ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 John 1.1-3

Book: 1 John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

There are ads on our codex that pay for hosting and keep the codex free. If you can, please consider whitelisting ris3n.com or allowing scripts to support the work.

Sponsored

Brands, events, influencers advertise here

ASV

1. That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life 2. (and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us); 3. that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ:

  1. and these things we write, that our joy may be made full. 5. And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:1-5, ASV)
WEB

1. That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life 2. (and the life was revealed, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us); 3. that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

  1. And we write these things to you, that our joy may be fulfilled. 5. This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:1-5, WEB)
KJV

1. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2. (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

  1. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 5. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:1-5, KJV)
YLT

1. That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we did behold, and our hands did handle, concerning the Word of the Life 2. and the Life was manifested, and we have seen, and do testify, and declare to you the Life, the age-during, which was with the Father, and was manifested to us 3. that which we have seen and heard declare we to you, that ye also may have fellowship with us, and our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ;

  1. and these things we write to you, that your joy may be full. 5. And this is the message that we have heard from Him, and announce to you, that God is light, and darkness in Him is not at all; (1 John 1:1-5, YLT)

See this page's graph and discover linked topics

Setting

  • Speaker: The letter is formally anonymous. Early and unanimous tradition assigns it to John the apostle (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.16.5 and 3.16.8, c. AD 180), and its vocabulary and style are closely shared with the Fourth Gospel.
  • Audience: Churches in Roman Asia, addressed after a secession: "they went out from us, but they were not really of us" (1 John 2:19). The departing teachers denied that Jesus is the Christ (2:22) and that He has come in the flesh (4:2).
  • Location: Traditionally Ephesus, the center of the Johannine circle in Asia Minor.
  • Time period: c. AD 85-95, late in the apostolic period. The stated purpose is assurance: "these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).

Theological reading

The letter's prologue, and one of the strongest eyewitness claims in the New Testament.

Four verbs of sensory contact, escalating. What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld (etheasametha, looked at attentively), and what our hands handled (epsēlaphēsan, groped or felt, the verb used at Luke 24:39 when the risen Jesus says "touch Me and see"). The sequence moves from the most distant sense to the most direct and least deniable.

Aimed at a specific denial. The secessionists denied that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (1 John 4:2). A prologue that piles up verbs of physical contact is not incidental; it is the counter-claim stated as testimony. Compare John 20:27 and John 1:14, "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory", using the same verb.

"Concerning the Word of Life." Peri tou logou tēs zōēs, deliberately ambiguous between the message about life and the personal Word who is life. The prologue of the Gospel resolves the same phrase toward the person (John 1:1-4), and verse 2 here does the same: "the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father."

"So that you too may have fellowship with us." The purpose of the testimony is koinōnia, and John immediately extends it: "and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." Eyewitness testimony in this letter exists to bring later hearers into the same relation, which is the same logic as John 20:31 and 1 Peter 1:8.

See Historicity of Jesus and Historicity of Jesus.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Passages:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.