The meaning of John 1:1
An Exegetical Grammer Of The Greek New Testament William D Chamberlain
page 57
d. A qualitative force is often expressed by the absence of the article: en tois propsetais (Heb. 1:1), 'in the prophets,' calls attention to a particular group, while en uio (Heb. 1:2), 'in son,' calls attention to the rank of the Son as a 'spokesman' for God. The ARV in trying to bring out the force of this phrase translates it, 'in his Son,' italicizing 'his.'
The predicate of a sentence may be recognized by the absence of the article: theos en ho logos(Jn. 1:1), the Word was God; kai ho l), 'And the Word became flesh'; esontai oi eschatoi protoi (Mt. 20 :16), 'the last shall be first.' The article with each of these predicate nouns would equate them and make them interchangeable, e. g., ho theos en ho logos would make God and the Word identical. The effect of this can be seen in ho theos agape estin (1 Jn. 4 :8), 'God is love.' As the sentence now stands 'love' describes a primary quality of God; the article he with agape would make God and love equivalents, e. g., God would possess no qualities not subsumed under love.
Summary
The primary function of the article is to make something definite. It may point out something new to the discussion, or something already mentioned.
"Theos en ho logos" is describing the quality of the Logos-Word in that he possessed divine or divinity as the only begotten son of God who was a spirit being like God but not identical to Jehovah God.
AN EXEGETICAL GRAMMAR 0F THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT
William D Chamberlain
Since it was first published in 1941, this standard intermediate-level textbook has successfully bridged the gulf in students' minds between a knowledge of grammatical facts and their application to exegesis The author sought to "condense, arrange or simplify the works of the great pioneers in the grammatical field, so as to give a convenient handbook to the seminary student."
A concise introduction to exegesis precedes chapters on building a Greek vocabulary, the parts of speech and their function, clauses, and sentences.
BRUCE M. METZGER has recommended this book "as a comprehensive and helpful grammar written to enable the average minister to feel at home in the Greek New Testament."
NED B. STONEHOUSE found it "a convenient handbook for the student who is seeking to apply his knowle the exegetical study of the New Testament."
WILLIAM F. ARNDT has written: "To all pastors and theological students who would like to review the chief grammatical facts pertaining to the Greek of the New Testament and who are looking for a somewhat new approach, we cordially recommend this book."
William D. Chamberlain was professor of New Testament language and literature at the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary when he wrote this volume.
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