En arche en o Logos, kai o Logos en pros ton Theon, kai Theos en o
Logos.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was
the the Word
- En
- 'In' denoting a fixed position in time, or location.
- arche
- (the) beginning. 'arche' is the basis for 'archaeology' and
'arcane'.
- en
- was - the imperfect form of 'eimi' which is 'to be'. While this
word is spelled similar to 'in' in English, there are differences in
the Greek involving diacriticals and breath marks that don't translate
well into Latin characters.
- o
- The definite article - 'the'. While this is not quite accurate,
it serves that purpose.
- pros
- 'pro' means 'before' and 'above'. 'pros' is a stronger form meaning
'to the advantage of', 'near', 'with', or 'with regard to'.
- ton
- This is the Greek definite article, but it doesn't translate
into English.
The 'strong's number' of this word is 5713 in case you wish to look it
up yourself.
- Theon, Theos
- The word 'God' in different forms.
- kai
- 'Kai' is most often translated to 'and' (8173 times out of 9251 occurances). It acts as a conjunction that implies a strong relationship between the two phrases. This contrasts with de which is used to enumerate a list. An example of this diffrence can be found in Matthew 1:2 where de is used to join the generations while kai is used to join the phrase "Judas and his brethren". This can be seen again in Matthew 1:3 with "And (de) Judas begat Phares and (kai) Zara of Thamar;"
- Logos
- Logos is an interesting word - and it does not just mean 'word'
as in text or vocalizations. The Greek word 'rema' means this, and
it was not chosen.
Logos has a deeper meaning that encompasses
much more than the simple 'word' can. Logos is a decree or mandate.
Logos is the act of speaking and the ability to speak. Logos is Reason.
Today we see Logos in the words 'logic' and '-logy'. The first use of Logos was by Heraclitus in 600 BC as part of the idea of the reason behind the plan of a changing universe. For 600 years prior to Christ, Greek philosophers have studied Logos. The stoics took this search to heart. Logos is the reason - but without a personification, it is the principle of the essential rational and orderly nature
of the universe. Stoic philosophy was a search to find
Logos, understand it and through this understanding bring peace of mind as to
the 'why' of the universe. The ability to search for and understand Logos is what seperated man from beast. To properly understand Logos, one must have use of language - and words.
At the time of Christ, there was a strong intellectual presence
in Greece of philosophers. Each of the gospels was written for
a different audience. Matthew and Mark were written for the Jewish
people themselves. Matthew 1 starts off with a lineage to show
to the Jewish religious officals the correct lineage. Special mention
about Isaiah and other prophets are made throughout. Luke is written
for the common people, and shows the humble beginnings of Christ and
his humanity. John is written mostly for the intellectual gentiles.
The Gospel of John starts out with an appeal in words of philosophy
to those who search for Logos in their life. "The Christian God
is that plan that you seek." It offers the promise of finding the
peace of mind that is sought after.
In the beginning was the Reason, and the Reason was with God, and God was the Reason.