On "Comma Johanneum"

[Yaku Lee]

I know that Comma Johanneum refers to the portion in Italics of the following:

KJV 1Jo 5:7-8 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

But my question is about the phrase “Comma Johanneum” itself. It looks like it means ‘Johannine Comma,’ but for precise meaning I looked everywhere I could imagine, and I am still in the dark. “Comma” in English can mean “a short phrase or word groups smaller than a colon” (Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/)), and it makes sense, but what about “Johanneum”? Obviously the phrase “Comma Johanneum” itself is not English. What is it? Is it Latin? Then what is the morphological analysis? (“Joanneum or Ioanneum” is not found in VUC, NOV, or VUL.) Or is it German?

I would appreciate an elucidation on “Comma Johanneum.”

Thank you very much.

[Adelphos]

IBut my question is about the phrase “Comma Johanneum” itself.

The straight-forward Latin translation is "The phrase of John."

The word comma does mean phrase in this case, and the word johanneum is in the genitive case.

I suspect this is all there is to it, but you never know.

[Yaku Lee]

The straight-forward Latin translation is "The phrase of John."

The word comma does mean phrase in this case, and the word johanneum is in the genitive case.

I suspect this is all there is to it, but you never know.

I appreciate your quick response, Scott.

But I cannot yet say it’s all clear to me. First of all, I understand that the Nominative form of “John” in Latin is “Ioannis or Joannis” (but VUC Joannes, NOV Ioannes, VUL Iohannes), and the Genitive is also “Ioannis or Joannis” (VUL Iohannis). Then what is this “Johanneum”? That is, what is the explanation for the stem form “Johann-” and ending “-eum”?

[Michael Hanel]

Comma is a neuter singular noun, Johanneum is an adjective modifying comma, its ending becomes -eum to match the neuter gender of comma. Johanneus means essentially of or belonging to John. In English it typically simply becomes Johannine.

[Adelphos]

I ran it through Quick Latin, a Latin to English translation program, and it lists "johanneum" as a neuter genitive, with the literal translation of the word as "of johns." The translation of the two words together, i.e., "Comma Johanneum" comes out as "The phrase of John." The database is tied to Whitaker. I think Michael's explanation is correct.