A Catholic Bible. The NewAmericanBible Commentary John Chapter 1 Commentary N0s in Brackets Verses Not in Brackets 1
Example[20] Messiah: the anointed agent of Yahweh, Verse 1
Verse 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[1] The
prologue states the main themes of the gospel: life, light, truth, the world,
testimony, and the preexistence of
Jesus Christ, the incarnate Logos, who reveals God the Father. In origin, it
was probably an early Christian hymn. Its closest parallel is in other
christological hymns, Col 1:15-20 and Philippians
2:6-11. Its core (John
1:1-5, 10-11,
14) is poetic
in structure, with short phrases linked by "staircase parallelism,"
in which the last word of one phrase becomes the first word of the next. Prose
inserts (at least John
1:6-8, 15)
deal with John the Baptist.
Compare PreExistenceOfChrist.htm
Verse 2 He was in the beginning with
God.
[2] In the beginning: also the first words of the Old Testament (Genesis 1:1). Was: this verb is used three times with different meanings in this verse: existence, relationship, and predication. The Word (Greek logos): this term combines God's dynamic, creative word (Genesis), personified preexistent Wisdom as the instrument of God's creative activity (Proverbs), and the ultimate intelligibility of reality (Hellenistic+philosophy).
With God: the Greek preposition here connotes communication with another. Was God: lack of a definite article with "God" in Greek signifies predication rather than identification.
Compare (Proverb-8-22-MB) (Prov8-22.htm)
3 All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be
[] What came to be: while the oldest manuscripts have no punctuation here, the corrector of Bodmer Papyrus P75, some manuscripts, and the Ante-Nicene Fathers take this phrase with what follows, as staircase parallelism. Compare Open GOD or god- AllManuscriptsWereWrittenInAllCaps.htm
4 [5] The ethical dualism of light and darkness is paralleled in intertestamental literature and in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Overcome: "comprehend" is another possible translation, but cf John 12:35; Wisdom 7:29-30.
5 [6] John was sent just as Jesus was "sent" (John 4:34) in divine mission. Other references to John the Baptist in this gospel emphasize the differences between them and John's subordinate role.
6 [7] Testimony: the testimony theme of John is introduced, which portrays Jesus as if on trial throughout his ministry. All testify to Jesus: John the Baptist, the Samaritan woman, scripture, his works, the crowds, the Spirit, and his disciples.
7 [11] What was his
own . . . his own people: first a neuter, literally, "his own
property/possession" (probably =
8 [13] Believers in Jesus become children of God not through any of the three natural causes mentioned but through God who is the immediate cause of the new spiritual life. Were born: the Greek verb can mean "begotten" (by a male) or "born" (from a female or of parents). The variant "he who was begotten," asserting Jesus' virginal conception, is weakly attested in Old Latin and Syriac versions.
9 [14] Flesh: the whole person, used probably
against docetic tendencies (cf 1 John 4:2; 1:7). Made his dwelling: literally, "pitched his
tent/tabernacle." Cf the tabernacle or tent of meeting that was the
place of God's presence among his people (Exodus 25:8-9).
The incarnate Word is the new mode of God's presence among his people. The
Greek verb has the same consonants as the Aramaic word for God's presence
(Shekinah). Glory: God's visible manifestation of majesty in power, which once
filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34)
and the temple (1
Kings 8:10-11, 27), is now
centered in Jesus. Only Son: Greek, monogenes, but see
the note on John
1:18. Grace and truth: these words may represent two Old Testament terms
describing Yahweh in covenant relationship with
10 [15] This verse, interrupting John 1:14, 16 seems drawn from John 1:30.
11 [16] Grace in place of grace: replacement of the Old Covenant with the New (cf John 1:17). Other possible translations are "grace upon grace" (accumulation) and "grace for grace" (correspondence).
12 [18] The only Son, God: while the vast majority of later textual witnesses have another reading, "the Son, the only one" or "the only Son," the translation above follows the best and earliest manuscripts, monogenes theos, but takes the first term to mean not just "Only One" but to include a filial relationship with the Father, as at Luke 9:38 ("only child") or Hebrews 11:17 ("only son") and as translated at John 1:14. The Logos is thus "only Son" and God but not Father/God.
13 [19-51] The testimony of John the Baptist about the Messiah and Jesus' self-revelation to the first disciples. This section constitutes the introduction to the gospel proper and is connected with the prose inserts in the prologue. It develops the major theme of testimony in four scenes: John's negative testimony about himself; his positive testimony about Jesus; the revelation of Jesus to Andrew and Peter; the revelation of Jesus to Philip and Nathanael.
14 [19] The Jews: throughout most of the gospel, the "Jews" does not refer to the Jewish people as such but to the hostile authorities, both Pharisees and Sadducees, particularly in Jerusalem, who refuse to believe in Jesus. The usage reflects the atmosphere, at the end of the first century, of polemics between church and synagogue, or possibly it refers to Jews as representative of a hostile world (John 1:10-11).
15 [20] Messiah: the anointed agent of Yahweh, usually considered to be of Davidic descent. See further the note on John 1:41.
16 [21] Elijah: the Baptist did not claim to be Elijah returned to earth (cf Malachi 3:23; Matthew 11:14). The Prophet: probably the prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15; cf Acts 3:22).
17 [23] This is a repunctuation and reinterpretation (as in the synoptic gospels and Septuagint) of the Hebrew text of Isaiah 40:3 which reads, "A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord."
18 [24] Some Pharisees: other translations, such as "Now they had been sent from the Pharisees," misunderstand the grammatical construction. This is a different group from that in John 1:19; the priests and Levites would have been Sadducees, not Pharisees.
Verses 2,
3, 14 and 18 Must Harmonize (Rule) with verse 1 to make it right and to
made Jesus a-real individual being with His GOD Proverb-8-22-MB-
Connection with John 1:3 reflects fourth-century anti-Arianism.
Compare
Proverb-8-22-MB FirstBorn. PreExistenceOfChrist Prov8-22 Prov-8-22-introduction
0511Strongs-defined + Compare Many Different
Translations in -Proverb-8-22-MB & Prov8-22.htm
and read verses 24 and 25 in any Bible. And 58.htm-
Theology in Harmony at The SBT Biblical Library from Gen/1-1.htm Gen 1:26 3:22 Prov 8-22 to Rev 1:1 11:1 Rev 22-16-21 and Heb 13:8.Matt 28:18 John/17-5.htm Col/1-15.htm << Revelation 3:11 >> And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write
These things saith the Amen the faithful and true.
witness the beginning of the
creation of God Revelation 3-12 14.htm
Tradition Plus Verses 2 of 31 is MysteryVersesPlusMore.htm 3 is
Imitate.htm
19 [26] I baptize with water: the synoptics add "but he will baptize you with the holy Spirit" (Mark 1:8) or ". . . holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16). John's emphasis is on purification and preparation for a better baptism.
20 [28]
21 [29] The Lamb of God: the background for this title may be the victorious apocalyptic lamb who would destroy evil in the world (Rev 5-7; 17:14); the paschal lamb, whose blood saved Israel (Exodus 12); and/or the suffering servant led like a lamb to the slaughter as a sin-offering (Isaiah 53:7, 10).
22 [30] He existed before me: possibly as Elijah (to come, John 1:27); for the evangelist and his audience, Jesus' preexistence would be implied (see the note on John 1:1).
23 [31] I did not know him: this gospel shows
no knowledge of the tradition (Luke 1) about the kinship of Jesus and John the
Baptist. The reason why I came baptizing with water: in this gospel, John's
baptism is not connected with forgiveness of sins; its purpose is revelatory,
that Jesus may be made known to
24 [32] Like a dove: a symbol of the new
creation (Genesis
8:8) or the community of
25 [34] The Son of God: this reading is supported by good Greek manuscripts, including the Chester Beatty and Bodmer Papyri and the Vatican Codex, but is suspect because it harmonizes this passage with the synoptic version: "This is my beloved Son" (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). The poorly attested alternate reading, "God's chosen One," is probably a reference to the Servant of Yahweh (Isaiah 42:1).
26 [36] John the Baptist's testimony makes his disciples' following of Jesus plausible.
27 [37] The two disciples: Andrew (John 1:40) and, traditionally, John, son of Zebedee (see the note on John 13:23).
28 [39] Four in the afternoon: literally, the tenth hour, from sunrise, in the Roman calculation of time. Some suggest that the next day, beginning at sunset, was the sabbath; they would have stayed with Jesus to avoid travel on it.
29 [41] Messiah: the Hebrew word masiah, "anointed one" (see the note on Luke 2:11), appears in Greek as the transliterated messias only here and in John 4:25. Elsewhere the Greek translation christos is used.
30 [42] Simon, the son of John: in Matthew 16:17, Simon is called Bariona, "son of Jonah," a different tradition for the name of Simon's father. Cephas: in Aramaic = the Rock; cf Matthew 16:18. Neither the Greek equivalent Petros nor, with one isolated exception, Cephas is attested as a personal name before Christian times.
31 [43] He: grammatically, could be Peter, but logically is probably Jesus.
32
[47] A true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him: Jacob was the first
to bear the name "
33 [48] Under the fig tree: a symbol of messianic peace (cf Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10).
34 [49] Son of God: this title is used in the Old Testament, among other ways, as a title of adoption for the Davidic king (2 Sam 7:14; Psalm 2:7; 89:27), and thus here, with King of Israel, in a messianic sense. For the evangelist, Son of God also points to Jesus' divinity (cf John 20:28).
35 [50] Possibly a statement: "You [singular] believe because I saw you under the fig tree."
36 [51] The double "Amen" is characteristic of John. You is plural in Greek. The allusion is to Jacob's ladder (Genesis 28:12).
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