Does monogenēs mean “only-begotten?”

Table of Contents

Overview

John describes Jesus as “the monogenes Son of God.” This phrase has traditionally been translated as “the only-begotten Son of God,” implying that the Father generated the Son from His own being.

More recently, however, some scholars have argued that monogenes means “unique,” and have therefore begun translating John’s phrase as “the unique Son of God.” This translation no longer implies that the Father generated the Son from His own being.

This article argues that, although the term may often have been used in secular contexts to mean only “unique,” we should not change the interpretation of this critical term, nearly 2,000 years later, based mostly on ancient secular usage, especially when:

- - We are trying to understand how one specific writer, John, used the term.
  - He used it in a specific context: the relationship between the Son and the Father.
  - The term has traditionally been translated as “only-begotten,” even in pre-English Latin translations.
  - John’s usage, along with other biblical uses, suggests that the word means more than merely “unique”; it also carries the idea of an only child.
  - Many other ancient examples show that the term can mean more than “unique” and can describe an only child.
  - The Bible also indicates in other ways that the Father generated the Son.
  - The Council of Nicaea, made up of people who spoke Greek as their first language, even stated in the Nicene Creed that the Son is homoousios with the Father because He is “only-begotten.”

Introduction

The Bible often refers to Jesus Christ as “the Son of God.” At His baptism, God described Jesus as His Son. This title, by itself, does not mean that Jesus is divine, because God’s people are also called sons of God. But Jesus is the Son of God in a special sense: He is “the monogenēs Son of God” (John 3:18). Traditionally, monogenēs has been translated as “only-begotten:”

“By this the love of God was manifested in us,
that God has sent His only begotten Son
into the world” (1 John 4:9; cf. John 3:16, 18; NASB).

This has important implications, such as:

1. 1. The Father caused the Son’s existence, implying that the Son had a beginning and is subordinate to the Father.
  2. As the “begotten” Son, He was not created, but came forth from the Father’s being.
  3. As the “only-begotten” Son, He is the only such Being.

The Unique Son of God

More recently, scholars have argued that monogenēs means “unique” or “only.” Many modern translations have adopted this understanding. For example, in John 1:18, the NIV describes Jesus as “the one and only” (monogenēs) Son of God. Such translations remove the implications that Father caused the Son’s existence, that the Son was generated from Father’s being, and that He had a beginning. Such translations also seem more consistent with the Trinity doctrine than “begotten.”

Defense of “Only-Begotten”

This article defends the meaning “Only-Begotten” as follows:

1. Monogenēs means more than merely “Only.”

1.1 Redundant Ending
Mono means “only.” If monogenēs also means “only” or “unique,” then the ending -genēs is redundant.

1.2 God’s only Son
If monogenēs only means “only,” then monogenēs huios (John 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9) would mean Jesus is God’s “only Son”. But Jesus is not God’s only Son. God has many other sons (e.g., Matt 5:9). Therefore, monogenēs must mean something more specific than only “only.”

1.3 The only God
Some variants of John 1:18 describe Jesus as monogenēs theos. 🔗 If this is what the author originally wrote, and if monogenēs means “only,” then Jesus is the “only God,” which could not be. Something, logically “son,” should be added.

2. Monogenēs means an “Only Child.”

2.1 Lexicon
The first meaning of monogenēs in the authoritative Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon is “single child.” “Unique” is only the second meaning.

2.3 Isaac, Abraham’s only
Hebrews 11:17 refers to Abraham’s son, Isaac, as the monogenēs, without adding the word “son.” This also implies that monogenēs implies a child.

3. Monogenēs Means “Only Begotten.”

3.1 Original Meaning
Mono means “only,” and genēs means “born.” Therefore, at least originally, monogenēs meant “the only one born,” which is equivalent to “only begotten.”

3.2 Ancient Latin and English Translations
Monogenēs was traditionally translated as “only-begotten,” even in the Latin translations that preceded the first English Bible. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate (c. 400) translated monogenēs as unicus (“only”) when the word did not refer to Christ. However, in the six verses where monogenēs does refer to Christ, Jerome rendered it unigenitus (“only-begotten”). From Latin, “only begotten” entered the English Bible. Wycliffe’s Bible (1395 AD) reads:

John 3:16 For God lovede so the world,
that he yaf his oon bigetun sone,
that each man that bileveth in him perishe not,
but have everlastynge lijf.

3.3 Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed (325) interprets monogenēs as “only-begotten.” It describes Jesus as:

“Monogenēs; that is, of the essence of the Father,
God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,
begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.”

3.4 Other Evidence
Monogenēs is not the only indication in the Bible that the Father generated the Son. Other statements support this concept. For example, the Son:

- - - Is “born of God” (1 John 5:18),
    - Lives “because of the Father” (John 6:57),
    - “Proceeded forth and have come from God” (John 8:42), and
    - Received from the Father “to have life in Himself” (John 5:26).

For a further discussion of these verses: [Quotes]

3.5 Ancient Examples
Wikipedia’s page on this term discusses ancient examples of monogenēs from Classical Greek, the Septuagint, the New Testament, and from Hellenistic Jewish usage. Of the 20 examples, none mean merely “only.” Fourteen refer to a literal only child, which implies generation. Three others also imply generation.

Conclusion

From the analysis above, there appears to be sufficient support for translating monogenēs as “only-begotten,” implying that Jesus came forth from the Father’s being in an incomprehensible manner. “Only begotten” implies that He is the only such Being, the only One born of God. He is God’s Son in a unique sense. As the Son of God, He has no equal.

“Begotten” may imply that Jesus had a beginning. But if we accept that there never was a time when Jesus was not, Jesus still had a beginning, because time itself had a beginning. Jesus was possibly born of God when time began—or, rather, perhaps time began when Jesus was born of God. God, by contrast, had no beginning. God does not exist in time; rather, time exists within God.

While monogenēs in classical and Koine Greek often means “unique” or “one of a kind,” its use in the Gospel of John seems to carry a deeper theological resonance. This article relies more on the use of the term in the Bible than its secular use.

This is a summary. For the full article, see here.