What Does ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν Mean Anyway?
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Nov 25, 2010
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Idaho Falls, Idaho
UPDATED already! In just 2 hours, I thought of something else that ties in well with this Logos theme from the Old Testament... I include the update at the end of the article. I suspect there is an enormous amount of parallels, themes, and commonalities everywhere if one looks. I will do so as I can.
In reading through several of my Greek lexicons for pure pleasure, I am finding an absolute wealth of information that I shall share as I can. For now here is something on the Logos of John 1:1 and the idea of the Greek word πρὸς (pros) meaning in general "with" someone or something.
1. The Meaning. It is the same as προτί (proti) and ποτί (poti). The root-idea is ‘near,’ ‘near by,’ according to Delbrück, though Brugmann inclines to the meaning ‘towards.’ In Homer πρός has an
adverbial use, πρὸς δέ, with the notion of ‘besides.’ ‘Near,’ rather than ‘towards,’ seems to explain the resultant meanings more satisfactorily. The idea seems to be ‘facing,’ German gegen. Cf. πρόσωπον (prosōpon). This Greek word is fascinating. Consider the lexical evidence!
πρόσωπον (prosōpon), ου (ou), τό (to): n.neu.; ≡ DBLHebr 7156; Strong's 4383 - Face, of a human head (Matt 17:2); 2. Person, individual; figurative extension of first entry (2 Corinthians 1:11); 3. Surface, of an object normally perceived as two dimensional (Luke 21:35); 4. Appearance, the form or characteristics of something seen (Matt 16:3; James 1:11); 5. Presence, being in a particular place (Acts 2:28); 6. often in a prepositional phrase) in front of, before, in proximity to; sometimes showing relationship (Acts 3:13; 1 Corinthians 13:12)
In ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν (John 1:1 - ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν - ho logos en pros ton Theon - "and the Word was with God") the literal idea comes out well, ‘face to face with God.’
Abbott properly illustrates John 1:1, ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν with this passage in Mark. and with 2 Cor. 5:8, ἐνδημῆσαι πρὸς τὸν κύριον - endemesai pros ton kurion - "to be present with the Lord". It is the face-to-face converse with the Lord that Paul has in mind. So John thus conceives the fellowship between the Logos and God. Cf. στόμα πρὸς στόμα - stoma pros stoma - "speak face to face" - in 2 John 12, 3 John 14 and πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον - prosopon pros prosopon - "face to face" in 1 Cor. 13:12. But, while this use of πρός with words of rest is in perfect harmony with the root-idea of the preposition itself, it does not occur in the older Greek writers nor in the LXX. Jannaris is only able to find it in Malalas. Certainly the more common Greek idiom would have been παρά, while μετά and σύν might have been employed. Abbott, however, rightly calls attention to the frequent use of πρός with verbs of speaking like λέγω, λαλέω, etc., and Demosthenes has it with ζάω (zao - to live, or live again). So then it is a natural step to find πρός employed for living relationship, intimate converse.
John writes that the Word was with God (John 1:1 acc.). Harris suggests that the πρός in John 1:1 refers to active communion rather than passive association. Other examples include Matthew 13:56, where Jesus’ sisters were among the people, and Acts 3:25, where God made a covenant with their ancestors.
From Vine's Expository Dict. of OT and NT Words, I found this idea on the Shewbread:
SHEWBREAD
Note: The phrase rendered “the shewbread” is formed by the combination of the nouns prothesis, “a setting forth” (pro, “before,” tithemi, “to place”) and artos, “a loaf” (in the plural), each with the article, Matt. 12:4; Mark 2:26 and Luke 6:4, lit., “the loaves of the setting forth”; in Heb. 9:2, lit., “the setting forth of the loaves.”¶ The corresponding OT phrases are lit., “bread of the face,” Exod. 25:30, i.e., the presence, referring to the Presence of God (cf. Isa. 63:9 with Exod. 33:14, 15); “the bread of ordering,” 1 Chron. 9:32, marg. In Num. 4:7 it is called “the continual bread”; in 1 Sam. 21:4, 6, “holy bread” (kjv, “hallowed”). In the Sept. of 1 Kings 7:48, it is called “the bread of the offering” (prosphora, “a bearing towards”). The twelve loaves, representing the tribes of Israel, were set in order every Sabbath day before the Lord, “on the behalf of the children,” Lev. 24:8, rv (marg., and kjv, “from”), “an everlasting covenant.” The loaves symbolized the fact that on the basis of the sacrificial atonement of the Cross, believers are accepted before God, and nourished by Him in the person of Christ. The showbread was partaken of by the priests, as representatives of the nation. Priesthood now being coextensive with all who belong to Christ, 1 Pet. 2:5, 9, He, the Living Bread, is the nourishment of all, and where He is, there, representatively, they are.
לֶחֶם leḥem: A masculine noun meaning bread, food. It refers in a general sense to anything God has approved of for nourishment for humans or animals (Gen. 3:19; 25:34; Ps. 147:9). It often indicates grain which was used for preparing bread (Isa. 28:28). The manna was bread from the Lord, heavenly bread (Ex. 16:4, 8, 12, 15; Neh. 9:15; Ps. 105:40). Bread was set on the table of showbread in the Tabernacle and termed the “bread of the presence” (Ex. 25:30). Some bread was used as a wave offering to the Lord (Lev. 23:17). Baked from the produce of the early harvest, this word indicates the “bread of the first fruits” (2 Kgs. 4:42). It was used in figurative language to indicate the bread of affliction or adversity (Deut. 16:3; Isa. 30:20) or the bread of tears (Ps. 80:5[6]).
πρόσωπον (prosōpon), ου (ou), τό (to): n.neu.; ≡ DBLHebr 7156; Strong's 4383 - Face, of a human head (Matt 17:2); 2. Person, individual; figurative extension of first entry (2 Corinthians 1:11); 3. Surface, of an object normally perceived as two dimensional (Luke 21:35); 4. Appearance, the form or characteristics of something seen (Matt 16:3; James 1:11); 5. Presence, being in a particular place (Acts 2:28); 6. often in a prepositional phrase) in front of, before, in proximity to; sometimes showing relationship (Acts 3:13; 1 Corinthians 13:12)
In ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν (John 1:1 - ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν - ho logos en pros ton Theon - "and the Word was with God") the literal idea comes out well, ‘face to face with God.’
Abbott properly illustrates John 1:1, ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν with this passage in Mark. and with 2 Cor. 5:8, ἐνδημῆσαι πρὸς τὸν κύριον - endemesai pros ton kurion - "to be present with the Lord". It is the face-to-face converse with the Lord that Paul has in mind. So John thus conceives the fellowship between the Logos and God. Cf. στόμα πρὸς στόμα - stoma pros stoma - "speak face to face" - in 2 John 12, 3 John 14 and πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον - prosopon pros prosopon - "face to face" in 1 Cor. 13:12. But, while this use of πρός with words of rest is in perfect harmony with the root-idea of the preposition itself, it does not occur in the older Greek writers nor in the LXX. Jannaris is only able to find it in Malalas. Certainly the more common Greek idiom would have been παρά, while μετά and σύν might have been employed. Abbott, however, rightly calls attention to the frequent use of πρός with verbs of speaking like λέγω, λαλέω, etc., and Demosthenes has it with ζάω (zao - to live, or live again). So then it is a natural step to find πρός employed for living relationship, intimate converse.
John writes that the Word was with God (John 1:1 acc.). Harris suggests that the πρός in John 1:1 refers to active communion rather than passive association. Other examples include Matthew 13:56, where Jesus’ sisters were among the people, and Acts 3:25, where God made a covenant with their ancestors.
From Vine's Expository Dict. of OT and NT Words, I found this idea on the Shewbread:
SHEWBREAD
Note: The phrase rendered “the shewbread” is formed by the combination of the nouns prothesis, “a setting forth” (pro, “before,” tithemi, “to place”) and artos, “a loaf” (in the plural), each with the article, Matt. 12:4; Mark 2:26 and Luke 6:4, lit., “the loaves of the setting forth”; in Heb. 9:2, lit., “the setting forth of the loaves.”¶ The corresponding OT phrases are lit., “bread of the face,” Exod. 25:30, i.e., the presence, referring to the Presence of God (cf. Isa. 63:9 with Exod. 33:14, 15); “the bread of ordering,” 1 Chron. 9:32, marg. In Num. 4:7 it is called “the continual bread”; in 1 Sam. 21:4, 6, “holy bread” (kjv, “hallowed”). In the Sept. of 1 Kings 7:48, it is called “the bread of the offering” (prosphora, “a bearing towards”). The twelve loaves, representing the tribes of Israel, were set in order every Sabbath day before the Lord, “on the behalf of the children,” Lev. 24:8, rv (marg., and kjv, “from”), “an everlasting covenant.” The loaves symbolized the fact that on the basis of the sacrificial atonement of the Cross, believers are accepted before God, and nourished by Him in the person of Christ. The showbread was partaken of by the priests, as representatives of the nation. Priesthood now being coextensive with all who belong to Christ, 1 Pet. 2:5, 9, He, the Living Bread, is the nourishment of all, and where He is, there, representatively, they are.
לֶחֶם leḥem: A masculine noun meaning bread, food. It refers in a general sense to anything God has approved of for nourishment for humans or animals (Gen. 3:19; 25:34; Ps. 147:9). It often indicates grain which was used for preparing bread (Isa. 28:28). The manna was bread from the Lord, heavenly bread (Ex. 16:4, 8, 12, 15; Neh. 9:15; Ps. 105:40). Bread was set on the table of showbread in the Tabernacle and termed the “bread of the presence” (Ex. 25:30). Some bread was used as a wave offering to the Lord (Lev. 23:17). Baked from the produce of the early harvest, this word indicates the “bread of the first fruits” (2 Kgs. 4:42). It was used in figurative language to indicate the bread of affliction or adversity (Deut. 16:3; Isa. 30:20) or the bread of tears (Ps. 80:5[6]).
New Living Translation (©2007)
I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence.Proverbs 8:30
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