Probably everyone is familiar with the phrase "In the beginning was the Word", but what kind of Word is this and why its true meaning has been the subject of heated debate for almost two thousand years?
The famous phrase comes from the first line of the New Testament Gospel of John and has a great many different interpretations that lead to completely different understandings of its meaning. And if with the meaning of the words "In the beginning it was …" everything is already quite clear, then the meaning of the "Word" is the most difficult to understand the true meaning of the entire phrase.
An angel whispers the text of the Gospel in John's ear.
The oldest known literary sources of the Gospel were written in Greek, in connection with which we will consider the full line in the Greek original:
What is most often interpreted as:
* From the official (synodal) translation of the Bible by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Icon of the mid-15th century. The phrase is written in Greek on a scroll in the hands of Saint John.
Or in other words, “Word” refers to the Greek word “Logos”, but is this interpretation correct?
Promotional video:
The term "Logos" itself has more than 30 different meanings, and the "word" itself is just one of them and is far from being the most correct one.
The most likely alternative meanings of the "Word":
- In the beginning there was a speech.
- In the beginning there was a rumor.
- In the beginning there was reason (as the main difference between man and animal).
- In the beginning there was a teaching.
- In the beginning there was a thought.
- In the beginning there was a judgment.
The first page of the Coronation Gospel of John. Late IX - early X century.
The list can be continued long enough, but most researchers are sure that "Logos" hides behind itself a certain noun, and not a verb.
The famous theologian and religious thinker, Philo of Alexandria, who lived at the time of Christ (when the Gospel of John was not yet written), considered the "Logos" to be the totality of all divine powers.
Philo of Alexandria, engraving, late 16th century.
It is noteworthy that the term itself, apparently, he borrowed from the outstanding ancient Greek philosopher and founder of dialectics - Heraclitus.
Many prominent church leaders (church fathers) also spoke about a deeper meaning of the "Word", interpreting the "Logos" (Word) as the Son of God - Jesus Christ, God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
And not by accident.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit on the icon of the New Testament Trinity, 18th century.
There are only two problems affecting the translation of the verse:
1. The problem of correct interpretation of the meaning of a word and the application of the grammatical rules of the Greek language.
2. Exclusively theological (which is prioritized and guided by).
Conventional theology says that God has always been, and naturally leads to the idea that the "Word" means exactly God.
Or in other words:
In the beginning was the Word = In the beginning was God.