
This is not English… the subject can be in almost any position..
This person is either wilfully ignorant or has little idea on Greek
https://x.com/Historic_Arch/status/1860986885394567246
https://aleteia.org/2024/11/27/megiddo-mosaic-earliest-evidence-of-jesus-proclaimed-as-god
Hmm what are the 3 different ways?
Not so fast.
https://youtube.com/shorts/b61wV_UXR5E?si=zgfMvu0Of7YrBKmL
T
it does raise the question why the author did not just add "kai"?
I cannot think of an NT example like this.
unless it was the limited space.
But omissions in Greek are normally self-evident to the reader - such as "other"
or i.e John 4:24 -"estin" is self evident. Its so obvious literally anyone competent in reading Greek could figure out what was meant
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