by Doug Mason 20 Replies latest watchtower bible
I spent a couple of hours trying to work out the poetic structure of John 1:1-18. I have made my First rough draft available as a Word document so that others can amend it for themselves. The text I used is from the NIV. It will be interesting to see the poetic structures produced by analyses of other translations.
http://www.jwstudies.com/Chiasms_of_John_1_vv_1_to_18.docx
Doug
Voice Translation - Using Original Languages
John 1: 1-9
In the beginning
1 Before time itself was measured, the Voice was speaking.
The Voice was and is God.
2 This celestial Word remained ever present with the Creator;
3 His speech shaped the entire cosmos.
Immersed in the practice of creating,
all things that exist were birthed in Him.
4 His breath filled all things with a living, breathing light—
5 A light that thrives in the depths of darkness,
blazes through murky depths. It cannot and will not be quenched.
6 A man named John, who was sent by God, was the first to
clearly articulate the source of this Light.
7 This baptizer put in plain words the elusive mystery of the Divine Light
so all might believe through him. Some wondered whether he might be the Light,
8 but John was not the Light. He merely pointed to the Light.
9 The true Light, who shines upon the heart of everyone,
was coming into the cosmos.
villagegirl,
Even though this is a paraphrase rather than a direct translation from the available Greek, I find it interesting. Can you show me the text through to and including 18?
Have you tried to identify any chiasms in this paraphrase?
Doug
Yeha a good effort
The BECNT-John commentary offers a chiasm for verses 1-2 as well as the whole of the prologue in 1-18
Verses 1-2:
A Ἐν ἀρχῇ (In the beginning)
. . . B ἦν (was)
. . . . . . C ὁ λόγος, (the Word)
. . . . . . . . . D καὶ ὁ λόγος (and the Word)
. . . . . . . . . . . .E ἦν (was)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F πρὸς τὸν θεόν, (with the God)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F' καὶ θεὸς (and God)
. . . . . . . . . . . . E' ἦν (was)
. . . . . . . . . D' ὁ λόγος. (the Word)
. . . . . .C' Οὗτος (He)
. . . B' ἦν (was)
A' ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν. (in the beginning with the God)
The commentary calls the above "staircase parallelism," as well as chaistic.
Here is how it chiastically outlines verses 1-18:
A The Word's activity in creation (1:1-5)
. . . B John's witness concerning the light (1:6-8)
. . . . . .C The incarnation of the Word and the privilege of becoming God's children (1:9-14)
. . . B' John's witness concerning the Word's preeminence (1:15)
A' The final revelation brought by Jesus Christ (1:16-18)
The commentary mentions that there are variations of this.
The commentary mentions that verses 1 & 2 have a literary relationship with verse 18, in effect forming a . . . I can't think of the correct word at the moment, but it has a literary meaning similar to 'bookends.' "Framing" might be it, but somehow my mind is telling me there is another term.
Bobcat
(Edited: "inclusio" - that's the word I was looking for.)
Inclusio?
I see you beat me to it!
I am so enjoying this discussion.
Snowbird:
Sometimes I have a problem pulling the word I want up from the dictionary on the top of my shoulders.
I know.
I used to be known as a word warrior, but lately i'm a word wimp.
John1:1-9 What do make of this ? see www.biblegateway.com
Yochanan 1:1-9
Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)
1 Bereshis (in the Beginning) was the Dvar Hashem [YESHAYAH 55:11; BERESHIS 1:3], and the Dvar Hashem was agav (along with, etzel, Mishle 8:30;30:4) Hashem, and the Dvar Hashem was nothing less, by nature, than Elohim! [Psa 56:11(10); Yn 17:5; Rev. 19:13 i.e., the Ma’amar Memra]
2 Bereshis (in the Beginning) this Dvar Hashem was with Hashem [Prov 8:30].
3 All things through him came to be, and without him came to be not one thing which came into being. [Ps 33:6,9; Prov 30:4]
4 In him was Chayyim (Life) and the Chayyim (Life) was the Ohr (Light) of Bnei Adam. [TEHILLIM 36:10 (9)]
5 And the Ohr shines in the choshech [TEHILLIM 18:28], and the choshech did not grasp it. [YESHAYAH 9:1]
6 There came an ish haElohim (a man of G-d), having been sent from Hashem. His name was Yochanan.
7 This Yochanan came for an eidus (witness), that he might give solemn edut (testimony) about the Ohr, that kol Bnei Adam might have emunah through him.
8 This ish haElohim was not the Ohr, but he came that he might give solemn edut (testimony) about the Ohr.
9 The Ohr, the Ohr HaAmitti (the True Light), which gives rational haskalah (enlightenment) to kol Bnei Adam (all mankind), was coming into the Olam Hazeh.
Snowbird:
I'm finding as I get older I'm having difficulty choosing my words. I sometimes wonder if a bang on the head I received some years back might be part of it.
