John 1:1

The Textus Receptus and Nestle's Greek text are identical in Greek. The interlinear Greek- English text is given. 

En archee een ho Logos 
In beginning was the Word, 

kai ho Logos een pros ton Theon 
And the Word was with the God 

kai theos een ho Logos. 
And God was the Word. 

The New American Standard (NAS), New International Version (NIV), King James Version (KJV), and the New King James Version(NKJ) are identical in translating John 1:1. (These are the only translations that came with my PC Study Bible software. So, I didn't check other translations). As you can see, even without the necessary rules of Greek grammar, they are very close to a word-for-word translation of the Greek text of John 1:1. 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1 (NAS, NIV, KJV, and NKJ) 

So, I think that these translations are precise and faithful to the Greek text. The text does not use the Greek word for ‘divine.' There is no indefinite article (a or an) in the verse. So, there is no justification for the translations that you have quoted. 

If a translator is permitted the liberty to play loose with the task of translating the text, I suppose anyone could offer an English Bible. They would not even need to know Greek. 

Most of the popular translations of the Bible are scholarly team efforts. Most teams have Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, and Jewish scholars to arrive at an accurate translation. This is helpful to lessen translation biases. The translation done by the Jehovah Witnesses is criticized by Greek scholars from very divergent backgrounds. Moffatt was under the influence of German Higher criticism.

So, I think the standard translation of John 1:1 is unassailable by any scholarly standard.

As a side note, the Greek language has two words for ‘word.' One word is ‘rhema,' and it refers to the ‘spoken word.' The one used in John 1:1 is ‘logos.' It is more the mental word. The word as it is in the mind and thought. The Greek word ‘logos' has an English cognate of ‘logic.' It is the Greek root of the English word, logical. Mechanically saying repetitious phrases is an emphasis upon ‘rhema' type word. God is more interested in our internal thoughts than physical sounds. Hindus like to repeat mantra, as if the audible sound had particularly sacred significance.

Last edited December 18, 1999