The Meaning of Logos in John 1.1-18. A Linguistic Analysis

Abstract

The title of this dissertation is the Meaning of logos in John 1.1-18: A linguistic Analysis. This study was motivated by the various meanings attached to the word logos and how certain meanings affect the way Christology in general is understood. The challenge of meaning is also seen in the rendering of the word in receptor languages. In addition, the same meaning chosen determines how the book of John is understood. As a result, it became imperative that we study the meaning of logos in John’s prologue. In order to achieve this endeavour, we employed linguistic analysis as a method. Linguistic analysis looks at, among other things, semantics, morphology, phonology, syntax and lexicology. We found out that the word logos had a wide range of meaning prior to the writing of the prologue of the Gospel of John. These include logos as word, a rational principle and mediator. To these, John added the nuance of a divine person, in his effort to express his belief in the identity, incarnation and work of Jesus (1.17). The findings of this research have implications in the way the word logos is translated into receptor languages. We concluded that, the rendering of logos as “Word” in English or “Shoko” in Shona does not adequately capture the nuances of logos in the prologue of the Gospel of John. The results of this study also noted other implications regarding the divinity and mission of Jesus.