John 1:2–4

Footnotes

1. 4 Grk “He”; the referent (the Word) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2. 5 Or “made”; Grk “came into existence.”
3. 6 Or “made”; Grk “nothing came into existence.”
4. 7 There is a major punctuation problem here: Should this relative clause go with v. 3 or v. 4? The earliest have no punctuation (𝔓66, 75* א* A B Δ ). Many of the later which do have punctuation place it before the phrase, thus putting it with v. 4 (𝔓75c C D L Ws 050* ). placed the phrase in v. 3; moved the words to the beginning of v. 4. In a detailed article K. Aland defended the change (“Eine Untersuchung zu Johannes 1, 3–4. Über die Bedeutung eines Punktes,” 59 [1968]: 174–209). He sought to prove that the attribution of ὂ γέγονεν (ho gegonen) to v. 3 began to be carried out in the 4th century in the Greek church. This came out of the Arian controversy, and was intended as a safeguard for doctrine. The change was unknown in the West. Aland is probably correct in affirming that the phrase was attached to v. 4 by the Gnostics and the Eastern Church; only when the Arians began to use the phrase was it attached to v. 3. But this does not rule out the possibility that, by moving the words from v. 4 to v. 3, one is restoring the original reading. Understanding the words as part of v. 3 is natural and adds to the emphasis which is built up there, while it also gives a terse, forceful statement in v. 4. On the other hand, taking the phrase ὂ γέγονεν with v. 4 gives a complicated expression: C. K. Barrett says that both ways of understanding v. 4 with ὂ γέγονεν included “are almost impossibly clumsy” (St. John, 157): “That which came into being—in it the Word was life”; “That which came into being—in the Word was its life.” The following stylistic points should be noted in the solution of this problem: (1) John frequently starts sentences with ἐν (en); (2) he repeats frequently (“nothing was created that has been created”); (3) 5:26 and 6:53 both give a sense similar to v. 4 if it is understood without the phrase; (4) it makes far better Johannine sense to say that in the Word was life than to say that the created universe (what was made, ὂ γέγονεν) was life in him. In conclusion, the phrase is best taken with v. 3. Schnackenburg, Barrett, Carson, Haenchen, Morris, , and concur (against Brown, Beasley-Murray, and ). The arguments of R. Schnackenburg, St. John, 1:239–40, are particularly persuasive. Or “made”; Grk “that has come into existence.”
5. 8 John uses ζωή (zōē) 37 times: 17 times it occurs with αἰώνιος (aiōnios), and in the remaining occurrences outside the prologue it is clear from context that “eternal” life is meant. The two uses in 1:4, if they do not refer to “eternal” life, would be the only exceptions. (Also 1 John uses ζωή 13 times, always of “eternal” life.) An allusion to Ps 36:9, which gives significant OT background: “For with you is the fountain of life; In your light we see light.” In later Judaism, Bar 4:2 expresses a similar idea. Life, especially eternal life, will become one of the major themes of John’s Gospel.
6. 9 Or “humanity”; Grk “of men” (but ἄνθρωπος [anthrōpos] is used in a generic sense here, not restricted to males only, thus “mankind,” “humanity”).