Lesson 2 John 1:1a Translation

Now we put together the sounds we have learned for the letters and pronounce the words.

Greek

English 
Pronun- ciation


The Greek word En when pronounced sounds like our English word "in". Also, the ar of arche sounds like the letter r when pronounced.

Now that you know how to pronounce the words, it is time to learn what the words mean. Their meanings are:

En = in, arche = beginning, en = was, o = the,
logos = word.

In a sentence they mean:

In [the] beginning was the word.

Vocabulary: The Greek language is second only to the English language for having the greatest number of words. The Koine of the Bible numbers above 5000 words. The Classical is even larger. However, one does not have to memorize that many words, just the most used ones. As we go through the text of John learn the vocabualry. Almost all will be useful for Biblical or Classical use.

Grammar lesson. Notice that in the translation "In [the] beginning was the word" that "the" is supplied before "beginning" to make the English translation sound smooth. It is not there in the original Greek. The reason "the" is left out before "beginning" is to draw attention to the word to intensify and make stronger its meaning. Anytime in the Greek that a "the" is left out there is a grammatical reason. This is just one of several ways that the lack of "the" is used in the Greek.

The word "was" (en) also needs to be explained. It has several uses in the Greek. Here the word "was" means "exist". It is expressing that from the beginning (as far back as you can go) the logos existed/was.

Note: " Logos" This is an interesting word in the Greek. In John 1:1 Logos is translated "word", which is a correct translation, but logos has another meaning. It can also be translated as "reason or  principle". When this book was written, there were two basic groups of people, the Jews and those of  the Roman Empire which had adopted the Greek culture. The choice of "logos" was deliberately chosen to grab the attention of both the Jews and Greek thinking culture. The Greeks had long debated and searched for the answer to their question- what was  the reason behind the universe, and what was the creative principle of the universe. The Jews also were looking for something, too. They were looking for the great out pouring of God's word that would come when Messiah came. John 1:1 introduces the Jews and the Greeks to the "logos" for which they both were searching.

Note: The use of "logos" which is a two meaning or two sided word is typical of the text of John. Many two sided words with both meaning that fit are used, and are meant to be understood this way.

Also, the first 18 verses of the book of John are called the Prologue, the introduction leading up to showing the readers that the Logos is Jesus. The Prologue also lays the ground work for the entire book of John.

To go to Lesson three click here.