Why is Jesus the Only-begotten Son of God?

Many Christians are used to calling Jesus the “only begotten Son” of God. This is because the most popular rendering of the most popular Bible verse, John 3:16, comes from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The Greek word for “only begotten” in is the adjective monogenēs (μονογενής), which means “only-kind” or “unique”.

Monogenēs is used in Hebrews 11:17:

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten [monogenēs] son, (KJV)

According to the KJV, Hebrews 11:17 describes Isaac as Abraham’s “only begotten son”. Of course, Isaac was not literally Abraham’s “only begotten son”, since Abraham had at least one other begotten son: Ishmael. Rather, monogenēs here communicates that Isaac was an “only-kind” or “unique” son to Abraham.

Hebrews 11:17 mentions a time when Abraham was tested or “tried” (KJV). This refers to the Binding of Isaac in Genesis chapter 22. In Genesis 22:2, God said to Abraham:

“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (ESV)

The Hebrew word for “only son” here is yāḥiyḏ (יָחִיד), which means “only-kind; unique”—just like the Greek word monogenēs. In fact, during the time of Jesus and the early Christians, Jews used the Greek word monogenēs as the primary equivalent for the Hebrew word yāḥiyḏ.

In the Hebrew text of Genesis 22:2, God refers to Isaac three times in one mention: “(1) your son, (2) your only-kind whom you love, (3) Isaac.” This highlights the intensity of Abraham’s affections for Isaac. Isaac was monogenēs to Abraham not because he was the only son that Abraham begot, but because Abraham loved him so much that he was irreplaceable—hence, “only-kind; unique”.

Interestingly, John 3:16 is written in such a way that recalls the language of Genesis 22:2.

• In John 3:16, the Greek expression for “his only Son” (ESV) is literally, “his son, his only-kind”.
• Likewise, in Genesis 22:2, the Hebrew expression for “your son, your only son” is literally, “your son, your only-kind”.

The message is unmistakable: While God commanded Abraham, “Take now your son, your only-kind, whom you love,” yet “God loved the world that he gave his son, his only-kind”—so that anyone who believes in Jesus will be saved.