John 8:25
Footnote:
| 84 | Greek τὴν ἀρχὴν ὅ τι καὶ λαλῶ ὑμῖν. "Τὴν ἀρχὴν" (Tēn archēn): "The beginning" or "The Origin." There is no "from" preposition here and it is in the accusative, hence "The beginning/origin." It escaped notice, being a hidden mystery, that the Genesis 1 beginning "In the Head" was a "someone". The difference between ὅ τι (two words, meaning "what" or "whatever") and ὅτι (one word, meaning "that") shifts the sense slightly. With ὅτι, the phrase suggests a statement or explanation, like "The beginning is that I also speak to you" or "That I speak to you is the beginning." It has therefore caused no small amount of confusion among scholars. That he should say something like "What I also speak to you" or "what I have been speaking" in answer to a simple question is quite the pointless answer, and even makes him sound incapable of explaining.
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