Tag Archives: John 1:1

The Word Was with God: A Grammatical Journey from John 1:1

Posted on April 23, 2025 by Νέα Ελληνικά
Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος. (John 1:1)

Transliteration (Modern Greek pronunciation): En archí ín o Lógos, ke o Lógos ín pros ton Theón, ke Theós ín o Lógos.

Literal English Translation: In beginning was the Word, and the Word was toward the God, and God was the Word.

Koine Blueprint: Morphological Breakdown Ἐν – Form: preposition; Root: ἐν; Gloss: in; Parsing: governs dative; Notes: Spatial/temporal marker, here temporal. ἀρχῇ – Form: noun, dative singular feminine; Root: ἀρχή; Gloss: beginning; Parsing: 1st declension; Notes: Object of ἐν. ἦν – Form: verb, 3rd singular imperfect active indicative; Root: εἰμί; Gloss: was; Parsing: continuous past; Notes: Emphasizes eternal existence.… Learn Koine Greek
Posted in Modern Greek | Tagged | Leave a comment

In the Beginning Was the Verb: A Deep Dive into John 1:1c

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Advanced Greek Grammar
καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.

Let us begin with a phrase that has echoed through centuries of theological discourse, a sentence that is deceptively simple in form yet astonishingly rich in grammatical nuance and doctrinal weight:

> John 1:1c: καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.

This final clause of the prologue to the Gospel of John—“and the Word was God”—has been at the heart of Christological debates since antiquity. Yet beneath its surface lies a grammatical structure that is both subtle and instructive: the subject-predicate nominative construction with the verb ἦν, the imperfect tense of εἰμί (“to be”).

In this lesson, we will explore how the syntax of this clause functions within the broader framework of Koine Greek grammar, especially focusing on the predicative use of the nominative case without the article, and what this reveals about the identity of the λόγος (Word) as presented by the evangelist.… Learn Koine Greek

Posted in Exegesis, Grammar, Theology | Tagged | Leave a comment