Monogenes: ‘only begotten’ or ‘one of a kind’?

In more recent times some scholars have advanced the view that the Greek word μονογενης (monogenes) does not mean ‘only begotten’, as in the Authorised (King James) Version, but ‘one of a kind’ or ‘unique’ or something equivalent which omits the concept of ‘begotten’.1 This article considers whether the concept of ‘begetting’ or ‘derivation by birth’ properly belongs to μονογενης, or whether the word simply means ‘one of a kind’ or ‘unique’. Both the etymology and usage of μονογενης are examined. It is concluded that the concept of ‘begetting’ or ‘derivation by birth’ does properly belong to μονογενης, so that it is correctly translated ‘only begotten’, and that translations which omit the concept of ‘begotten’ are probably driven more by a theological motive than by impartial consideration of the evidence.

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