Post by alon on Jan 7, 2018 21:50:58 GMT -8
John 1:1-5 (ESV) 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 without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Many Christians mistakenly believe the ideas expressed here in John’s prologue are unique to Christianity; a complete departure from Judaism. Not true. In fact, it is not until later that an idea contradictory even to contemporary Judaism was introduced:
John 1:14a (ESV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us
Yochanon was a Jew, entrenched in the unifying ideas of Second Temple period Judaism. His prologue is thoroughly structured within Hebrew interpretive traditions. He first grounds his Gospel in the foundational verses of
: “In the beginning, God…” Therefore, the idea that the Yochanon’s gospel is a Christian document set in opposition to Judaism is immediately debunked. Yochanon, like all writers of the B’rith Chadashah saw everything based in . The very idea of the Davar HaShem possessing creative powers is thoroughly Jewish.
But let’s go further, this time back:
Genesis 1:1-3, 14 (ESV) In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. … And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons [ moedim, appointed times], and for days and years,
Notice light was created before the heavenly bodies from which we receive light as we understand it. However the Light of the World is Yeshua (John 8:12), who Yochanon also calls The Word in verses 1 and 14 of our base text. So God as Yeshua spoke everything that is into existence. As Moshiach one of the things the Jews expected of Him was to better illustrate and explain. And that is what He did.
But note the term used for light in Genesis 3:
H215 ʼôwr, ore; אור illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.):—bright, clear, day, light (-ning), morning, sun.
Happiness and illumination; the joy of salvation which Yochanon in verse 5 says the darkness has not overcome. And it is in verse 11 that we see vegetation created before the heavenly lights. So this life giving light was able to sustain life without the creation of physical objects to shed light on them.
H3974 ma’orh, maw-ore'; or מָאֹר mâʼôr; also (in plural) feminine מְאוֹרָה mᵉʼôwrâh; or מְאֹרָה mᵉʼôrâh; from H215; properly, a luminous body or luminary, i.e. (abstractly) light (as an element); figuratively, brightness, i.e.cheerfulness; specifically, a chandelier:—bright, light.
The prefix “mah” or “ma” means “what.” So ma’orh would be what sheds light; the sun and stars. However they were not where light originated. It is Yeshua, the Word who sheds light on our purpose and our salvation. It is His Word which tells us how to act and how to worship Him. His Word is ma’orh to us. And that Word is based in; like the sun a physical representation of spiritual truth.
Dan C
Many Christians mistakenly believe the ideas expressed here in John’s prologue are unique to Christianity; a complete departure from Judaism. Not true. In fact, it is not until later that an idea contradictory even to contemporary Judaism was introduced:
John 1:14a (ESV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us
Yochanon was a Jew, entrenched in the unifying ideas of Second Temple period Judaism. His prologue is thoroughly structured within Hebrew interpretive traditions. He first grounds his Gospel in the foundational verses of
: “In the beginning, God…” Therefore, the idea that the Yochanon’s gospel is a Christian document set in opposition to Judaism is immediately debunked. Yochanon, like all writers of the B’rith Chadashah saw everything based in . The very idea of the Davar HaShem possessing creative powers is thoroughly Jewish.But let’s go further, this time back:
Genesis 1:1-3, 14 (ESV) In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. … And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons [ moedim, appointed times], and for days and years,
Notice light was created before the heavenly bodies from which we receive light as we understand it. However the Light of the World is Yeshua (John 8:12), who Yochanon also calls The Word in verses 1 and 14 of our base text. So God as Yeshua spoke everything that is into existence. As Moshiach one of the things the Jews expected of Him was to better illustrate and explain
. And that is what He did.But note the term used for light in Genesis 3:
H215 ʼôwr, ore; אור illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.):—bright, clear, day, light (-ning), morning, sun.
Happiness and illumination; the joy of salvation which Yochanon in verse 5 says the darkness has not overcome. And it is in verse 11 that we see vegetation created before the heavenly lights. So this life giving light was able to sustain life without the creation of physical objects to shed light on them.
H3974 ma’orh, maw-ore'; or מָאֹר mâʼôr; also (in plural) feminine מְאוֹרָה mᵉʼôwrâh; or מְאֹרָה mᵉʼôrâh; from H215; properly, a luminous body or luminary, i.e. (abstractly) light (as an element); figuratively, brightness, i.e.cheerfulness; specifically, a chandelier:—bright, light.
The prefix “mah” or “ma” means “what.” So ma’orh would be what sheds light; the sun and stars. However they were not where light originated. It is Yeshua, the Word who sheds light on our purpose and our salvation. It is His Word which tells us how to act and how to worship Him. His Word is ma’orh to us. And that Word is based in
; like the sun a physical representation of spiritual truth.Dan C
