[B-Greek] John 1:18
Yancy W Smith
yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
Sat Nov 7 12:29:28 EST 2009
Of course the problem with "only generated" for MONOGENHS is that in
Texas, at least, we don't generate children. But maybe in the
theological world God/gods are generated. But we also don't beget
children either, we have them. Women give birth to them, so, again,
darn, theology is influencing our linguistics.
Yancy
Sent from my iPhone
On Nov 7, 2009, at 10:56 AM, Blue Meeksbay <bluemeeksbay at yahoo.com>
wrote:
> Let me mention one last thought, in concert with Carl Conrad’s under
> standing of MONOGENHS as “only-generated.” The fact that GENNAW,
> even though it may not be the immediate root of GENHS, is used of bo
> th the male and the female (Matt. 1:2, 16; 19:12 etc.), perhaps show
> s us a better translation of Heb. 11:17 might be TON MONOGENHS –
> “the only generated” rather than “his only son” NET.
> Everyone always interprets MONOGENHS to mean “one of a kind” in
> this verse because Abraham had other sons, but that is presuming the
> translation of “his only son,” whereas if it is translated as
> “the only begotten,” Isaac may have, indeed, been the “only
> begotten” of all Abraham’s children, thus the title MONOGENHS. He
> certainly was the only begotten of Sarah. Why do we presume MONOGENH
> S must always refer to the father? If all Abraham’s other wives had
> more than one child, Isaac, indeed, could be the only one who was ac
> tually, “the only begotten.”
> I know that some will say, “But wasn’t Ishmael an “only
> generated?” Perhaps, but it is interesting that there is a Jewish t
> radition that the writer of Hebrews may have had in mind when he sai
> d “TON MONOGENHS.”
> It is interesting that when Abraham was asked to offer up his son in
> sacrifice, Jewish tradition has him replying:
> “But I have two sons.” 'Thine only one, ‘was the
> reply.’ “But each is the only one of his mother!” 'Whom thou
> lovest,' he was told. “But I love both!” and the answer came
> 'Even Isaac.'“[1]
>
> This might give the basis that MONOGENHS can also being used in
> reference to mothers.
> Then years, later, according to Jewish tradition, Hagar, after she
> was sent away by Abraham, remarried and had other children. Such
> Jewish Rabbis as Aben Ezra and the famous rabbi David Kimchi held to
> this view[2]
> They believed the people spoken of in I Chr. 5:10, known as the
> Hagarites, were descendents of this second marriage. This verse
> seems to speak of a matrilineage rather than patrilineage. This
> seems to me an unusual appellation, unless Hagar was known to have
> other children, and, because of her importance in the Genesis
> narrative, perhaps, she was known as a matriarch of a tribe.
> This may also help explain why the Hagar
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