John 1:1

Greek Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος. 

The problem here is how abstract it is to say "In the beginning the Word was." Was what?

It just was?

The use of Ἐν meaning "in/within" is very much related to being within, inside, or in something else. One has to extend the meaning out to "in time" and then extend it further to "in the beginning of time." Is it time that John is referring to?

The verb ἦν "was" is used in this verse three times. Most of the time in the NT where the verb "was" is used there is an object. There are no other Greek verses that leave the reader hanging at "was." 

In the origin. Strong’s #G746, arche. Head, source, origin, principle, chief, etc. Feminine noun. 

The Hebrew idea of “beginning” is not a linear point but a head from whom all things flow and to whom all things flow, i.e. in a circuit. Throughout the LXX the Hebrew rosh (#7218) head, as well as techilla (#8462) to bore, pierce, is translated "arche." The definite article "the" is rarely used except in the case of a specific authority (Luke 20:20) or in Revelation where the Origin/Head, is spoken of three times (Rev. 3:14, 21:6, 22:13).

Often in Greek literature you find something like the genitive τῆς ἀρχῆς "of the Origin" but the definite article is not generally used when expressing "from out of the origin" i.e, "ἐξ ἀρχῆς." In the NT the preposition ἐξ "from out of" is not ever used in conjunction with "origin" but instead we find the preposition "away from" ἀπό.

If it is an origin [arche], but the other is not an origin, or if it is a cause, but the other is not a cause, it is because of the same thing: for without a cause and an origin [arche] it is impossible to exist or come into being. 

And of two origins [arche], the one from the greater origin [arche] is greater, and of two causes, the one from the greater cause is greater. And conversely, of two origins [arche], the origin [arche] of the greater is greater, and of two causes, the cause of the greater is greater.

Aristotle. Rhetoric, Book 1, Chapter 7, 12-13.