Word beginning with john

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Lists of words starting with J including those most commonly written / spoken, definitions, part of speech, and a very long list arranged by word length. Also includes countries that start with J, household items that begin with J, and more. Skip to the section you’re interested in by using the Table Of Contents, or scroll down to see more j words.

Most common / frequently used words that begin with J:

Top 10 most common written words ordered by frequency:
just john journal james job justice january judgment judge jack

Common written words in alphabetic order:
jack james january job john journal judge judgment just justice

Top 20 most common spoken J words by frequency:
just Jesus job john juice jerk jet judge jill jump jenny june joy join jury jim jeff jacob junk jumping

Glossary with part of speech and definition for the top 150 or so most frequently used J words:

jab	noun	a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)
jabber	noun	rapid and indistinct speech
jabberwocky	noun	nonsensical language (according to Lewis Carroll)
jabot	noun	a ruffle on the front of a woman’s blouse or a man’s shirt
jacamar	noun	tropical American insectivorous bird having a long sharp bill and iridescent green or bronze plumage
jack	noun	a small worthless amount
jackal	noun	Old World nocturnal canine mammal closely related to the dog; smaller than a wolf; sometimes hunts in a pack but usually singly or as a member of a pair
jackdaw	noun	common black-and-grey Eurasian bird noted for thievery
jacket	noun	a short coat
jackfruit	noun	East Indian tree cultivated for its immense edible fruit and seeds
jackrabbit	noun	large hare of western North America
jacks	noun	a game in which jackstones are thrown and picked up in various groups between bounces of a small rubber ball
jackscrew	noun	screw-operated jack
jacksnipe	noun	a small short-billed Old World snipe
jackstraw	noun	a thin strip of wood used in playing the game of jackstraws
jackstraws	noun	a game in which players try to pick each jackstraw (or spillikin) off of a pile without moving any of the others
jaconet	noun	a lightweight cotton cloth with a smooth and slightly stiff finish; used for clothing and bandages
jade	noun	a semiprecious gemstone that takes a high polish; is usually green but sometimes whitish; consists of jadeite or nephrite
jadeite	noun	a hard green mineral consisting of sodium aluminum silicate in monoclinic crystalline form; a source of jade; found principally in Burma
jaeger	noun	rapacious seabird that pursues weaker birds to make them drop their prey
jag	noun	a sharp projection on an edge or surface
jaggery	noun	unrefined brown sugar made from palm sap
jaguar	noun	a large spotted feline of tropical America similar to the leopard; in some classifications considered a member of the genus Felis
jaguarundi	noun	long-bodied long-tailed tropical American wildcat
jail	noun	a correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence)
jam	noun	preserve of crushed fruit
jamb	noun	upright consisting of a vertical side member of a door or window frame
jambalaya	noun	spicy Creole dish of rice and ham, sausage, chicken, or shellfish with tomatoes, peppers, onions, and celery
janitor	noun	someone employed to clean and maintain a building
japonica	noun	greenhouse shrub with glossy green leaves and showy fragrant rose-like flowers; cultivated in many varieties
jar	noun	a vessel (usually cylindrical) with a wide mouth and without handles
jasmine	noun	any of several shrubs and vines of the genus Jasminum chiefly native to Asia
jasper	noun	an opaque form of quartz; red or yellow or brown or dark green in color; used for ornamentation or as a gemstone
jaundice	noun	yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes caused by an accumulation of bile pigment (bilirubin) in the blood; can be a symptom of gallstones or liver infection or anemia
jauntily	adverb	in a jaunty fashionable manner
javelin	noun	an athletic competition in which a javelin is thrown as far as possible
jaw	noun	the part of the skull of a vertebrate that frames the mouth and holds the teeth
jawbreaker	noun	a large round hard candy
jaywalk	verb	cross the road at a red light
jazzy	adjective	resembling jazz (especially in its rhythm)
jealousy	noun	a feeling of jealous envy (especially of a rival)
jean	noun	(usually plural) close-fitting trousers of heavy denim for manual work or casual wear
jeep	noun	a car suitable for traveling over rough terrain
jeer	noun	showing your contempt by derision
jejunum	noun	the part of the small intestine between the duodenum and the ileum
jell	verb	become gelatinous
jellaba	noun	a loose cloak with a hood; worn in the Middle East and northern Africa
jennet	noun	female donkey
jerboa	noun	mouselike jumping rodent
jeremiad	noun	a long and mournful complaint
jerk	noun	a dull stupid fatuous person
jerkin	noun	a tight sleeveless and collarless jacket (often made of leather) worn by men in former times
jerkwater	adjective	small and remote and insignificant
jerky	noun	meat (especially beef) cut in strips and dried in the sun
jester	noun	a professional clown employed to entertain a king or nobleman in the Middle Ages
jet	noun	an airplane powered by one or more jet engines
jetliner	noun	a large jet plane that carries passengers
jetsam	noun	the part of a ship’s equipment or cargo that is thrown overboard to lighten the load in a storm
jettison	verb	throw away, of something encumbering
jib	noun	any triangular fore-and-aft sail (set forward of the foremast)
jibboom	noun	a spar that extends the bowsprit
jig	noun	music in three-four time for dancing a jig
jihad	noun	a holy war waged by Muslims against infidels
jilt	noun	a woman who jilts a lover
jimmy	noun	a short crowbar
jimsonweed	noun	intensely poisonous tall coarse annual tropical weed having rank-smelling foliage, large white or violet trumpet-shaped flowers and prickly fruits
jingle	noun	a metallic sound
jinrikisha	noun	a small two-wheeled cart for one passenger; pulled by one person
jitter	noun	small rapid variations in a waveform resulting from fluctuations in the voltage supply or mechanical vibrations or other sources
jitterbug	noun	a jerky American dance that was popular in the 1940s
jitters	noun	extreme nervousness
jittery	adjective	characterized by jerky movements
jobber	noun	someone who buys large quantities of goods and resells to merchants rather than to the ultimate customers
jobbery	noun	corruptness among public officials
jobcentre	noun	a government office in a town where information about available jobs is displayed and where unemployment benefits are administered
jobholder	noun	an employee who holds a regular job
jockey	noun	someone employed to ride horses in horse races
jocosity	noun	fun characterized by humor
jocundity	noun	a feeling facetious merriment
jodhpur	noun	a short riding boot that fastens with a buckle at the side
jodhpurs	noun	flared trousers ending at the calves; worn with riding boots
jog	noun	a sharp change in direction
johnnycake	noun	cornbread usually cooked pancake-style on a griddle (chiefly New England)
joiner	noun	a person who likes to join groups
joinery	noun	fine woodwork done by a joiner
joint	noun	(anatomy) the point of connection between two bones or elements of a skeleton (especially if it allows motion)
jointer	noun	a long carpenter’s plane used to shape the edges of boards so they will fit together
jointly	adverb	in collaboration or cooperation
jointure	noun	(law) an estate secured to a prospective wife as a marriage settlement in lieu of a dower
joist	noun	beam used to support floors or roofs
joke	noun	a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
joker	noun	a person who enjoys telling or playing jokes
jollity	noun	feeling jolly and jovial and full of good humor
jolly	noun	a happy party
jolt	noun	a sudden jarring impact
jonquil	noun	widely cultivated ornamental plant native to southern Europe but naturalized elsewhere having fragrant yellow or white clustered flowers
jorum	noun	a large drinking bowl
joss	noun	a Chinese god worshipped in the form of an idol
jostle	noun	the act of jostling (forcing your way by pushing)
jotter	noun	a small notebook for rough notes
jotting	noun	a brief (and hurriedly handwritten) note
joule	noun	a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second
journalese	noun	the style in which newspapers are written
journalism	noun	newspapers and magazines collectively
journalist	noun	a writer for newspapers and magazines
journalistic	adjective	of or relating to or having the characteristics of journalism
journey	noun	the act of traveling from one place to another
joust	noun	a combat between two mounted knights tilting against each other with blunted lances
joy	noun	the emotion of great happiness
joyful	adjective	full of or producing joy
joyless	adjective	not experiencing or inspiring joy
joyous	adjective	full of or characterized by joy
jubilate	verb	celebrate a jubilee
jubilee	noun	a special anniversary (or the celebration of it)
judge	noun	a public official authorized to decide questions brought before a court of justice
judgeship	noun	the position of judge
judgment	noun	an opinion formed by judging something
judicial	adjective	decreed by or proceeding from a court of justice
judiciary	noun	persons who administer justice
judicious	adjective	marked by the exercise of good judgment or common sense in practical matters
judo	noun	a sport adapted from jujitsu (using principles of not resisting) and similar to wrestling; developed in Japan
jug	noun	a large bottle with a narrow mouth
juggernaut	noun	a massive inexorable force that seems to crush everything in its way
juggle	noun	the act of rearranging things to give a misleading impression
juggler	noun	a performer who juggles objects and performs tricks of manual dexterity
jugglery	noun	artful trickery designed to achieve an end
juice	noun	the liquid part that can be extracted from plant or animal tissue by squeezing or cooking
juicy	adjective	full of juice
juju	noun	the power associated with a juju
jujube	noun	spiny tree having dark red edible fruits
jujutsu	noun	a method of self-defense without weapons that was developed in China and Japan; holds and blows are supplemented by clever use of the attacker’s own weight and strength
juke	noun	a small roadside establishment in the southeastern United States where you can eat and drink and dance to music provided by a jukebox
jukebox	noun	a cabinet containing an automatic record player; records are played by inserting a coin
julep	noun	bourbon and sugar and mint over crushed ice
julienne	noun	a vegetable cut into thin strips (usually used as a garnish)
jump	noun	a sudden and decisive increase
jumper	noun	a person who jumps
junco	noun	small North American finch seen chiefly in winter
junction	noun	the place where two or more things come together
juncture	noun	an event that occurs at a critical time
jungle	noun	a location marked by an intense competition and struggle for survival
jungly	adjective	overgrown with tropical vegetation
junior	noun	term of address for a disrespectful and annoying male
junket	noun	dessert made of sweetened milk coagulated with rennet
junkyard	noun	a field where junk is collected and stored for resale
jural	adjective	of or relating to law or to legal rights and obligations
juridical	adjective	of or relating to the law or jurisprudence
jurisprudence	noun	the branch of philosophy concerned with the law and the principles that lead courts to make the decisions they do
jurist	noun	a legal scholar versed in civil law or the law of nations
juror	noun	someone who serves (or waits to be called to serve) on a jury
jury	noun	a body of citizens sworn to give a true verdict according to the evidence presented in a court of law
just	adjective	used especially of what is legally or ethically right or proper or fitting; – A.Lincoln
justice	noun	the quality of being just or fair
justiciar	noun	formerly a high judicial officer
justifiable	adjective	capable of being justified
justification	noun	something (such as a fact or circumstance) that shows an action to be reasonable or necessary
justify	verb	show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for
justness	noun	conformity with some esthetic standard of correctness or propriety
jute	noun	a plant fiber used in making rope or sacks
juvenescence	noun	the process of growing into a youth
juvenile	noun	a young person, not fully developed
juxtapose	verb	place side by side
juxtaposition	noun	the act of positioning close together (or side by side)

Questions and Answers:

Q: What is the longest J word and how many letters does it have in it?
A: The word jungermanniaceous is 17 letters long.

Q: What is the shortest word that starts with J?
A: The word “Jo” is just two letters long.

Q: What countries start with the letter J?
A: Jamaica, Japan, Jordan.

Q: What are some household items / things / objects that start with ?
A: jar, jigsaw, jug, juicer

More complete list, by word length:

2 letter words beginning with j:

ja jo

3 letter words beginning with j:

jab jad jag jam jar jaw jay jed jet jib jig jiz job jog jot joy jug jus jut

4 letter words beginning with j:

jack jacu jade jady jagg jail jaks jamb jane jape jarl jarp jasz jato jaws jazy jazz jean jeat jeep jeer jefe jell jerk jerm jess jest jibb jibe jill jilt jink jinn jinx jiva jive jivy jock joey jogs john join joke jolt jook josh joss jota jour jovy jowl

jows juba jube judo juju juke jump junk jura jury just jute

5 letter words beginning with j:

jabot jacal jacko jacks jaded jaggy jakes jalap james janes japan jarls jarvy jaunt jaups jazzy jeans jebel jeeps jehad jelly jemmy jenny jerid jerky jerry jeton jetty jiffy jihad jimbo jimmy jingo jinni jocko joint joist joker joles jolly jolty jorum jougs joule joust jowpy judge jugal jugum juice juicy

julep jumbo jumpy junco junta junto jupon jural jurat jurel juror jutty

6 letter words beginning with j:

jabber jabers jabiru jabots jacals jackal jacket jaeger jagged jaguar jailer jailor jalopy jamnut jampan jandal jangar jangle jantee japans japped jarana jarble jargon jarool jarret jarvey jarvie jasies jasper jassid jatoba jaunts jaunty jaygee jeanne jeeing jeelie jejune jelick jemima jenkin jennet jerboa jerkin jerque jersey jested jester jetsam jetson

jetton jharal jibber jibman jiggit jiggle jigsaw jingal jingle jinkle jinxed jinxes jirgah jitney jitter jobber jobing jockey jocose jocuma jocund jodels joggle johnny joiner jointy jokish jolled jostle jotter jouled jounce jovial joyful joyous jubbah judoka jueces jugals jugate jugger juggle juglar jujube juloid jumada jumbal jumble jumper jungle jungly junior junket

junkie jurara jurist justle justly

7 letter words beginning with j:

jacamar jacanas jacatoo jacinth jackass jackdaw jackeen jacking jackleg jackpot jacksaw jacobus jaconet jadeite jaggery jaghirs jagrata jambeau jambuls jamdani jamwood jangler janitor janizar january jarfuls jargoon jasmine javelin jawbone jawfeet jayvees jaywalk jazzbow jazzman jealous jedcock jedding jeelied jeepers jeeping jeerers jejunum jellaba jellied jellies jellify jellily jemadar jerkers jerkies

jerreed jesting jetfuls jetport jettied jetware jibboom jibstay jicamas jigaboo jigging jiggish jillion jimjams jimminy jirbled jitters jittery joannes jobbery jobless jocular jodhpur joeboat joinder joinery jointed jointer jointly jollied jollies jollify jollity jollyer joltily jonquil jornada jotting joubarb journal journey joyance joyless joypops joyrode jubhahs jubilee judaize juddock judices jugging juggins juggler jughead jugular jujitsu jujutsu jukebox jumbled

jumbuck jundies junglis juniper junkman jurants juryman jussive justice justify justler juvenal

8 letter words beginning with j:

jabbling jacitara jackboot jackeens jackeroo jackfish jackshay jackstay jacquard jactance jactivus jailbird jalousie jambones jamboree jamdanee jamesian jaminder janglier japonica jarosite jaspered jasponyx jaundice jauntily jawboned jazerant jealousy jedburgh jehovist jeopardy jeremiad jeroboam jestbook jetliner jettison jimsedge jingoism jinniyeh jipijapa jitneuse jiujitsu jocosity jodhpurs johannes jointage jointure jokester jolleyer jolloped jongleur

jotation jouncing journals journeys jubartas jubilant jubilate judgment judgship judicial jugglery juggling jugoslav jugulate julienne jumbling jumboize jumpoffs jumpseed junction juncture jundying junkyard juratory juristic jurymast justices justling justness juvenile

9 letter words beginning with j:

jaborandi jacaranda jackaroos jackfruit jackknife jacklight jackscrew jackshaft jacksmelt jacksnipe jackstraw jacquerie jactation jaculated jagannath jailbreak jaileress jailhouse jalousied jambalaya jambokked jamestown jampacked janitress jargonise jargonize jasperous jaundiced jaywalked jazziness jellybean jellyfish jellyleaf jeoparder jequirity jeremiads jerkwater jeroboams jessamine jestingly jetliners jetplanes jinglebob jingliest jinnestan jitterbug jiujitsus jobberies jobcentre jobholder jobmaster

jockeydom jockeying jockeyish jockstrap jocundity johannite joiningly jointless jointress jointworm jolliness jollyings jordanite joshingly joviality judgeable judgeship judicable judicator judiciary judicious jugginses juicehead juliennes jumpsuits junglegym juniority junketers juramenta juridical jurywoman justicial justiciar justicoat justifier justinian juvenilia juxtapose

10 letter words beginning with j:

jackanapes jackbooted jackhammer jackrabbit jackstraws jacquemart jaguarundi jambonneau japaconine jardiniere jawbreaker jejunotomy jeopardize jeopardous jetstreams jettaturas jimpnesses jimsonweed jinglingly jinrikisha jockstraps jocktelegs jocularity joculatory johnnycake joltheaded jouisances journalese journalish journalism journalist journalize journeyman joyousness joypoppers jubilarian jubilation jubilatory judicatory judicature juggernaut jugulating jumblement jumblingly juncaceous junctional juniorship justiciary juvenility

11 letter words beginning with j:

jabberwocky jackhammers jacklighter jactitation jamahiriyas jateorhizin jellyfishes jeopardying jigajogging journalises journalisms journalling journeycake journeywork jouysaunces jovinianist judgemental judgmatical jumhouriyas jumpmasters junketeered juridically justiceship justiciable justifiable juvenescent juxtamarine

12 letter words beginning with j:

jinglejangle jinrickshaws journalising journalistic journeywoman jovialnesses judgmentally judicatories jurisconsult jurisdiction jurisprudent justificator juvenescence juvenilities

13 letter words beginning with j:

jackrabbiting jellylikeness jocoseriosity jollification juglandaceous jurisprudence jurisprudents justiciarship justification justificatory juxtaposition

14 letter words beginning with j:

justiciaryship justifications

15 letter words beginning with j:

journalizations

16 letter words beginning with j:

justiciabilities

17 letter words beginning with j:

jungermanniaceous

Summary / wrap-up / next steps:

Glad you visited this webpage containing J words that begin with the letter j, and hopefully it helped you find the right 2 letter, 3 letter, 4 letters, 5, 6, 7, 8, and even longer word beginning with J.

«In the beginning was the Word» redirects here. For the part of Catholic liturgy, see Last Gospel.

John 1:1
← Luke 24 1:2 →
First page of John’s Gospel from the Coronation Gospels, c. 10th century.
Book	Gospel of John
Christian Bible part	New Testament

John 1:1 is the first verse in the opening chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The traditional and majority translation of this verse reads:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.^[1][2][3][4]

The verse has been a source of much debate among Bible scholars and translators.

«The Word,» a translation of the Greek λόγος (logos), is widely interpreted as referring to Jesus, as indicated in other verses later in the same chapter.^[5] For example, “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14; cf. 1:15, 17).

This and other concepts in the Johannine literature set the stage for the Logos-Christology in which the Apologists of the second and third centuries connected the divine Word of John 1:1-5 to the Hebrew Wisdom literature and to the divine Logos of contemporary Greek philosophy.^[6]

On the basis of John 1:1, Tertullian, early in the third century, argued for two Persons that are distinct but the substance is undivided, of the same substance.

In John 1:1c, logos has the article but theos does not. Origen of Alexandria, a teacher in Greek grammar of the third century, argued that John uses the article when theos refers to «the uncreated cause of all things.» But the Logos is named theos without the article because He participates in the divinity of the Father because of “His being with the Father.”

The main dispute with respect to this verse relates to John 1:1c (“the Word was God”). One minority translation is «the Word was divine.» This is based on the argument that the grammatical structure of the Greek does not identify the Word as the Person of God but indicates a qualitative sense. The point being made is that the Logos is of the same uncreated nature or essence as God the Father. In that case, “the Word was God” may be misleading because, in normal English, «God» is a proper noun, referring to the person of the Father or corporately to the three persons of the Godhead.

With respect to John 1:1, Ernest Cadman Colwell writes:

The absence of the article does not make the predicate indefinite or qualitative when it precedes the verb, it is indefinite in this position only when the context demands it.

So, whether the predicate (theos) is definite, indefinite or qualitative depends on the context. Consequently, this article raises the concern that uncertainty with respect to the grammar may result in translations based on the theology of the translator. The commonly held theology that Jesus is God naturally leads to a corresponding translation. But a theology in which Jesus is subordinate to God leads to the conclusion that «… a god» or «… divine» is the proper rendering.

Source text and translations[edit]

Language	John 1:1 text
Koine Greek	Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.[7][8]
Greek transliteration	En arkhêi ên ho lógos, kaì ho lógos ên pròs tòn theón, kaì theòs ên ho lógos.
Syriac Peshitta	ܒ݁ܪܺܫܺܝܬ݂ ܐܺܝܬ݂ܰܘܗ݈ܝ ܗ݈ܘܳܐ ܡܶܠܬ݂ܳܐ ܘܗܽܘ ܡܶܠܬ݂ܳܐ ܐܺܝܬ݂ܰܘܗ݈ܝ ܗ݈ܘܳܐ ܠܘܳܬ݂ ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ ܘܰܐܠܳܗܳܐ ܐܺܝܬ݂ܰܘܗ݈ܝ ܗ݈ܘܳܐ ܗܽܘ ܡܶܠܬ݂ܳܐ ܀
Syriac transliteration	brīšīṯ ʾiṯauhi hwā milṯā, whu milṯā ʾiṯauhi hwā luaṯ ʾalāhā; wʾalāhā iṯauhi hwā hu milṯā
Sahidic Coptic	ϨΝ ΤЄϨΟΥЄΙΤЄ ΝЄϤϢΟΟΠ ΝϬΙΠϢΑϪЄ, ΑΥШ ΠϢΑϪЄ ΝЄϤϢΟΟΠ ΝΝΑϨΡΜ ΠΝΟΥΤЄ. ΑΥШ ΝЄΥΝΟΥΤЄ ΠЄ ΠϢΑϪЄ
Sahidic Coptic transliteration	Hn teHoueite neFSoop nCi pSaJe auw pSaJe neFSoop nnaHrm pnoute auw neunoute pe pSaJe.[9]
Sahidic Coptic to English	In the beginning existed the Word, and the Word existed with the God, and a God was the Word.[10][11][12]
Latin Vulgate	In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum.

• 

  Codex Vaticanus (300–325), The end of Gospel of Luke and the beginning of Gospel of John

John 1:1 in English versions[edit]

The traditional rendering in English is:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Other variations of rendering, both in translation or paraphrase, John 1:1c also exist:

• 14th century: «and God was the word» – Wycliffe’s Bible (translated from the 4th-century Latin Vulgate)
• 1808: «and the Word was a god» – Thomas Belsham The New Testament, in an Improved Version, Upon the Basis of Archbishop Newcome’s New Translation: With a Corrected Text, London.
• 1822: «and the Word was a god» – The New Testament in Greek and English (A. Kneeland, 1822.)
• 1829: «and the Word was a god» – The Monotessaron; or, The Gospel History According to the Four Evangelists (J. S. Thompson, 1829)
• 1863: «and the Word was a god» – A Literal Translation of the New Testament (Herman Heinfetter [Pseudonym of Frederick Parker], 1863)
• 1864: «the LOGOS was God» – A New Emphatic Version (right hand column)
• 1864: «and a god was the Word» – The Emphatic Diaglott by Benjamin Wilson, New York and London (left hand column interlinear reading)
• 1867: «and the Son was of God» – The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
• 1879: «and the Word was a god» – Das Evangelium nach Johannes (J. Becker, 1979)
• 1885: «and the Word was a god» – Concise Commentary on The Holy Bible (R. Young, 1885)
• 1911: «and [a] God was the word» – The Coptic Version of the New Testament in the Southern Dialect, by George William Horner.^[13]
• 1924: «the Logos was divine» – The Bible: James Moffatt Translation, by James Moffatt.^[14]
• 1935: «and the Word was divine» – The Bible: An American Translation, by John M. P. Smith and Edgar J. Goodspeed, Chicago.^[15]
• 1955: «so the Word was divine» – The Authentic New Testament, by Hugh J. Schonfield, Aberdeen.^[16]
• 1956: «And the Word was as to His essence absolute deity» – The Wuest Expanded Translation^[17]
• 1958: «and the Word was a god» – The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Anointed (J. L. Tomanec, 1958);
• 1962, 1979: «‘the word was God.’ Or, more literally, ‘God was the word.'» – The Four Gospels and the Revelation (R. Lattimore, 1979)
• 1966, 2001: «and he was the same as God» – The Good News Bible.
• 1970, 1989: «and what God was, the Word was» – The New English Bible and The Revised English Bible.
• 1975 «and a god (or, of a divine kind) was the Word» – Das Evangelium nach Johnnes, by Siegfried Schulz, Göttingen, Germany
• 1975: «and the Word was a god» – Das Evangelium nach Johannes (S. Schulz, 1975);
• 1978: «and godlike sort was the Logos» – Das Evangelium nach Johannes, by Johannes Schneider, Berlin
• 1985: “So the Word was divine” — The Original New Testament, by Hugh J. Schonfield.^[18]
• 1993: «The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one.» — The Message, by Eugene H. Peterson.^[19]
• 1998: «and what God was the Word also was» – This translation follows Professor Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John, ed. Daniel J. Harrington.^[20]
• 2017: “and the Logos was god” — The New Testament: A Translation, by David Bentley Hart.^[21]

Difficulties[edit]

The text of John 1:1 has a sordid past and a myriad of interpretations. With the Greek alone, we can create empathic, orthodox, creed-like statements, or we can commit pure and unadulterated heresy. From the point of view of early church history, heresy develops when a misunderstanding arises concerning Greek articles, the predicate nominative, and grammatical word order. The early church heresy of Sabellianism understood John 1:1c to read, «and the Word was the God.» The early church heresy of Arianism understood it to read, «and the word was a God.»

— David A. Reed^[22]

There are two issues affecting the translating of the verse, 1) theology and 2) proper application of grammatical rules. The commonly held theology that Jesus is God naturally leads one to believe that the proper way to render the verse is the one which is most popular.^[23] The opposing theology that Jesus is subordinate to God as his Chief agent leads to the conclusion that «… a god» or «… divine» is the proper rendering.^[24]

The Greek Article[edit]

The Greek article is often translated the, which is the English definite article, but it can have a range of meanings that can be quite different from those found in English, and require context to interpret.^[25] Ancient Greek does not have an indefinite article like the English word a, and nominatives without articles also have a range of meanings that require context to interpret.

Colwell’s Rule[edit]

In interpreting this verse, Colwell’s rule should be taken into consideration, which says that a definite predicate which is before the verb «to be» usually does not have the definite article. Ernest Cadman Colwell writes:

The opening verse of John’s Gospel contains one of the many passages where this rule suggests the translation of a predicate as a definite noun. Καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος [Kaì theòs ên ho lógos] looks much more like «And the Word was God» than «And the Word was divine» when viewed with reference to this rule. The absence of the article does not make the predicate indefinite or qualitative when it precedes the verb, it is indefinite in this position only when the context demands it. The context makes no such demand in the Gospel of John, for this statement cannot be regarded as strange in the prologue of the gospel which reaches its climax in the confession of Thomas [Footnote: John 20,28].»^[26]

Jason David BeDuhn (Professor of Religious Studies at Northern Arizona University) criticizes Colwell’s Rule as methodologically unsound and «not a valid rule of Greek grammar.»^[27]

The Word was divine[edit]

The main dispute with respect to this verse relates to John 1:1c (“the Word was God”). One minority translation is «the Word was divine.» The following support this type of translation:

Tertullian[edit]

Tertullian in the early third century wrote:

Now if this one [the Word] is God according to John («the Word was God»), then you have two: one who speaks that it may be, and another who carries it out. However, how you should accept this as «another» I have explained: as concerning person, not substance, and as distinction, not division. (Against Praxeus 12)^[28]

In other words, the Persons are distinct but the substance is undivided. As Tertullian states in Against Praxeus 9 and 26, He is “so far God as He is of the same substance as God Himself … and as a portion of the Whole … as He Himself acknowledges: «My Father is greater than I.”^[29]

At the beginning of chapter 13 of against Praxeus, Tertullian uses various Scriptures to argue for “two Gods,” including:^[30]

“One God spoke and another created” (cf. John 1:3).

“God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee or made Thee His Christ” (cf. Psm 45).

«’In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ There was One ‘who was,’ and there was another ‘with whom’”.

Origen[edit]

In John 1:1c, logos has the article but theos does not. Literally, “god was the word”.^[31] Origen of Alexandria, a teacher in Greek grammar of the third century, discusses the presence or absence of the article in Commentary on John, Book II, chap, 2.^[32] He states:

He (John) uses the article, when the name of God refers to the uncreated cause of all things, and omits it when the Logos is named God. […]
God on the one hand is Very God (Autotheos, God of Himself); and so the Saviour says in His prayer to the Father, “That they may know Thee the only true God;” (cf. John 17:3) but that all beyond the Very God is made God by participation in His divinity, and is not to be called simply God (with the article), but rather God (without article).

Origen then continues to explain that the Son — the first-born of all creation – was the first to be “with God” (cf. John 1:1), attracted to Himself divinity from God, and gave that divinity to the other “gods:”

And thus the first-born of all creation, who is the first to be with God, and to attract to Himself divinity, is a being of more exalted rank than the other gods beside Him, of whom God is the God […] It was by the offices of the first-born that they became gods, for He drew from God in generous measure that they should be made gods, and He communicated it to them according to His own bounty.

As R.P.C. Hanson stated in discussing the Apologists, «There were many different types and grades of deity in popular thought and religion and even in philosophical thought.»^[33] Origen concludes that “the Word of God” is not “God … of Himself” but because of “His being with the Father” (cf. John 1:1):

The true God, then, is “The God,” and those who are formed after Him are gods, images, as it were, of Him the prototype.  But the archetypal image, again, of all these images is the Word of God, who was in the beginning, and who by being with God is at all times God, not possessing that of Himself, but by His being with the Father, and not continuing to be God, if we should think of this, except by remaining always in uninterrupted contemplation of the depths of the Father.

Translations[edit]

Translations by James Moffatt, Edgar J. Goodspeed and Hugh J. Schonfield render part of the verse as «…the Word [Logos] was divine».

Murray J. Harris writes,

[It] is clear that in the translation «the Word was God», the term God is being used to denote his nature or essence, and not his person. But in normal English usage «God» is a proper noun, referring to the person of the Father or corporately to the three persons of the Godhead. Moreover, «the Word was God» suggests that «the Word» and «God» are convertible terms, that the proposition is reciprocating. But the Word is neither the Father nor the Trinity … The rendering cannot stand without explanation.»^[34]

An Eastern/Greek Orthodox Bible commentary notes:

This second theos could also be translated ‘divine’ as the construction indicates «a qualitative sense for theos». The Word is not God in the sense that he is the same person as the theos mentioned in 1:1a; he is not God the Father (God absolutely as in common NT usage) or the Trinity. The point being made is that the Logos is of the same uncreated nature or essence as God the Father, with whom he eternally exists. This verse is echoed in the Nicene Creed: «God (qualitative or derivative) from God (personal, the Father), Light from Light, True God from True God… homoousion with the Father.»^[35]

Daniel B. Wallace (Professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary) argues that:

The use of the anarthrous theos (the lack of the definite article before the second theos) is due to its use as a qualitative noun, describing the nature or essence of the Word, sharing the essence of the Father, though they differed in person: he stresses: «The construction the evangelist chose to express this idea was the most precise way he could have stated that the Word was God and yet was distinct from the Father».^[36] He questions whether Colwell’s rule helps in interpreting John 1:1. It has been said^{[by whom?]} that Colwell’s rule has been misapplied as its converse, as though it implied definiteness.^[37]

Murray J. Harris (Emeritus Professor of NT Exegesis and Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) discusses «grammatical, theological, historical, literary and other issues that affect the interpretation of θεὸς» and conclude that, among other uses, «is a christological title that is primarily ontological in nature» and adds that «the application of θεὸς to Jesus Christ asserts that Jesus is … God-by-nature.^[38][39][40]

John L. McKenzie (Catholic Biblical scholar) wrote that ho Theos is God the Father, and adds that John 1:1 should be translated «the word was with the God [=the Father], and the word was a divine being.»^[41][42]

In a 1973 Journal of Biblical Literature article, Philip B. Harner, Professor Emeritus of Religion at Heidelberg College, claimed that the traditional translation of John 1:1c (“and the Word was God”) is incorrect. He endorses the New English Bible translation of John 1:1c, “and what God was, the Word was.”^[43] However, Harner’s claim has been criticized.^[44]

Philip B. Harner (Professor Emeritus of Religion at Heidelberg College) says:

Perhaps the clause could be translated, ‘the Word had the same nature as God.” This would be one way of representing John’s thought, which is, as I understand it, that ho logos, no less than ho theos, had the nature of theos.^[45]

B. F. Westcott is quoted by C. F. D. Moule (Lady Margaret’s Professor of Divinity in the University of Cambridge):

The predicate (God) stands emphatically first, as in 4:24. ‘It is necessarily without the article (theós not ho theós) inasmuch as it describes the nature of the Word and does not identify His Person. It would be pure Sabellianism to say “the Word was ho theós”. No idea of inferiority of nature is suggested by the form of expression, which simply affirms the true deity of the Word. Compare the converse statement of the true humanity of Christ five 27 (hóti huiòs anthrópou estín . . . ).’^[46]

James D. G. Dunn (Emeritus Lightfoot Professor at University of Durham) states:

Philo demonstrates that a distinction between ho theos and theos such as we find in John 1.1b-c, would be deliberate by the author and significant for the Greek reader. Not only so, Philo shows that he could happily call the Logos ‘God/god’ without infringing his monotheism (or even ‘the second God’ – Qu.Gen. II.62). Bearing in mind our findings with regard to the Logos in Philo, this cannot but be significant: the Logos for Philo is ‘God’ not as a being independent of ‘the God’ but as ‘the God’ in his knowability – the Logos standing for that limited apprehension of the one God which is all that the rational man, even the mystic may attain to.”^[47]

In summary, scholars and grammarians indicate that the grammatical structure of the Greek does not identify the Word as the Person of God but indicates a qualitative sense. The point being made is that the Logos is of the same nature or essence as God the Father. In that case, “the Word was God” may be misleading because, in normal English, «God» is a proper noun, referring to the person of the Father or corporately to the three persons of the Godhead.

The Word as a god.[edit]

Some scholars oppose the translation …a god,^{[48][49][50][51]} while other scholars believe it is possible or even preferable.^[52][53][54]

The rendering as «a god» is justified by some non-Trinitarians by comparing it with Acts 28:6 which has a similar grammatical construction’^[55]

«The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.»^{[Ac. 28:6 NIV]}.

«Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god (theón).» (KJV)^[56]

«But they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god (theón).» (NET)^[57]

However, it was noted that the Hebrew words El, HaElohim and Yahweh (all referring to God) were rendered as anarthrous theos in the Septuagint at Nahum 1:2, Isaiah 37:16, 41:4, Jeremiah 23:23 and Ezekiel 45:9 among many other locations. Moreover, in the New Testament anarthrous theos was used to refer to God in locations including John 1:18a, Romans 8:33, 2 Corinthians 5:19, 6:16 and Hebrews 11:16 (although the last two references do have an adjective aspect to them). Therefore, anarthrous or arthrous constructions by themselves, without context, cannot determine how to render it into a target language. In Deuteronomy 31:27 the septuagint text, «supported by all MSS… reads πρὸς τὸν θεόν for the Hebrew עִם־ יְהֹוָ֔ה»,^[58] but the oldest Greek text in Papyrus Fouad 266 has written πρὸς יהוה τὸν θεόν.^[58]

In the October 2011 Journal of Theological Studies, Brian J. Wright and Tim Ricchuiti^[59] reason that the indefinite article in the Coptic translation, of John 1:1, has a qualitative meaning. Many such occurrences for qualitative nouns are identified in the Coptic New Testament, including 1 John 1:5 and 1 John 4:8. Moreover, the indefinite article is used to refer to God in Deuteronomy 4:31 and Malachi 2:10.

In the Beginning[edit]

«In the beginning (archē) was the Word (logos)» may be compared with:

• Genesis 1:1: «In the beginning God created heaven, and earth.»^[60] The opening words of the Old Testament are also «In the beginning». Theologian Charles Ellicott wrote:

«The reference to the opening words of the Old Testament is obvious, and is the more striking when we remember that a Jew would constantly speak of and quote from the book of Genesis as «Berēshîth» («in the beginning»). It is quite in harmony with the Hebrew tone of this Gospel to do so, and it can hardly be that St. John wrote his Berēshîth without having that of Moses present to his mind, and without being guided by its meaning.^[61]

• Mark 1:1: «The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.»^[62]
• Luke 1:2: «According as they have delivered them unto us, who from the beginning (archē) were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word (logos).^[63][64]
• 1 John 1:1: «That which was from the beginning (archē), which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word (logos) of life».^[65][66]

[edit]

• Chrysostom: «While all the other Evangelists begin with the Incarnation, John, passing over the Conception, Nativity, education, and growth, speaks immediately of the Eternal Generation, saying, In the beginning was the Word.»

• Augustine: «The Greek word “logos” signifies both Word and Reason. But in this passage it is better to interpret it Word; as referring not only to the Father, but to the creation of things by the operative power of the Word; whereas Reason, though it produce nothing, is still rightly called Reason.»

• Augustine: «Words by their daily use, sound, and passage out of us, have become common things. But there is a word which remaineth inward, in the very man himself; distinct from the sound which proceedeth out of the mouth. There is a word, which is truly and spiritually that, which you understand by the sound, not being the actual sound. Now whoever can conceive the notion of word, as existing not only before its sound, but even before the idea of its sound is formed, may see enigmatically, and as it were in a glass, some similitude of that Word of Which it is said, In the beginning was the Word. For when we give expression to something which we know, the word used is necessarily derived from the knowledge thus retained in the memory, and must be of the same quality with that knowledge. For a word is a thought formed from a thing which we know; which word is spoken in the heart, being neither Greek nor Latin, nor of any language, though, when we want to communicate it to others, some sign is assumed by which to express it. […] Wherefore the word which sounds externally, is a sign of the word which lies hid within, to which the name of word more truly appertains. For that which is uttered by the mouth of our flesh, is the voice of the word; and is in fact called word, with reference to that from which it is taken, when it is developed externally.»

• Basil of Caesarea: «This Word is not a human word. For how was there a human word in the beginning, when man received his being last of all? There was not then any word of man in the beginning, nor yet of Angels; for every creature is within the limits of time, having its beginning of existence from the Creator. But what says the Gospel? It calls the Only-Begotten Himself the Word.»

• Chrysostom: «But why omitting the Father, does he proceed at once to speak of the Son? Because the Father was known to all; though not as the Father, yet as God; whereas the Only-Begotten was not known. As was meet then, he endeavours first of all to inculcate the knowledge of the Son on those who knew Him not; though neither in discoursing on Him, is he altogether silent on the Father. And inasmuch as he was about to teach that the Word was the Only-Begotten Son of God, that no one might think this a passible (παθητὴν) generation, he makes mention of the Word in the first place, in order to destroy the dangerous suspicion, and show that the Son was from God impassibly. And a second reason is, that He was to declare unto us the things of the Father. (John. 15:15) But he does not speak of the Word simply, but with the addition of the article, in order to distinguish It from other words. For Scripture calls God’s laws and commandments words; but this Word is a certain Substance, or Person, an Essence, coming forth impassibly from the Father Himself.»

• Basil of Caesarea: «Wherefore then Word? Because born impassibly, the Image of Him that begat, manifesting all the Father in Himself; abstracting from Him nothing, but existing perfect in Himself.»

• Augustine: «Now the Word of God is a Form, not a formation, but the Form of all forms, a Form unchangeable, removed from accident, from failure, from time, from space, surpassing all things, and existing in all things as a kind of foundation underneath, and summit above them.»

• Basil of Caesarea: «Yet has our outward word some similarity to the Divine Word. For our word declares the whole conception of the mind; since what we conceive in the mind we bring out in word. Indeed our heart is as it were the source, and the uttered word the stream which flows therefrom.»

• Chrysostom: «Observe the spiritual wisdom of the Evangelist. He knew that men honoured most what was most ancient, and that honouring what is before everything else, they conceived of it as God. On this account he mentions first the beginning, saying, In the beginning was the Word.»

• Augustine: «Or, In the beginning, as if it were said, before all things.»

• Basil of Caesarea: «The Holy Ghost foresaw that men would arise, who should envy the glory of the Only-Begotten, subverting their hearers by sophistry; as if because He were begotten, He was not; and before He was begotten, He was not. That none might presume then to babble such things, the Holy Ghost saith, In the beginning was the Word.»

• Hilary of Poitiers: «Years, centuries, ages, are passed over, place what beginning thou wilt in thy imagining, thou graspest it not in time, for He, from Whom it is derived, still was.»

• Chrysostom: «As then when our ship is near shore, cities and port pass in survey before us, which on the open sea vanish, and leave nothing whereon to fix the eye; so the Evangelist here, taking us with him in his flight above the created world, leaves the eye to gaze in vacancy on an illimitable expanse. For the words, was in the beginning, are significative of eternal and infinite essence.»

• Council of Ephesus: «Wherefore in one place divine Scripture calls Him the Son, in another the Word, in another the Brightness of the Father; names severally meant to guard against blasphemy. For, forasmuch as thy son is of the same nature with thyself, the Scripture wishing to show that the Substance of the Father and the Son is one, sets forth the Son of the Father, born of the Father, the Only-Begotten. Next, since the terms birth and son, convey the idea of passibleness, therefore it calls the Son the Word, declaring by that name the impassibility of His Nativity. But inasmuch as a father with us is necessarily older than his son, lest thou shouldest think that this applied to the Divine nature as well, it calls the Only-Begotten the Brightness of the Father; for brightness, though arising from the sun, is not posterior to it. Understand then that Brightness, as revealing the coeternity of the Son with the Father; Word as proving the impassibility of His birth, and Son as conveying His consubstantiality.»

• Chrysostom: «But they say that In the beginning does not absolutely express eternity: for that the same is said of the heaven and the earth: In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. (Gen. 1:1) But are not made and was, altogether different? For in like manner as the word is, when spoken of man, signifies the present only, but when applied to God, that which always and eternally is; so too was, predicated of our nature, signifies the past, but predicated of God, eternity.»

• Origen: «The verb to be, has a double signification, sometimes expressing the motions which take place in time, as other verbs do; sometimes the substance of that one thing of which it is predicated, without reference to time. Hence it is also called a substantive verb.»

• Hilary of Poitiers: «Consider then the world, understand what is written of it. In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. Whatever therefore is created is made in the beginning, and thou wouldest contain in time, what, as being to be made, is contained in the beginning. But, lo, for me, an illiterate unlearned fisherman is independent of time, unconfined by ages, advanceth beyond all beginnings. For the Word was, what it is, and is not bounded by any time, nor commenced therein, seeing It was not made in the beginning, but was.»

• Alcuin: » To refute those who inferred from Christ’s Birth in time, that He had not been from everlasting, the Evangelist begins with the eternity of the Word, saying, In the beginning was the Word.»

• Chrysostom: «Because it is an especial attribute of God, to be eternal and without a beginning, he laid this down first: then, lest any one on hearing in the beginning was the Word, should suppose the Word Unbegotten, he instantly guarded against this; saying, And the Word was with God.»

• Hilary of Poitiers: «From the beginning, He is with God: and though independent of time, is not independent of an Author.»

• Basil of Caesarea: «Again he repeats this, was, because of men blasphemously saying, that there was a time when He was not. Where then was the Word? Illimitable things are not contained in space. Where was He then? With God. For neither is the Father bounded by place, nor the Son by aught circumscribing.»

• Origen: «It is worth while noting, that, whereas the Word is said to come [be made] to some, as to Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, with God it is not made, as though it were not with Him before. But, the Word having been always with Him, it is said, and the Word was with God: for from the beginning it was not separate from the Father.»

• Chrysostom: «He has not said, was in God, but was with God: exhibiting to us that eternity which He had in accordance with His Person.»

• Theophylact of Ohrid: «Sabellius is overthrown by this text. For he asserts that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one Person, Who sometimes appeared as the Father, sometimes as the Son, sometimes as the Holy Ghost. But he is manifestly confounded by this text, and the Word was with God; for here the Evangelist declares that the Son is one Person, God the Father another.»

• Hilary of Poitiers: «But the title is absolute, and free from the offence of an extraneous subject. To Moses it is said, I have given thee for a god to Pharaoh: (Exod. 7:1) but is not the reason for the name added, when it is said, to Pharaoh? Moses is given for a god to Pharaoh, when he is feared, when he is entreated, when he punishes, when he heals. And it is one thing to be given for a God, another thing to be God. I remember too another application of the name in the Psalms, I have said, ye are gods. But there too it is implied that the title was but bestowed; and the introduction of, I said, makes it rather the phrase of the Speaker, than the name of the thing. But when I hear the Word was God, I not only hear the Word said to be, but perceive It proved to be, God.»

• Basil of Caesarea: «Thus cutting off the cavils of blasphemers, and those who ask what the Word is, he replies, and the Word was God.»

• Theophylact of Ohrid: » Or combine it thus. From the Word being with God, it follows plainly that there are two Persons. But these two are of one Nature; and therefore it proceeds, In the Word was God: to show that Father and Son are of One Nature, being of One Godhead.»

• Origen: «We must add too, that the Word illuminates the Prophets with Divine wisdom, in that He cometh to them; but that with God He ever is, because He is God. For which reason he placed and the Word was with God, before and the Word was God.»

• Chrysostom: «Not asserting, as Plato does, one to be intelligence, the other soul; for the Divine Nature is very different from this. […] But you say, the Father is called God with the addition of the article, the Son without it. What say you then, when the Apostle. writes, The great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (Tit. 2:13) and again, Who is over all, God; (Rom. 9:5) and Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father; (Rom. 1:7) without the article? Besides, too, it were superfluous here, to affix what had been affixed just before. So that it does not follow, though the article is not affixed to the Son, that He is therefore an inferior God.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Another God in the Gospel of John? A Linguistic Analysis of John 1:1 and 1:18