Dear Mr. Editor,
I beg to submit the following queries to you.
Question: 1. John 1:1414And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14), δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ πατρός. Is there anything in this passage which necessitates or even allows departure from the regular rendering of παρά with a genitive by “from, proceeding from” &c? Is “with” (which requires rather a dative, see 1:40, 17:5, twice, &c.) permissible here? It is so given in “A new Translation.” Every other instance in John’s Gospel of παρά with a genitive seems to exclude any but the regular construction of “from” or “of.” Cf. xvi. 28, xvii. 6, 8, &c. Of course the interpretation will be affected by the translation.
Question: 2. John 1:1818No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (John 1:18). ὁ μοννογενὴς υἱός, ὁ ὤν κ.τ.λ. The reading here seems a difficult question, θεοῦ, υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, and other variants having some support. But μον. θεός appears to be supported by some uncials, cursives, versions, and Fathers. It is adopted by Alford, Tregelles, Westcott and Hort, and others. Griesbach marks υἱός as doubtful; Lachmann inserts θεός in margin. This being the case, is the evidence brought forward in favor of θεός really strong enough to shake confidence in the Received Text of this passage? Yours faithfully in Christ, W. J.
Α. 1. All the older English Versions of John 1:1414And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) favor “of” and avoid the usual rendering “from,” as does the new translation which prefers “with,” ordinarily answering to the dative. “On the part of” or shortly “of” seems best here.
Answer: 2. There is no doubt of the ancient, if not large, support, of θεός, instead of the ordinary reading υἱός, “Son.” Nevertheless Tregelles alone ventured to follow them as he does in other harsh readings, till the Cambridge Editors joined him. All others, notwithstanding א B Cpm L 33, two or three versions, and patristic allusions, prefer A and fourteen other uncials, all cursives but one, the ancient Vv. and Fathers. It is not according to the analogy of scripture to speak of “only-begotten God”; and “Sun” is the true correlate to “Father.” Alford stands with Griesbach, Lachmann, Scholz, Scrivener, Tischendorf, Wordsworth, as well as all the older critics.