The Logos in John’s Prologue
John’s use of logos drew on a wide-range of Jewish and Greek concepts, evoking associations with the OT, Hellenistic Jewish literature, and Greek philosophy. Using the title “the Word” for Jesus simultaneously invoked and subverted the assumptions of his Jewish and Greek audiences. His use of the term was a deliberate attempt to persuade them of the divinity of Jesus using categories of thought they would have been familiar with.
For Jews, John’s use of logos would have evoked the phrase, the “word of Yahweh.” This title was an important part of biblical traditions about Yahweh and His effective power over the universe. The phrase was regularly used to refer to Scripture as divine law (Isa 2:3), written instruction (Psa 119:11), and prophetic revelation (Hos 4:1; Ezek 6:1). More important, the “word of Yahweh” was depicted as an active force at work in the world to accomplish Yahweh’s will (Isa 55:11; Jer 23:29). This force was the agent through which Yahweh created the world (Psa 33:6, 9; Gen 1:3, 6, 11).
A Jewish audience in the first century AD would also have accepted “the Word” as a divine title based on the regular substitution of memra (Aramaic for “the Word”) for the divine name in Aramaic translations of the OT, also called targums. The Aramaic translators used this title to avoid instances where Yahweh was described in human terms (i.e., with an arm or hand). This tradition connected “the Word” with creation even more: The targum for Isa 48:13a reads “By my word I have founded the earth” (replacing “my hand” in the Hebrew text with memra).
Barry, John D. et al. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012. Print.
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