φῶς, phôs = the contracted (Attic) form of φάος (pháos) = light (capitals ΦΩΣ)
φώς, phṓs = man (capitals ΦΩΣ)
- https://lsj.gr/wiki/φώς:
- man
..II .man, opp. woman
III .man, opp. a god
gen. φωτός, ὁ: dual φῶτε, φωτοῖν: pl. φῶτες, φωτῶν, φωσί
- man
- https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/te ... %3Dfw%2Fs2:
.φώς , φωτός [genitive]: man, wight; like ἀνήρ, but not so much a mark of distinction; freq. in apposition to a name
John 1:7-9 has φῶς and φωτός (and ὃ φωτίζει; phōtizei)
- 'he' is John ('him' in 'through him' probably is, too)
- φωτός is always represented in English versions of John 1:7 as "light." See https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/John%201:7
as with φωτός in 1:8: https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/John%201:8
οὗτος ἦλθεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν, ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός ἵνα πάντες πιστεύσωσιν δι’ αὐτοῦ
He came as a witness that he might testify concerning the 'light' that all might believe through him
οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖνος τὸ φῶς ἀλλ’ ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ περὶ τοῦ φωτός
he was not the light but that he might witness as to the 'light'
... τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον
... the True light who enlightens every man who comes into the world
.
Now, Thayer's Greek Lexicon for φῶς (and φωτός) includes:
φῶς, φωτός, τό (contracted from φάος, from φάω to shine), from Homer (who, as well as Pindar, uses the form φάος) down
- universally: ὁ Θεός ὁ εἰπών ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάμψαι, 2 Corinthians 4:6 (Genesis 1:3) ... a heavenly light, such as surrounds angels when they appear on earth: hence, ἄγγελος φωτός, 2 Corinthians 11:14; ... of ἀπό (or ἐκ) τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ['from heaven' as Paul drew near to Damascus], Acts 9:3 [and also] Acts 22:6 [and Acts 22.9]; ... [οὐρανόθεν (from heaven)...περιλάμψαν (shone around Paul)], Acts 26:13
. - by metonymy, anything emitting light: a heavenly luminary (or star), plural James 1:17 (see πατήρ, 3 a.); ... θερμαίνεσθαι πρός τό φῶς, Mark 14:54 ... Isaiah 60 [multiple times]
- universally: ὁ Θεός ὁ εἰπών ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάμψαι, 2 Corinthians 4:6 (Genesis 1:3) ... a heavenly light, such as surrounds angels when they appear on earth: hence, ἄγγελος φωτός, 2 Corinthians 11:14; ... of ἀπό (or ἐκ) τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ['from heaven' as Paul drew near to Damascus], Acts 9:3 [and also] Acts 22:6 [and Acts 22.9]; ... [οὐρανόθεν (from heaven)...περιλάμψαν (shone around Paul)], Acts 26:13
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- The extremely delicate, subtile, pure, brilliant quality of light has led to the use of φῶς as an appellation of God, i.e. as by nature incorporeal, spotless, holy (cf. Westcott, Epistles of St. John, p. 15ff): 1 John 1:5 (Wis. 7:26 where cf. Grimm); he is said εἶναι ἐν τῷ φωτί, in a state of supreme sanctity, 1 John 1:7; φῶς οἴκων ἀπρόσιτον, a figure describing his nature as alike of consummate majesty and inaccessible to human comprehension, 1 Timothy 6:16 (Psalm 103:2 ()); used of that heavenly state, consummate and free from every imperfection, to which the true disciples of Christ will be exalted, equivalent to the kingdom of light, Colossians 1:12.
. - By a figure frequently in the N. T. (cf. in classic Greek τῆς ἀληθείας τό φῶς, Euripides, L T. 1046 etc.; see Liddell and Scott, under the word, II. 2), φῶς is used to denote truth and its knowledge,1 together with the spiritual purity congruous with it (opposed to τό σκότος b., ἡ σκοτία, which see): ἡ ζωή ἦν τό φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, had the nature of light in men, i.e. became the source of human wisdom, John 1:4; especially the saving truth embodied in Christ and by his love and effort imparted to mankind, Matthew 4:16; John 1:5; John 3:19-21; Acts 26:18, 23; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:13{a} (cf. below); τό φῶς τό ἀληθινόν, 1 John 2:8; τό θαυμαστόν τοῦ Θεοῦ φῶς, 1 Peter 2:9 (Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 36, 2 [ET] cf. 59, 2 [ET]); τό φῶς ὑμῶν, the divine truth with which ye are imbued, Matthew 5:16; ἔχειν τό φῶς τῆς ζωῆς, the light by which the true life is gained, John 8:12; τά ὅπλα [the armour of] φωτός, Romans 13:12; καρπός τοῦ φωτός, Ephesians 5:9 G L T Tr WH; ἐν τῷ φωτί περιπατεῖν, to live agreeably to saving wisdom, 1 John 1:7; ἐν τῷ φωτί εἶναι, to be imbued with saving wisdom, μένειν, to continue devoted to it, to persevere in keeping it, 1 John 2:8f; οἱ υἱοί τοῦ φωτός (see υἱός [son, descendant], 2, p. 635{a}), Luke 16:8; John 12:36; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; τέκνα φωτός (see τέκνον, c. β., p. 618^a), Ephesians 5:8. by metonymy, φῶς; is used of one in whom wisdom and spiritual purity shine forth, and who imparts the same to others: φῶς τῶν ἐν σκότει, Romans 2:19; (φῶς ἐθνῶν, Acts 13:47); in a pre-eminent sense Jesus the Messiah is called φῶς and τό φῶς: Luke 2:32; John 1:7; John 12:35f, 46; τό φῶς τοῦ κόσμου, John 8:12; John 9:5 (τό φῶς τοῦ κόσμου τό δοθέν ἐν ὑμῖν εἰς φωτισμόν παντός ἀνθρώπου, Test xii. Patr. test. Levi § 14); τό φῶς τό ἀληθινόν, John 1:9; by the same name the disciples of Jesus are distinguished, Matthew 5:14; Christians are called φῶς ἐν κυρίῳ, having obtained saving wisdom in communion with Christ, Ephesians 5:8. πᾶν τό φανερούμενον φῶς ἐστιν, everything made manifest by the aid of Christian truth has taken on the nature of light, so that its true character and quality are no longer hidden, Ephesians 5:13{b} (others take φῶς here in an outward or physical sense, and regard the statement as a general truth confirmatory of the assertion made respecting spiritual 'φωτός just before (cf. above)).
. - By a figure borrowed from daylight φῶς is used of that which is exposed to the view of all: ἐν τῷ φωτί (opposed to ἐν τῇ σκοτία), openly, publicly (ἐν φαει, Pindar Nem. 4, 63), Matthew 10:27; Luke 12:3.
. - reason,1 mind; the power of understanding especially moral and spiritual truth: τό φῶς τό ἐν σοι, Matthew 6:23; Luke 11:35. (Synonym: see φέγγος...)
- The extremely delicate, subtile, pure, brilliant quality of light has led to the use of φῶς as an appellation of God, i.e. as by nature incorporeal, spotless, holy (cf. Westcott, Epistles of St. John, p. 15ff): 1 John 1:5 (Wis. 7:26 where cf. Grimm); he is said εἶναι ἐν τῷ φωτί, in a state of supreme sanctity, 1 John 1:7; φῶς οἴκων ἀπρόσιτον, a figure describing his nature as alike of consummate majesty and inaccessible to human comprehension, 1 Timothy 6:16 (Psalm 103:2 ()); used of that heavenly state, consummate and free from every imperfection, to which the true disciples of Christ will be exalted, equivalent to the kingdom of light, Colossians 1:12.
.
1 aka Logos, the Word