I have never before heard this translation of John 1:1.
“In the ruling council was a spokesman, and the spokesman was among the gods and the spokesman was himself a God.”
John Hall quotes the translation of Hugh Nibley.
Rather than me typing out much of the lecture, check Mark’s blog over here.
I am wondering, “What has Hugh Nibley and others done with Jesus?”
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Oh, and someone just asked if John believed in the Q text? He rejects this notion, saying it is entirely made up. I am encouraged by this.
Jesus in Idaho Falls 
The Joseph Smith Translation found in the Appendix of LDS scriptures reads the verse as:
1 In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God.
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/jst/92
And now this dude stirs the pot and the plot thickens…
Hi Tate, thanks for the JST reference. I remember thinking about this back here:
https://heartissuesforlds.wordpress.com/2006/10/17/the-word-a-god/
But John quoting Hugh really stirs things up by saying arche should be translated rank.
And when he thinks of “rank”, he immediately jumps into council of the gods. I have heard this phrase a lot in this conference.
When I personally talked to Dr. Hall at the conference, he described how detailed and expansive the Greek term Logos is, which certainly can mean, among other things, ratio, proportion, counsel, as well as council, word, speech, act., etc. I photocopied over 3 solid PAGES from the Liddell Scott Greek Lexicon on the various nuances of the translation of Logos. I think the Council of the Gods is one possible translation.
I know far less about New Testament textual criticism than John Hall does, but I do know a little and I was surprised at some of the things he said.
And I spoke with one of Hall’s former students at the conference, and he was also surprised.
I’ll reserve judgment on Hall’s NT commentary until it comes out, but I have some concerns about theological bias affecting his translation. The KJV translators were pretty bad at this; we Latter-day Saints don’t need to compound the problem further.
Every translation is only as good as the translators knowledge. I agree it is a most tricky and sticky issue……Hey that would make a great title for an article or podcast, Tricky & Sticky Issues…….. I shall have to ponder that one.
Speaking of Tricky & Sticky, Kerry, I just read the FARM review on Dever’s book. Tomorrow, on HI4LDS, can I express my ironic dismay over this topic?
Sorry, I know that this post is long dead, but I wanted to clarify something. Kerry, Hall isn’t translating “logos” as Council of the Gods. He is translating “theos” this way. He translated “logos” as “spokesman.” Both translations are highly problematic.