Seth Brown GRK 301

Dr. Crockett 31 March 2010 !

MonogenhvV ! MonogenhvV is a compound word from the adjective movnoV (one, only) and a derivation of

the copulative verb givnomai. Büchsel states, “the mono- does not denote the source but the nature

of derivation. Hence monogenhvV means “of sole descent,” i.e., without brothers or sisters. The 1

implications of a word such as this vary due to the wide ranging usage of copulative verbs.

The unique nature of Christ is a foundational doctrine in orthodox Christianity. Likely,

monogenhvV expresses this idea more clearly than any other in the New Testament. The word

occurs several places in the later writings of the New Testament, e.g., Luke, John, and Hebrews.

The clearest expressions of the meaning occur in the phrases “to;n uiJo;n to;n monogenh:

e[dwken“ (Jn. 3:16), “to;n uiJo;n aujtou to;n monogenh:” (1 Jn. 4:9), and “monogenou:V para;

patrovV” (Jn. 1:14). These examples refer specifically to Jesus’ relationship to God, owing to the

nominative case oJ qeo;V and patrovV. Given the context of these verses, John is trying to

communicate a strong theological idea by the use of this word to describe Jesus’ relationship

with God. The author of Hebrews uses the word in a more casual sense, i.e., not implying

divinity, when he speaks of Isaac as Abraham’s only son (to;n monogenh:). Rest assured, Abraham

begat more than one son, e.g., Ishmael, but monogenh: denotes the unique status of Isaac. Also,

Luke speaks of the dead man from Nain as the only son of the mother (monogenh;V uiJo;V th:/

mhtri;). John’s revelatory representation of Jesus unfolds as he builds up his argument in his

F. Büchsel, “monogenhvV,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, ed. 1

Gerhard Friedrich, vol. IV, (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1971) 738.

!2

Gospel. In John 1:1, John makes two important points: 1) the Word became flesh, 2) the Word

was God. The divine Word becomes the only one of the Father in John 1:14. Thus, John gives a

clear exposition of the special nature of Jesus Christ; thereby, cementing monogenhvV into

Christian christology. After the penning of John’s Gospel, the meaning of the word comes under

much controversy. Nevertheless, the inclusion of the word in it’s Greek form is not debated.

MonogenhvV has taken it’s place in Christian history as a theological term that cannot be ignored.

The meandering translation of this word begins with an Old Latin manuscript written by

Eusebius. Unicus is the Latin term used in the Old Latin Codex Vercellensis, which means

“only.” The following history of monogenhvV would have been much simpler had the Latin

tradition carried on the use of unicus. Needless to say, this is not the case. In Jerome’s revision of

the latin, unicus becomes unigenitum. Furthermore, Jerome only revised the translation of

monogenhvV in passages that provoked theological interest regarding Jesus’ deity. These passages

are: John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18. It is interesting to note that Walter Bauer suggests that “only” is a

sufficient translation of monogenhvV for Johannine literature, but he prefers “only begotten” in the

aforementioned theological passages due to the high christology of Johannine literature. Unlike 2

Bauer, Jerome’s revision was “out of interest for ecclesiastical dogma.” Moody goes on to 3

propose that Augustine originally translated monogenhvV as unicum, only later preferring

unigenitum due to the influence of creeds. The Nicene Creed uses the word monogenhv as well as

gennhqevnta to speak of Christ as the only son of God and as begotten from eternity. This dual

Walter Bauer, “monogenhvV,” A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian 2

Literature, Second Edition, rev. F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 527.

Dale Moody, “God’s Only Son: The Translation of John 3:16 in the Revised Standard Version,” Journal of 3

Biblical Literature, 72/4 (Dec., 1953): 214, Online, http://www.jstor.org (accessed 08 March 2010).

!3

description of Jesus using two words that have similar morphology served to blur the distinction

between the words, even among the brightest of scholars. The Vulgate, owing to it’s massive

influence on the Western Church, provided unigenitum as the source of “only begotten” in the

King James Version of 1611, English Revised Version of 1881, and others with a “partial

exception.” The partial exception is the great translator William Tyndale. In 1878, Rotherham 4

not only translated the pertinent theological passages with “only begotten,” but also translated

Luke 7:12; 8:42; and 9:38 as well. Moody notes the correction in the Twentieth Century New 5

Testament of 1898; however, the error returns in 1900 via the American Standard Version. Some 6

translations after 1898 do correct the error, but none so famously controversial as the Revised

Standard Version in 1946.

As is obvious from it’s history, monogenhvV creates rich theological meaning when

speaking of Jesus. Moody considers the word an “epitome of christology.” As a very technical 7

Greek term, it is precise and clear. Whether the word is used only to denote the unique status of

human progeny or whether it designates Jesus as the unique god-man, monogenhvV does a fine job

of illustrating the eloquence of the Greek language.

!

Ibid., 215.4

Ibid., 216.5

Ibid., 215-16.6

Ibid., 217.7

!4

Bibliography

Bauer, Walter. “monogenhvV.” A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Second Edition. Revised and Augmented by F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979. !Büchsel, F. “monogenhvV.” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Volume IV. Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1971. !Moody, Dale. “God’s Only Son: The Translation of John 3:16 in the Revised Standard Version.” Journal of Biblical Literature. 72/4 (Dec., 1953): 213-19. Online. http://www.jstor.org. (Accessed 08 March 2010).