Logos

Logos is a Greek concept that brings together meanings such as word, reason, explanation, and organizing principle. In Hellenistic Jewish thought, logos was used to express how God creates, governs, and communicates without direct physical depiction, translating biblical ideas into Greek philosophical language. This use overlaps in function with the Aramaic concept of Memra, which also speaks of divine action through “the word.” Early Christian writers then adopted logos language to articulate theological claims about Jesus and divine presence, building on these Jewish interpretations rather than introducing the idea from scratch. Logos thus represents a bridge concept, moving from Greek philosophy into Jewish theology and then into Christian theological expression.