Colossians 1:16-17

1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, ¹  whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ²  in him.

Proverbs 8:29-31

8:29 when he gave the sea his decree

that the waters should not pass over his command, ³ 

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

8:30 then I was ⁴  beside him as a master craftsman, ⁵ 

and I was his delight ⁶  day by day,

rejoicing before him at all times,

8:31 rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, ⁷ 

and delighting ⁸  in its people. ⁹ 

Revelation 3:14

To the Church in Laodicea

3:14 “To ¹⁰  the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following: ¹¹ 

“This is the solemn pronouncement of ¹²  the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator ¹³  of God’s creation:

[1:16]  ¹ tn BDAG 579 s.v. κυριότης 3 suggests “bearers of the ruling powers, dominions” here.

[1:17]  ² tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.

[8:29]  ³ tn Heb “his mouth.”

[8:30]  ⁴ tn The verb form is a preterite with vav consecutive, although it has not been apocopated. It provides the concluding statement for the temporal clauses as well as the parallel to v. 27.

[8:30]  ⁵ tn Critical to the interpretation of this line is the meaning of אָמוֹן (’amon). Several suggestions have been made: “master craftsman” (cf. ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV), “nursing child” (cf. NCV), “foster father.” R. B. Y. Scott chooses “faithful” – a binding or living link (“Wisdom in Creation: The ‘Amon of Proverbs 8:30,” VT 10 [1960]: 213-23). The image of a child is consistent with the previous figure of being “given birth to” (vv. 24, 25). However, “craftsman” has the most support (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac, Tg. Prov 8:30, Song 7:1; Jer 52:15; also P. W. Skehan, “Structures in Poems on Wisdom: Proverbs 8 and Sirach 24,” CBQ 41 [1979]: 365-79).

[8:30]  ⁶ tn The word is a plural of intensification for “delight”; it describes wisdom as the object of delight. The LXX has the suffix; the Hebrew does not.

[8:31]  ⁷ tn The two words are synonymous in general and so could be taken to express a superlative idea – the “whole world” (cf. NIV, NCV). But תֵּבֵל (tevel) also means the inhabited world, and so the construct may be interpreted as a partitive genitive.

[8:31]  ⁸ tn Heb “and my delights” [were] with/in.”

[8:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

[3:14]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated due to differences between Greek and English style.

[3:14]  ¹¹ tn The phrase “the following” after “write” is supplied to clarify that what follows is the content of what is to be written.

[3:14]  ¹² tn Grk “These things says [the One]…” See the note on the phrase “this is the solemn pronouncement of” in 2:1.

[3:14]  ¹³ tn Or “the beginning of God’s creation”; or “the ruler of God’s creation.” From a linguistic standpoint all three meanings for ἀρχή (arch) are possible. The term is well attested in both LXX (Gen 40:13, 21; 41:13) and intertestamental Jewish literature (2 Macc 4:10, 50) as meaning “ruler, authority” (BDAG 138 s.v. 6). Some have connected this passage to Paul’s statements in Col 1:15, 18 which describe Christ as ἀρχή and πρωτότοκος (prwtotoko"; e.g., see R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 124) but the term ἀρχή has been understood as either “beginning” or “ruler” in that passage as well. The most compelling connection is to be found in the prologue to John’s Gospel (1:2-4) where the λόγος (logos) is said to be “in the beginning (ἀρχή) with God,” a temporal reference connected with creation, and then v. 3 states that “all things were made through him.” The connection with the original creation suggests the meaning “originator” for ἀρχή here. BDAG 138 s.v. 3 gives the meaning “the first cause” for the word in Rev 3:14, a term that is too philosophical for the general reader, so the translation “originator” was used instead. BDAG also notes, “but the mng. beginning = ‘first created’ is linguistically probable (s. above 1b and Job 40:19; also CBurney, Christ as the ᾿Αρχή of Creation: JTS 27, 1926, 160-77).” Such a meaning is unlikely here, however, since the connections described above are much more probable.