In the beginnynge was the worde and the worde was with God: and the worde was God.
John 1:1 (Tyndale Bible 1534 by William Tyndale)
Why did Tyndale (1525) did not capitalize 'word' in John 1:1?
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Another question about the same word: What is the meaning of the Greek word λόγος in John 1:1?– SusanDec 28, 2015 at 13:10
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Interesting question, considering his translation was at least partially funded by a trinitarian group and Tyndale's own theology is clearly trinitarian. Maybe they used capitalization differently than we do? Did he capitalize normal pronouns of Jesus mid-sentence (he/He)?– JoshuaDec 28, 2015 at 13:33
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1Related: Tyndale also translated the pronoun in the following sentences as 'it' (All thinges were made by it and with out it was made nothinge that was made), rather than the 'he' which is nearly universal in English translations now. This may help inform an answer about the capitalization of 'word'.– user2910Dec 28, 2015 at 16:45
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Are you aware that he original Greek did not have any capitalization? Thus any capitalization in translations are due to interpretation. There was no difference between the "λογος" in John 1:1 and everywhere else when talking about words (e.g. Eph 4:29). So there is nothing wrong with Tyndale not capitalizing "word" and leaving it to the reader to interpret. Also see the ancient Coptic version of John 1:1.– DavidOct 26, 2021 at 16:00
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3 Answers
I expect a lot depended on the printer. Here are two early printings. In each, notice that not only is "worde" not capitalized, but neither is "god".
This one is the first of Tyndale's New Testaments (later revised): the 1525 printing from Cologne:
And this is John 1 from the 1526 Peter Schoeffer printing which similarly set in uppercase the first words of sentences, and few others:
If the bible interprets the bible then the proper understanding of John 1 would be found in Issaih 55 The father says "I will send out my word and it shall not come back empty" I, the father "singular" my word "His singular" "and it" not he, or she! By the breath of my mouth (His words) he spoke and it came in to existence Ps.33:5-6 There is nothing complicated about this!
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The Greek preposition προς followed by the accusative case (images.app.goo.gl/cHSVWzYv8X6maXAH9) makes something or someone that is facing and moving towards someone. So the Word is facing God and certainly not coming from God like spoken words at John 1:1. That would be a different preposition like εκ or από. Greek linguistics prevents that interpretation.– user33125Jan 18, 2020 at 23:21
The problem with quoting Greek sentence structure and outside of the Bible explanations is exactly what user49 said it’s not complicated when the Bible interprets the Bible ! All other explanations are here say and agenda driven. Jehovah the father alone is God! There is no other ! Jesus is not God he is the begotten son of God. Hosea says I’am God not man! Jesus says in Rev.3 “to him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Jesus worships the same God as Abraham Moses The apostles does. Therefore if you worship God you are not God.
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1Hi Mark, welcome to BH.SE - thanks for contributing! Please do take the Site Tour to find out more about the site and how it all works here. I've added a post notice to this answer, as this is an opinion-based answer and doesn't provide a clear hermeneutical justification.– Steve can help ♦Jun 28, 2021 at 7:54