What support is there for the Jehovah’s Witness translation of John 1:1?

Question

Rather than the more traditional “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” Jehovah’s Witnesses use the New World Translation, which gives John 1:1 as “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.”

In asking what support there is for the Jehovah’s Witness position, this question is not about whether the New World Translation is correct and is not seeking a hermeneutical response, which is already provided here. I am looking for biblical or historical texts that could support the Jehovah’s Witness translation.

Answer 1

For information on how the Greek grammar supports the New World Translation, there are some related answers over on Biblical Hermeneutics to the question:

• In John 1:1c, should the Greek word θεὸς be translated into English as “a god” or “God”?

  • Answer 1 by user2924
  • Answer 2 by elika kohen

In addition to an Appendix article of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References edition, the Study Edition of the New World Translation also supports John 1:1 saying:

the Word was a god: Or “the Word was divine [or, “a godlike one”].” This statement by John describes a quality or characteristic of “the Word” (Greek, ho loʹgos; see study note on the Word in this verse), that is, Jesus Christ. The Word’s preeminent position as the firstborn Son of God through whom God created all other things is a basis for describing him as “a god; a godlike one; divine; a divine being.” Many translators favor the rendering “the Word was God,” equating him with God Almighty. However, there are good reasons for saying that John did not mean that “the Word” was the same as Almighty God. First, the preceding clause and the following clause both clearly state that “the Word” was “with God.” Also, the Greek word the·osʹ occurs three times in verses 1 and 2. In the first and third occurrences, the·osʹ is preceded by the definite article in Greek; in the second occurrence, there is no article. Many scholars agree that the absence of the definite article before the second the·osʹ is significant. When the article is used in this context, the·osʹ refers to God Almighty. On the other hand, the absence of the article in this grammatical construction makes the·osʹ qualitative in meaning and describes a characteristic of “the Word.” Therefore, a number of Bible translations in English, French, and German render the text in a way similar to the New World Translation, conveying the idea that “the Word” was “a god; divine; a divine being; of divine kind; godlike.” Supporting this view, ancient translations of John’s Gospel into the Sahidic and the Bohairic dialects of the Coptic language, probably produced in the third and fourth centuries C.E., handle the first occurrence of the·osʹ at Joh 1:1 differently from the second occurrence. These renderings highlight a quality of “the Word,” that his nature was like that of God, but they do not equate him with his Father, the almighty God. In harmony with this verse, Col 2:9 describes Christ as having “all the fullness of the divine quality.” And according to 2Pe 1:4, even Christ’s joint heirs would “become sharers in divine nature.” Additionally, in the Septuagint translation, the Greek word the·osʹ is the usual equivalent of the Hebrew words rendered “God,” ʼel and ʼelo·himʹ, which are thought to convey the basic meaning “Mighty One; Strong One.” These Hebrew words are used with reference to the almighty God, other gods, and humans. (See study note on Joh 10:34.) Calling the Word “a god,” or “a mighty one,” would be in line with the prophecy at Isa 9:6, foretelling that the Messiah would be called “Mighty God” (not “Almighty God”) and that he would be the “Eternal Father” of all those privileged to live as his subjects. The zeal of his own Father, “Jehovah of armies,” would accomplish this.—Isa 9:7.

TL;DR: It states that the grammar of John 1:1c is in stark contrast to the surrounding verses which use a definite article ("the god"). The particular formulation used in John 1:1c is used in Greek to indicate a quality of the subject. It describes the nature of "the Word" and not the identity. It, therefore, emphasizes the mightiness that "the Word" possesses. This is further supported by the early Sahidic Coptic translation which uses an indefinite article in John 1:1c to form "a god," emphasizing the qualitative nature of the clause.

For an extremely thorough examination of the Greek grammar of John 1:1 that also examines bias in several common Bible translations (including the KJV, NIV, and NWT), read Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament by Jason D. BeDuhn. Chapter 11 focuses on John 1:1, and comes to the conclusion that the New World Translation is the only translation he discusses that captures the qualitative distinction given to "the Word". He argues that the best translation of John 1:1c would be, "And the Word was divine." (The NWT puts "divine" as an alternate rendering of "a god" in the footnote for John 1:1c.) Professor Jason BeDuhn also refutes several common arguments that translators use for translating "the Word was God," including the misapplication of Colwell's Rule.

In Philip Harner's scholarly article on Greek grammar, "Qualitative Anarthrous Predicate Nouns: Mark 15:39 and John 1:1," published in Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 92, Philadelphia, 1973, p. 85, he suggests John 1:1 would be best translated as "the Word had the same nature as God." He criticizes the RSV and The Jerusalem Bible for translating "the Word was God" because "the English reader might not understand exactly what John was trying to express." Philip Harner establishes his grammatical observation in his conclusion (emphasis mine):

In interpreting clauses of this type it is important to recall that Greek writers also had other types of word-order available. If a writer simply wished to represent the subject as one of a class, he could use an anarthrous predicate noun after the verb. If he wished to emphasize that the predicate noun was definite, he could supply the article. The availability of these other types of word-order strengthens the view that in many instances we may look primarily for a qualitative emphasis in anarthrous predicate nouns that precede the verb.

A summary of reasons why "a god" is appropriate in John 1:1 can also be found on Wikipedia.

Answer 2

Confusion as to the intended meaning of John 1:1 arises because the Koine Greek in which the Gospel was written did not have an indefinite article (a, an) and translators have to decide whether to insert one in English versions of the Bible. One factor in making that decision is the Trinitarian theology, that sees Jesus as one person in God, therefore making the indefinite article an incorrect translation.

Jehovah's Witnesses claim support for their position from an early Sahidic Coptic text, that does have the indefinite article in John 1:1. This appears to show that quite early in Christian history, some Christians believed that the author of John's Gospel intended the ending to be "...a god." However, Brian J. Wright and Jim Ricchuiti (Christian Research Journal, Vol 35, number 3) say that the Coptic text's usage of the indefinite article can be explained as making an interpretive, qualitative distinction. Unfortunately, Wright and Ricchuiti rely heavily on modern theology which they read back into the text, thereby weakening their thesis.

In orthodox Christian understanding of John's Christology, the concept that Jesus Christ is the Word (Logos) has been important in establishing the doctrine of Jesus' divinity, as well as that of the Trinity. But many scholars are aware that the synoptic gospels did not see Jesus as God. For example, Rhoads, Dewey and Michie say in Mark as Story, page 104, that in Mark, Jesus is the son of God, but not by virtue of a special birth or a divine nature - he becomes God's son at his baptism and is neither God nor a divine being. As the first New Testament gospel to be written, Mark presents us with a Christology that is even further removed from orthodox Christian understanding than any reading of John's Gospel.

In Matthew and Luke, Jesus is the son of God by virtue of a special birth, but he is not yet God (*). Of the four New Testament gospels, it is only in John's Gospel that Jesus is fully divine. John's Gospel represents a further evolution in early Christology, so that, if correct, the reading "a god" could be considered somewhat less evolved than the reading "God." Either way, the evidence of the synoptic gospels points to belief in the divinity of Jesus evolving over the early decades of Christian thought. It then becomes a moot point whether one reading of John 1:1 is correct, or the other.

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(*) See for example A World Full of Gods, page 302, by Keith Hopkins.

Answer 3

The early translation into the Sahidic dialect is important because it was a language spoken close to the time that Jesus lived and before the declaration in 381, which would become known as the Nicene- Constantinopolitan Creed, when the Trinity as generally understood today became an official belief and teaching.

A Watchtower article from November 2008 takes up the Sahidic Coptic language angle in support of the way the New World Translation renders John 1:1.

Greek grammar and the context strongly indicate that the New World Translation rendering is correct and that “the Word” should not be identified as the “God” referred to earlier in the verse. Nevertheless, the fact that the Greek language of the first century did not have an indefinite article (“a” or “an”) leaves the matter open to question in some minds. It is for this reason that a Bible translation in a language that was spoken in the earliest centuries of our Common Era is very interesting.

The language is the Sahidic dialect of Coptic. The Coptic language was spoken in Egypt in the centuries immediately following Jesus’ earthly ministry, and the Sahidic dialect was an early literary form of the language. Regarding the earliest Coptic translations of the Bible, The Anchor Bible Dictionary says: “Since the [Septuagint] and the [Christian Greek Scriptures] were being translated into Coptic during the 3d century C.E., the Coptic version is based on [Greek manuscripts] which are significantly older than the vast majority of extant witnesses.”

The Sahidic Coptic text is especially interesting for two reasons. First, as indicated above, it reflects an understanding of Scripture dating from before the fourth century, which was when the Trinity became official doctrine. Second, Coptic grammar is relatively close to English grammar in one important aspect. The earliest translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures were into Syriac, Latin, and Coptic. Syriac and Latin, like the Greek of those days, do not have an indefinite article. Coptic, however, does. Moreover, scholar Thomas O. Lambdin, in his work Introduction to Sahidic Coptic, says: “The use of the Coptic articles, both definite and indefinite, corresponds closely to the use of the articles in English.”(Emphasis added)

Hence, the Coptic translation supplies interesting evidence as to how John 1:1 would have been understood back then. What do we find? The Sahidic Coptic translation uses an indefinite article with the word “god” in the final part of John 1:1. Thus, when rendered into modern English, the translation reads: “And the Word was a god.” Evidently, those ancient translators realized that John’s words recorded at John 1:1 did not mean that Jesus was to be identified as Almighty God. The Word was a god, not Almighty God.