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In the 5th century BCE, Heraclitus used the word Logos to describe the rational principle that governed the universe, a kind of cosmic order or divine reason. Later philosophers, such as the Stoics, expanded on this idea, viewing the Logos as the animating force behind creation, the source of all coherence and meaning in the world. For them, the Logos was impersonal and abstract, not a personal being.
Around the time of Chirst, Philo of Alexandria, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, developed a sophisticated theology of the Logos, blending Jewish scripture with Greek philosophy. The Logos was God’s intermediary between the transcendent, unknowable Creator and the material world. The Logos was the instrument through which God fashioned the universe (On the Creation 20–25). The Logos was the High Priest who interceded for humanity before God (On Dreams 1.215). The Logos was the firstborn Son of God (On Agricultura 51). Philo’s Logos was semi-personified, more than an abstract principle but less than a distinct person, unlike the later Christian view of the Trinity.
John borrowed some of Philo's ideas, 1:
It was a common word that had a wide range of dictionary meanings. However, John used it in a technical and philosophical sense. That's why ESV translated it with a capital W.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon:
① a communication whereby the mind finds expression, word
② computation, reckoning
③ the independent personified expression of God, the Logos. Our lit. shows traces of a way of thinking that was widespread in contemporary syncretism, as well as in Jewish wisdom lit. and Philo, the most prominent feature of which is the concept of the Logos, the independent, personified ‘Word’ (of God)
BDAG③ lists plenty of extra-biblical writings about it, including Philo.
Is there evidence that "the Word" in John 1 would have been expected to be a personal being?
Yes. Jn 1:
Greek philosophers used the term Logos as an abstract concept. Philo made it semi-concrete. John quated the concept to the person of Jesus.
Logos is a multifaceted concept, spanning language, reason, divine principle, and structured thought. The English word "logic" is derived from the Greek word "logos."
Around the time of Chirst, Philo of Alexandria, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, developed a sophisticated theology of the Logos, blending Jewish scripture with Greek philosophy. The Logos was God’s intermediary between the transcendent, unknowable Creator and the material world. The Logos was the instrument through which God fashioned the universe (On the Creation 20–25). The Logos was the High Priest who interceded for humanity before God (On Dreams 1.215). The Logos was the firstborn Son of God (On Agricultura 51). Philo’s Logos was semi-personified, more than an abstract principle but less than a distinct person, unlike the later Christian view of the Trinity.
John borrowed some of Philo's ideas, 1:
Strong's Greek: 3056. λόγος (logos) — 331 Occurrences
It was a common word that had a wide range of dictionary meanings. However, John used it in a technical and philosophical sense. That's why ESV translated it with a capital W.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon:
BDAG:
① a communication whereby the mind finds expression, word
② computation, reckoning
③ the independent personified expression of God, the Logos. Our lit. shows traces of a way of thinking that was widespread in contemporary syncretism, as well as in Jewish wisdom lit. and Philo, the most prominent feature of which is the concept of the Logos, the independent, personified ‘Word’ (of God)
BDAG③ lists plenty of extra-biblical writings about it, including Philo.
Is there evidence that "the Word" in John 1 would have been expected to be a personal being?
Yes. Jn 1:
John took an extra step beyond Philo. He declared the Logos took on flesh as a human being.
Greek philosophers used the term Logos as an abstract concept. Philo made it semi-concrete. John quated the concept to the person of Jesus.
Logos is a multifaceted concept, spanning language, reason, divine principle, and structured thought. The English word "logic" is derived from the Greek word "logos."
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