John 1:1 is one of the well-known Bible verses: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
It can be a puzzling verse. To many a reader, it appears that John was being poetic with little care for precedence. But, was he? Did John express a fresh revelation about the divine with this description or he had an Old Testament practice to rely on? The latter is the case.
Whereas today, the “word of God” can mean anything from a preacher’s sermon to the Bible, the phrase had other uses in the Hebrew Bible. Today, we are used to thinking about the “word of God” primarily as an AUDITORY thing. In the Old Testament, however, the phrase is also used VISUALLY – which informs John’s writing.
One instance of this visual use is found in 1 Samuel 3. This chapter is actually full of several visual references to the “word of God,” but years of contrary teachings make it hard to see most of them. Hence, I shall begin with the more obvious instances and work my way backwards.
The very last verse reads (1 Sam 3:21):
“And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.”
Shiloh, of course, is the town where 1 Samuel 3 was set. God revealed himself to Samuel by (or as) the “word of God.”
But this “word of God” is not a (mere) message or speech. It is something that can be seen. Indeed, the first verse of 1 Samuel 3 hints at this:
“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.”
Notice how the second part contrasts “the word of the LORD” being rare in those days with VISIONS (not voices or messages) being rare. This “word of the LORD” is a visually perceptible entity.
Next, the narrator tells us something interesting. After God had called Samuel twice, and he mistook the calling voice for Eli’s both times, we get this explanation from the narrator:
“Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. (1 Samuel 3:7 ESV)
Let’s dwell on that simple commentary a bit. Recall that Hannah, Samuel’s mother gave him up to serve at the temple as soon as he was weaned. So, Samuel had been living at the temple in Shiloh (and helping with temple functions) for a while. So, when we read that “the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him,” that could not conceivably mean that Samuel hadn’t been taught from the Scriptures. Indeed, it is hard to conceive of ANY believing person from that community being uninstructed in the LORD. Believing Jews committed their kids to God very early.
So, what could that comment mean then? Here it is. The “word of the LORD” refers to Yahweh himself. To say that the word of the LORD had not been revealed to Samuel is to say that Yahweh had not (literally) revealed himself to Samuel – like he did to Moses.
Eventually, the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in verse 10:
And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
(1 Samuel 3:10 ESV)
Again, notice that God “came and STOOD.” This isn’t merely an auditory exchange. It is also a visual one. This further helps understand the last verse that says that God revealed himself by “the word of the LORD” to Samuel. Whatever that means must include the piece that says God “came and stood.” The “revealing” here is visual.
This 1 Samuel passage is one of several “word of the LORD” passages in the Old Testament. These are the kind of things John very likely had in mind when he wrote that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
The Gospel of John is well known for its high christology. But it is important to note that John didn’t make up the idea of divine plurality. He didn’t make Jesus God. The Hebrew Bible is replete with descriptions of a plurality in the Godhead. John merely identified Jesus as the “word of Yahweh” of the Old Testament. And if Jesus is the word of the LORD, then he must have the divine attributes that John summarizes in John 1:1.
