Here are all the parallel constructions in John's writing that are actually parallel to the construction of
John 1:1c.
H.....1. John 4:9 (a) - indefinite ("a Jew") - all translations
H,W...2.
John 4:19 - indefinite ("a prophet") - all
H,W...3.
John 6:70 - indefinite ("a devil"/"a slanderer") - all
H,W...4. John 8:44 (a) - indefinite ("a mankiller/murderer") - al
H,W...5.
John 8:48 - indefinite ("a Samaritan") - all
H,W...6.
John 9:24 - indefinite ("a sinner") - all
H,W...7.
John 10:1 - indefinite ("a thief and a plunderer") - all
H,W...8.
John 10:33 - indefinite ("a man") - all
H,W...9.
John 18:35 - indefinite ("a Jew") - all
H,W...10. John 18:37 (a) - indefinite ("a king") - all
[H,W..11. John 18:37 (b) - indefinite ("a king") - Received Text and 1991 Byzantine text
]
These are
all indefinite nouns (not definite, not "qualitative").
All trinitarian Bible translations I have examined render them as indefinite and with the indefinite article ("a/an")! We should have enough examples to satisfy the most critical (but honest) scholar now. (And I wouldn't strongly resist the use of the "no subject" examples which
clearly intend the subject as being a pronoun
included with the verb, e.g., "[he] is," which would then bring our total of
ALL proper examples to nearly 20.)
These would include:
H,W 12. Jn 8:44 (b) - indefinite (“a liar”) - all
H,W 13. Jn 9:8 (a) - indefinite (“a beggar”) - all
H,W 14. Jn 9:17 - indefinite (“a prophet”) - all
H,W 15. Jn 9:25 - indefinite (“a sinner”) - all
H,W 16. Jn 10:13 - indefinite (“a hireling/hired hand”) - all
H,W 17. Jn 12:6 - indefinite (“a thief”) - all
18. 1 Jn 4:20 - indefinite (“a liar”) - all
H: Also found in Harner's list of "Colwell Constructions"
W: Also found in Wallace's list of "Colwell Constructions"
Why, then, if John really meant that Jesus is the One True God, didn’t he use the definite article at
John 1:1c ? Because, as he did with other terms sometimes used for Jesus (“prophet,” “king”), he intended for them to be taken as indefinite nouns (“
a prophet,” “
a king,” and “
a god”) when the article was not used.
It should also be pointed out that 3 Kings 18:27 in the ancient Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament (
1 Kings 18:27 in English Bibles) has a very similar construction to
John 1:1c. It has
theos as a predicate noun without a definite article and coming before the verb: “for God [or ‘a god’] he is.” But the Septuagint translation by Sir Lancelot Brenton (Zondervan Publishing) says “for
he is a god.”!! Compare other translations of
1 Kings 18:27: “a god” is obviously intended here! This is a clear (and very significant) “violation” of “Colwell’s Rule”! - Cf.
Judges 6:31 (and Ezek. 28:2 in many Bibles.)
Using the above trinitarian grammarian-approved examples should allow the average objective person To find the truth of John's use of the Greek in John 1:1c - "And the Word was a god."
from my study on my blog:
Examining the Trinity: DEFinite John 1:1c
As for the use of "a god" by John,
This is a fact acknowledged by even most trinitarian experts:
Some of these trinitarian sources which admit that the Bible actually describes
men who represent God (judges, faithful Israelite kings, etc.) and God’s
angels as gods (or
a god) include:
1.
Young’s Analytical Concordance of the Bible, “Hints and Helps...,” Eerdmans, 1978 reprint;
2.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, #430, Hebrew & Chaldee Dict., Abingdon, 1974;
3.
New Bible Dictionary, p. 1133, Tyndale House Publ., 1984;
4.
Today’s Dictionary of the Bible, p. 208, Bethany House Publ., 1982;
5. Hastings’
A Dictionary of the Bible, p. 217, Vol. 2;
6.
The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon, p. 43, Hendrickson publ.,1979;
7.
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, #2316 (4.), Thayer, Baker Book House, 1984 printing;
8.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, p. 132, Vol. 1; & p. 1265, Vol. 2, Eerdmans, 1984;
9.
The NIV Study Bible, footnotes for Ps. 45:6; Ps. 82:1, 6; & Jn 10:34; Zondervan, 1985;
10.
New American Bible, St. Joseph ed., footnote for Ps. 45:7; 82:1; Jn 10:34; 1970 ed.;
11. A. T. Robertson,
Word Pictures, Vol. 5, pp. 188-189;
12. William G. T. Shedd,
Dogmatic Theology, Vol. 1, pp. 317, 324, Nelson Publ., 1980 printing;
13. Murray J. Harris,
Jesus As God, p. 202, Baker Book House, 1992;
14. William Barclay,
The Gospel of John, V. 2, Daily Study Bible Series, pp. 77, 78, Westminster Press, 1975;
15.
The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible (John 10:34 and Ps. 82:6);
16.
The Fourfold Gospel (Note for John 10:35);
17.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
(John 10:34-36);
18.
Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible (Ps. 82:6-8 and John 10:35);
19.
John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible (Ps. 82:1).
20.
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament ('Little Kittel'), - p. 328, Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1985.
21.
The Expositor’s Greek Testament, pp. 794-795, Vol. 1, Eerdmans Publishing Co.
22.
The Amplified Bible, Ps. 82:1, 6 and John 10:34, 35, Zondervan Publ., 1965.
23.
Barnes' Notes on the New Testament, John 10:34, 35.
24. B. W. Johnson's
People's New Testament, John 10:34-36.
25.
The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Zondervan, 1986, Vol. 3, p. 187.
26.
Fairbairn’s Imperial Standard Bible Encyclopedia, p. 24, vol. III, Zondervan, 1957 reprint.
27.
Theological Dictionary, Rahner and Vorgrimler, p. 20, Herder and Herder, 1965.
(also John 10:34, 35 -
NEB;
CEV; TEV; GodsWord; The Message; NLT; NIRV)
And the earliest Christians like the highly respected NT scholar Origen and others - - including Tertullian; Justin Martyr; Hippolytus; Clement of Alexandria; Theophilus; the writer of “The Epistle to Diognetus”; and even super-trinitarians St. Athanasius and St. Augustine - - also had this understanding for “
a god.”
They saw nothing wrong with calling certain men “gods” if they were trying to follow God and be his representatives or ambassadors. Just because it sounds strange to our ears today in modern English is no reason to ignore the facts!
