And God Was The Word (John 1:1)

[kafka]

Just noticed an interesting word placement in my friends translation of the Bible (Catholic Public Domain Version) and his notes.

{1:1} In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum.
{1:1} In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word.

~ The words 'Deus' and 'Verbum' are both in the nominative case, so the text could be read as 'God was the Word,' or as 'the Word was God.' However, word order in Latin is not entirely irrelevant, therefore this translation prefers ‘God was the Word,’ over ‘the Word was God.’ The same translation choice is made in the original Rheims New Testament of 1582.

Here are the NAB notes:

1,1 [i]In the beginning[/i]: also the first words of the Old Testament (Gn 1,1). [i]Was[/i]: this verb is used three times with different meanings in this verse: existance, relationship and predication. . . [i]Was God[/i]: lack of definite article with "God" in Greek signifies predication rather than identification.

my notes:

God represents the Father. Word represents the Son. 'God was the Word' in one simple statement asserts and implies: the Nature of the Father is the Nature of the Son yet the Person who is Father is not the Person who is Son. One Nature represented by the verb 'was' and two Persons represented by two different names: God, Word

Edited June 17, 2010 by kafka

[Miss Hepburn]

Excellent.

[kafka]

I think it is the better of the two choices.

The word order of the Latin Vulgate and the original Rheims of 1582 supports the choice.

It is also better from a teaching point of view. The phrase 'God was the Word' or 'the Word was God' primarily refers to the Divine Nature. The Divine Nature is Procession. The Son is eternally proceeding from the Father, and the Spirit is eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son as from one principle. There is order in the Procession beyond time. And this order is best expressed in human terms by placing Father first, Son second, Spirit third. So in the phrase 'and God was the Word' God, representing the Father, precedes Word, representing the Son.

And this word order is continued in the following verses:

{1:4} in ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hominum:
{1:4} Life was in Him, and Life was the light of men.

Vita means Life. Life represents the Spirit. He is mentioned third after God and Word (Father and Son)

Even though this is my commentary, I know the translator well enough to know he had something like this in mind when he made that choice.

Excellent!