John 3:16 is the Bible in miniature and the gospel in a nutshell. But many of us who memorized John 3:16 in the older versions struggled with the phrase “only begotten Son.” It often came out “only forgotten Son,” to the amusement of our parents. Modern translations say, “His one-and-only Son.” Why the change?

The Greek word is monogenas (mon’-o-ga-nase’). The prefix mono means “one” or “only.” The word genas means “race, stock, family, class, kind, or of the same nature.” Monogenas really means “the only one of its kind.” When the New Testament began to be translated into Latin in ancient times, the first versions rendered used the Latin word unicus, meaning “unique.” It was understood that the word monogenas was the Greek equivalent of the Latin word unicus and, by extension, of the English word unique. But the great scholar, Jerome, made a critical change. Perhaps he was influenced by the theological debates of his day, or perhaps he didn’t fully understand the meaning of the Greek word. For whatever reason, when he created his famous Latin translation, the Vulgate, he didn’t use the term that had been used by earlier Latin translators, unicus. He used the word unigenitus, which meant “only begotten.”

Jerome’s translation became the standard Bible for a thousand years, and it led to many of the early English versions, including the King James Version. Today’s scholars widely agree that the word monogenes means “unique, one of a kind, one and only.” Jesus is utterly unique in human history and in the chronicles of time. He existed before the world began yet was born under Judean skies in the days of Herod the Great. He is in very nature God, yet He slipped into humanity like a hand into a glove. He is the Son of the Highest yet the Son of a Jewish virgin. He is worshipped of angels yet was crucified with thieves. He was vilified by the world but deified by the Father. He is morally perfect, yet He became sin for us. He is a Man of sorrows, yet He manufactures joy for the universe. He is the ultimate demonstration of love, for God loved the world enough to give His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. (Samuel Gordon)

Revelation 22
• The Bible’s Last Beatitude (v. 14)

• The Last Invitation (v. 17)

• The Last Warning (v. 18–19)

• The Last Words of Jesus (v. 20)

• The Last Promise (v. 20)

• The Last Prayer (v. 20)

• The Last Benediction (v. 21)

• The Last Word: Amen (v. 21)   

(Robert Gordon)