[B-Greek] only begotten

davidsugg at comcast.net davidsugg at comcast.net
Tue Dec 9 10:40:28 EST 2003


Something that has puzzeled me about the new consensus regarding "MONOGENHS" as meaning "one of a kind," "unique," "special," is that the Church Fathers in the Arian controversy placed great emphasis on this term as meaning "begotten," for they contrasted the Father as being "Unbegotten." Since the Fathers spoke Greek, it seems hard to believe that they did not know what "MONOGENHS" meant, and it is certain that they did not belive that the Father was "Not Unique!"

I have read the arguements that there should be a second "N" if "GENHS" is to refer to generation. I just wonder why the Fathers didn't understand it that way.
> It was said...
> 
> "MONOGENHS is "one of a kind," "unique," "special." It is often used to refer
> specifically to only-born children, but in the sense that they are "unique"
> (they have no siblings). It does not carry with it the notion of "begetting"
> or "producing" (as in GENNAW)." 
> 
> That is a common answer, but all the uses of MONOGENHS I know of are used either 
> literally or figuratively in a parent - child relationship.  Consider hERMOGENHS 
> (2 Tim.1:15), the common answer here is that the name means "begotten of 
> Mercury." That would be "hERMO-" for Mercury, "-GENHS" for begotten.  It seems 
> that translators in the past, up to the ASV of 1901, thought "begotten" was 
> acceptable, and now most do not.  I do not know the reasons why.  Did we learn 
> something in the 1900s that changed people's minds?  Are there other used of  
> "-GENHS" we can look to for guidance?
> 
> Rather than question the "-GENHS" part of the word, I question the common 
> rendering of "MONO-."  "Only" does not work well for Hebrews 11:17 because 
> Abraham had other children, but "Unique" would because Isaac was the only child 
> of Abraham and Sarah. Of course, he was unique for other reasons too.
> 
> William Boyd
> Little Rock
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