In the beginning was the WORD

[tonychanyt]

John 1:1-3, 14:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us

Strong's Greek: 3056. λόγος (logos) — 331 Occurrences

It was a common word that had a wide range of 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:

reason, the mental faculty of thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating, etc.

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)

Is there evidence that "the Word" in John 1 would have been expected to be a personal being?

Yes, at least in the personified sense.

Proverbs 8:22-30 personified wisdom:

The LORD possessed me [Wisdom] at the beginning of his work... I was beside him, like a master workman

BDAG③ lists plenty of extra biblical writings about it include Philo.

Philo:

Philo (c. 30 BCE – c. 50 CE) was a leading writer of the Hellenistic Jewish community in Alexandria, Egypt. He wrote expansively in Koine Greek on the intersection of philosophy, politics, and religion in his time.

The Logos becomes the aspect of the divine that operates in the world—through whom the world is created and sustained.

Wiki:

Logos became a technical term in Western philosophy beginning with Heraclitus (c. 535 – c.  475 BC), who used the term for a principle of order and knowledge.[6] Ancient Greek philosophers used the term in different ways. The sophists used the term to mean "discourse". Aristotle applied the term to refer to "reasoned discourse"[7] or "the argument" in the field of rhetoric, and considered it one of the three modes of persuasion alongside ethos and pathos.[8] Pyrrhonist philosophers used the term to refer to dogmatic accounts of non-evident matters. The Stoics spoke of the logos spermatikos (the generative principle of the Universe) which foreshadows related concepts in Neoplatonism.[9]
Within Hellenistic Judaism, Philo (c. 20 BC – c.  50 AD) integrated the term into Jewish philosophy.[10] Philo distinguished between logos prophorikos ("the uttered word") and the logos endiathetos ("the word remaining within").[11]
The Gospel of John identifies the Christian Logos, through which all things are made, as divine (theos),[12] and further identifies Jesus Christ as the incarnate Logos.

The English word "logic" is derived from the Greek word "logos."

 

[Love Fountain]

John 1:1-3, 14:


Strong's Greek: 3056. λόγος (logos) — 331 Occurrences

It was a common word that had a wide range of 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)

Is there evidence that "the Word" in John 1 would have been expected to be a personal being?

Yes, at least in the personified sense.

Proverbs 8:22-30 personified wisdom:


BDAG③ lists plenty of extra biblical writings about it include Philo.

Philo:



Wiki:


The English word "logic" is derived from the Greek word "logos."

Hello,

LOGOS is an idiom for Yeshua / Jesus in John 1!

“An idiom is an expression, a term, or a phrase, whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal definitions and the arrangement of its parts, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only through the conventional use of a specific language.”

Definition of IDIOM for Kids​

"an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but must be learned as a whole"
Definition of Idiom link

An Idiom “must be learned as a whole” not by individual words!

Idioma; or idiom​

“The fact must ever be remembered that, while the language of the New Testament is Greek, the agents and instruments employed by the Holy Spirit were Hebrews.

While therefore, the words are Greek, the thoughts and idioms are Hebrew.

"Word" (λόγος, logos) in the New Testament follows the Hebrew idiom; and signifies not merely a word, but speech, which is the outcome of words. Hence, it is used of any matter, thing, or affair of any kind.

Luke 1:2.-"Were eye witnesses and ministers of the Word": i.e., the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Idioma or Idiom link


Blessings,
Love Fountain

 

[tonychanyt]

LOGOS is an idiom for Yeshua

Any scholarly reference?

 

[Love Fountain]

Any scholarly reference?

Idiom - Figures of Speech Used in the Bible

Hi Tony,

The above link was in the original post too. Check it out.

Figures of Speech Used in the Bible is a tremendous scholarly reference and one of the greatest scholarly works ever made available to the followers of Christ.

Blessings,
Love Fountain

 

[tonychanyt]

Idiom - Figures of Speech Used in the Bible

Thanks for the reference. This is how to do referencing and quotation in a scholarly manner:

1. Display and indent the relevant text.
2. Selectively bold the particular keywords that are important to your point. There is no need to bold the entire sentence. Have a laser-sharp focus.

I do this for others who read my posts. It is a standard high-school scholarship. If you practice this, I guarantee it will sharpen your analytical thinking. In any case, no one is required to do it. I prefer to interact with people who do.