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Colwell’s Rule and its Implications for John 1:1c
Brian M. Sandifer
March 5, 2007
Colwell’s Rule and its Implications for John 1:1c Brian M. Sandifer
Reformed Theological Seminary 1 3/5/2007
1.1 Definition of Colwell’s Rule
Colwell’s Rule pertains to a specific grammatical construction in the Greek New Testament:
anarthrous pre-verbal predicate nominatives that are judged to be clearly definite in context.
Wallace begins by clarifying the terms.1
• Anarthrous = without the article
• Pre-verbal = before the equative verb
• Predicate nominative (PN) = the noun in the nominative case which is the same as the
subject (more or less).
This specific construction was the limited field of investigation that led to the discovery of
Colwell’s Rule. While first studying John 1:49 (and then other verses with definite PNs in
similar grammatical constructions), Ernest Cadman Colwell discovered that “Definite predicate
nouns which precede the verb usually lack the article…a predicate nominative which precedes
the verb cannot be translated as an indefinite or a ‘qualitative’ noun solely because of the absence
of the article; if the context suggests that the predicate is definite, it should be translated as a
definite noun…”2
Colwell noted that in John 1:49 (a vpekri,qh au vtw|/ Naqanah,l\ r `abbi,( su . ei= o`
ui `o .j tou/ qeou /( su . basileu .j ei = tou / VIsrah ,l [Nathanael answered to him, “Rabbi, you are the Son
of God, you are the king of Israel”]), while the two PN constructions differed according to the
presence of the article and the word order of the PNs, the meanings were similar. Colwell then
made the assumption that the definiteness of a PN could be defined from a shift in the word
order. His discovery was first published in 1933 as an article entitled, “A Definite Rule for the
Use of the Article in the Greek New Testament,” in JBL 52 (1933) 12-21. This well-known
article has since led to the particular rule being named Colwell’s Rule, summarized as “a PN that
precedes the copula [i.e., the equative verb], and which is apparently definite from the context,
usually lacks the article.”3
1.2 Explanation and Historical Misunderstanding of Colwell’s Rule
Wallace then describes how many scholars (especially conservative ones) misunderstood the rule
and therefore misapplied it to Colwell construction texts in the NT. He cites Nigel Turner, Bruce
Metzger, Walter Martin, and even Colwell himself to demonstrate that they misunderstood the
rule to be what is in fact the converse of the rule (which is neither what the rule states nor is a
valid inference from the rule). Such scholars thought the rule stated something like, “An
anarthrous predicate nominative that precedes the verb is usually definite.”4
Many realized that
1
The three definitions following are from Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical
Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 256.
2
Wallace, GGBB, 257. He cites Colwell, “A Definite Rule for the Use of the Article in the Greek New Testament,”
in JBL 52 (1933), 20.
3
Wallace, GGBB, 257. Italics original.
4
Wallace, GGBB, 257.
Colwell’s Rule and its Implications for John 1:1c Brian M. Sandifer
Reformed Theological Seminary 2 3/5/2007
the rule (as they perceived it) had direct theological implications for proving the deity of Christ
from texts such as John 1:1.
Subsequent scholars noticed how the rule was misunderstood and offered some clarifications.
Philip B. Harner published an article four decades later pointing out that Colwell only had two
categories for PNs (definite and indefinite) and did not make a distinction between indefinite and
qualitative PNs, which is significant since approximately 80% of anarthrous pre-verbal PNs are
qualitative in nature (according to Harner’s calculations). Paul Steven Dixon also noted the
common misunderstanding of Colwell’s Rule and argued that in the context of the Gospel of
John (and most likely elsewhere in the NT), the anarthrous pre-verbal PN has primarily a
qualitative meaning. Wallace also brings to attention that Colwell only analyzed those Greek
constructions that contained a definite PN (as he judged) appearing before the verb. Many miss
the significance of this, assuming incorrectly that Colwell investigated all pre-verbal PNs in the
NT. Colwell’s study limited the field of inquiry to PNs that he judged to be definite by their
context. So Colwell’s Rule assumes what many misunderstand the rule to prove! Wallace
proposes a modified statement of Colwell’s Rule in light of the historical grammatical
discussion: “An anarthrous pre-verbal PN is normally qualitative, sometimes definite, and only
rarely indefinite.”5
1.3 Colwell’s Rule and its Implications for John 1:1c
Wallace then discusses whether Colwell’s rule applies to the grammar (which fits Colwell’s
construction) of John 1:1( vEn a vrch /| h =n o ` lo ,goj( kai. o ` lo ,goj h =n pro.j to.n qeo ,n( kai. qeo .j h =n o `
lo ,goj, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God). The
issues is not whether the PN is anarthrous (it is), but rather is the PN definite, indefinite, or
qualitative.
Wallace first examines whether the PN is indefinite, and if so should be translated something like
“…the Word was a god.” He concludes that translations that render the PN as indefinite (such as
the NWT) are very inconsistent because they never translate other similar constructions in John’s
gospel using an indefinite meaning. In addition, John 1:1c cannot contain an indefinite PN
because the theology would also be inconsistent with the Gospel of John and the rest of the NT.
So John 1:1c cannot be translated with an indefinite PN based on grammatical and theological
grounds.
Wallace then investigates whether the PN is definite, and if so should be translated like “…the
Word was God.” He notes that grammarians and exegetes have historically misunderstood
Colwell’s Rule and have thus concluded that John 1:1c is a definite PN based on this
misunderstanding. Once Colwell’s Rule is properly understood, the case becomes significantly
weaker for the PN to be taken as a definite. Wallace writes, “The vast majority of definite
anarthrous pre-verbal predicate nominatives are monadic, in genitive constructions, or are proper
names, none of which is true here, diminishing the likelihood of a definite qeo ,j.”6
He also argues
that the context most likely rules out a definite PN, since this would equate God the Father of
5
Wallace, GGBB, 262.
6
Wallace, GGBB, 268.
Colwell’s Rule and its Implications for John 1:1c Brian M. Sandifer
Reformed Theological Seminary 3 3/5/2007
John 1:1b with God the Son (the Word) of John 1:1c. Whereas an indefinite PN would lead to
Arianism, a definite PN would lead to Sabellianism or modalism.
Wallace concludes that the
best rendering of the PN in 1:1c is qualitative, which would be translated like “…what God was,
the Word was” (NEB) or “…the Word was divine” (modified Moffatt). Although the meaning of
the PN is most likely qualitative, its translation also is not without problems. In English, things
other than God are often given the adjective “divine”, so the best translation should attempt to
mitigate these difficulties.
Whatever translation is chosen for English, the Greek exegete should
be aware that “the idea of a qualitative qeo ,j here is that the Word had all the attributes and
qualities that ‘the God’ (of 1:1b) had.
In other words, he shared the essence of the Father, though
they differed in person. The construction the evangelist chose to express this idea was the most
concise way he could have stated that the Word was God and yet was distinct from the Father.”
