Was Jesus begotten and what does begotten mean?

Answer 1

"Begotten" means "fathered". A father "begets" a child, whereas the child in "conceived" by the mother.

According to the familiar Bible text, John 3:16, Jesus is the "only begotten" son" of God the Creator.

Answer

Generated or procreated, as a father. To beget is to sire. "Begotten" is the past participle (the form of the verb that you use in constructing a past-tense adjective). "Only begotten son" means "only son sired by that father."

Another answer:"Begotten" is translated from the Greek word monogenes(mon-og-en-ace'), which means "single of its kind; only."

ANSWER:

No because according to the "scriptures" Jesus is not the only begotten son of god nor the first one! shocking? yes indeed but only to those whom speak without any further knowledge in the Bible or those whom have a very short memory:

Israel is called as God's firstborn in Exodus 4: 22

Exodus 4: 22 "…Israel is my son, even my firstborn".

Ephraim is also called as God's firstborn in

Jeremiah 31:9 "…For I (God) am a Father to Israel, and E'-phra-im is my firstborn."

David is called as God's firstborn as well in Psalms 89:27

Psalms 89:27 "Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth"

psalms 2:7 "I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee"

Answer:

Beget, begat and begotten are old terms which, while still in currency, are a little unfashionable. At the top of this window there are three contributions with excellent definitions of the words beget and begotten along with extra information that is vital if you want to know whether Jesus is begotten, or to understand the senses in which he is begotten.

If you want a reliable answer for this, you have to be ready and able to see the distinctions between the Biblical terms 'son', 'Son', 'firstborn' and 'first-begotten'. Two of those terms have even had more than one meaning depending on the particular historical time in which each was being used and on the specific way each was being used in any given scenario. For these reasons, it is no good pulling just a few, single verses out of the ancient scriptures and pretending that this will provide a quick and trustworthy answer.

If we take note of only three or four single verses from the whole span of the Bible, each verse thus cut off from its own, proper context, this will lead to conflict and confusion. Or, if we take only a handful of the most ancient scriptures, and fail to account for the changes and developments seen throughout the whole span of Bible history, this leaves us with a limited and biased outlook.

Of course, you might be inclined to do exactly that if you already have one specific outlook and are trying to advertise that or justify it: You would then be likely to single out and quote only those few verses that actually seem to suit your purpose. So let's take the Bible as one whole.

It is vitally important to be aware of the significance of the Biblical terms 'first-begotten' and 'only-begotten' as applied during the period in which the Greek Texts (New Testament) were being written, and especially as those terms were applied to the person of Jesus.

The word firstborn is used 109 times in the course of the entire NIV Bible; and 100 of those instances occur in the Old Testament [check my reference source seen just inside the bottom of this window]. Being a firstborn thus appears to have been something far more telling for the ancient Hebrews than it was for the later Jewish nation. In the Hebrew Bible (OT) the word is chiefly used of men, but is also used of animals (Exodus 11:5).

In its usual, non-spiritual usage firstborn simply meant, and still means, first in order of birth. From early times it appears that men felt that God should have the first claim on animals (Gen 4:4).

Among the ancestors of the Hebrews there had been ritual sacrificing of the firstborn offspring of men and animals to the deity. Because the firstborn of the Israelites were preserved from death at the time of the first Passover, every firstborn male of man and beast became consecrated to Jehovah (Exodus 13:2; 34:19). The firstborn sons were the joy and hope of all Hebrew families. A great emphasis was put on the excellence and distinction of being the first offspring of a mother's womb and, in consequence of this, being specially dedicated to God in highly exalted and responsible priestly roles.

At Sinai, after the incidents relating to the golden calf, the Levite firstborn males were then substituted for the Israelite firstborn. On the 30th day after his son's birth a father was then required to bring his firstborn to the priest and pay five shekels to redeem him from service in the temple (compare Luke 2:22-27). So, while the beasts were sacrificed, the men were redeemed.

Among the Israelites, the firstborn son possessed special privileges. He succeeded his father as the head of the house and received as his share of the inheritance a double portion. Israel, Jehovah's chosen people, in a metaphorical or spiritual sense, was his firstborn (Exodus 4:22) - and was thus entitled to special privileges as compared with other peoples. Jesus Christ has also been described as firstborn and first-begotten (Luke 2:7, 23; Rom 8:29; Col. 1:15 & 18; Heb 1:6; Rev 1:5).

The title 'firstborn' has been used to indicate a variety of special relationships with God. As God has applied the title 'firstborn' in several different contexts there is no one person, kingdom, or tribe that can lay claim to it exclusively. In the spiritual sense, to be 'firstborn' means that you are favoured and chosen of God for or a particular spiritual purpose. In the Old Testament this title and responsibility sometimes seems to have been handed down through the generations somewhat like a hot potato!

Not only is there more than one example of a 'firstborn' in the Bible, but there is also more than one type of 'firstborn'. As applied to the nation of Israel, for example, the term is prophetic. They were a people chosen for a purpose; and God says that this purpose will be fulfilled.

In a few contexts, 'sons' of God are those to whom the word of God is given (Ps 82; John 10:34); and, in this, Israel has been uniquely honoured. God thus said of Israel, "Israel is my son, even my firstborn" (see next paragraph). Any 'son' of God is expected to worship Him, and Him alone.

Exodus 4: 21-23 -- The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.'"

The role of the firstborn son of Jewish parents carried the significant privileges of the responsibility of priesthood and of birthright. If the son is the firstborn of his father, he is entitled to receive a double portion of his father's inheritance. If, as is most usual, he was also the one who opened his mother's womb - her firstborn - then (in early times) he would be set apart for priesthood. So if we are talking about the firstborn sons of Jewish parents in the context of the Hebrew Bible or Rabbinic Judaism, it is important to distinguish whether the son is the firstborn of his mother, or of his father, or of both.

In the verse Psalm 89:27 - "I also will appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth" - the word 'firstborn' here means the royal son of highest privilege and position in the kingdom of God, thus the most exalted of the kings of the earth (compare Rev. 1:5).

Another way in which 'firstborn' is used as part of a title in the Bible is in the Greek section - the New Testament, where it is applied to Jesus of Nazareth as the "Firstborn from the dead". It clearly has a different meaning here: Jesus is the only person who has bodily risen from the dead and continues to live forever. The "Church of the first-born" is a title applied to the universal Christian Church; the names of its members are written in the Lambs book of Life in heaven. (See Hebrews 12:21-23; Rev. 13:8; 12:27)

What about his other title, The Son of God / Only Son of God / Only begotten of God ? What might this mean?

In the ancient Near East the relationship between a great king and one of his subject kings who ruled by his authority and owed him allegiance, was expressed not only by the words "lord" and "servant" but also by "father" and "son". The king was spiritually anointed for service to God and to God's people, Israel. The Davidic king was the Lord's "servant" and his "son" (2 Samuel 7: 5 & 14). So, here, 'son' is used both as a royal and a spiritual term. Jesus Christ would eventually be the complete fulfilment of this in both senses (and more).

In the verse Psalm 2:7, the Lord's Anointed proclaims the Lord's coronation decree. This prophetic verse, along with others, is finally fulfilled in the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. This is clearly explained in the following Bible passage - Acts 13: 32-37 …

"We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:

'You are my son; today I have become your father.' (Psalm 2:7)

God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said,

'I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.' (Isaiah 55:3)

So it is also stated elsewhere:

'You will not let your holy one see decay.' (Psalm 16:10)

Now when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay."

There is an unmistakable difference in the ways in which the word 'begotten' is used in various Bible passages. When used on its own it usually refers to the siring of children by human fathers.

In Hebrews 1:6, and in Revelations 1:5, the word begottenis being used differently.

In those two contexts this word is part of the term "first-begotten". We know that Jesus was conceived in the womb of his human mother by the power of God, "the power of the Most High" (see Luke 1:35). Before coming into the world Jesus was the Divine, eternal Spirit known as the Word. Even when the Word took flesh and became man he still had eternal life in him (John 5:26, 39; 10:28; 1 John 5:11, 20). Hebrews 1:6 refers to this eternal generation of Jesus, the Son of God, as follows:

Hebrews 1:6 reads, "When God brings his first-begotten Son into the world, he says, `All of God's angels must worship him.'" Throughout the Bible worship is, of course, strictly reserved for God.

By contrast, the verse Revelations 1:5 refers to his unique resurrection, his bodily rising back to life, and the fact that he continues to live eternally, with his Father.

Revelations 1:5 reads, "… from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first-begotten from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." Jesus, ruler of the kings of the earth, lives on.

Starting with "Adam", human beings are created. St Luke describes the newly created Adam as a son of God. However, the 'first-begotten' of God, in the context of Hebrews 1:6, means just what it says; that, as a man, Jesus was the first and only human being conceived of God, conceived in the womb "by the power of the Most High". So as Jesus is not only human but is, thus, also divine, he clearly merits worship.

Being the first and only begotten of God, the very Son of God, it was impossible for him to remain in the grip of death: "God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." -Acts 2:24.

We have seen that, as with the words 'son' and 'firstborn', so the words 'begotten' and 'Son' also have significant spiritual meanings. As stated in one of the contributions above, the Greek word which tends to be translated simply as "begotten" is, in the Greek language, the word monogenes, which means "single of its kind; only." This tells us that Jesus was, indeed, the only, the uniquely, begotten son of God; thus his special and unique title, "The Son of God". He is also described as God's "one and only Son" in another five places throughout the New Testament (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; & 1 John 4:9)

What all this means, of course, is that Jesus is of the same Divine and eternal stock as God the Holy Spirit and God the Father. In fact, the very reason that he was persecuted and condemned by his fellow countrymen was because he openly referred to his equality with God. (See John 5:18; 10:30-33; 19:7 & Philippians 2:6) When challenged, and even in extremis, he did not deny any of his claims. Instead, he explained his unique and real identity with reference to the Scriptures. (Luke 24:27; John 5:19-47; 8:19-58; 10:34-39)

The author of Hebrews states that both, Jesus - the one who makes men and women holy - and those of us who are made holy, are of the same family; so Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:10-11). Each one of us is given a personal nature like that of Jesus; we are made sons and daughters of God when we openly accept him and receive him.

That godly nature is given to us spiritually; it gradually grows outward from the Holy Spirit who, when God is invited and welcomed, comes to live within our spirits. Then, no longer is our Maker simply the estranged God of the human spirit (the One who we have, spiritually, known only from a distance) but He is now the very Father of our spirits. (John 1:12-13; Romans 8:16; Galatians 4:4-7; Hebrews 12:8-10; 1 John 3:1-2)

We can thus be adopted into His Family even now. In eternity we will be fully members of His Family both bodily and spiritually.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known [for no one has yet seen, or can describe, our future Heavenly completeness]. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. (1 John3: 1-3)

If Jesus was, quite literally, conceived and begotten of God in the womb of a woman, then we can be born of God here and now. We only need to accept our weakness before him and spiritually accept and receive him.

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Answer 2

Generated or procreated, as by a father, and less often a mother. To beget is to sire, to be parent to. "Begotten" is the past participle (the form of the verb that you use in constructing a past-tense adjective).

Its presence in the phrase in John 3:16 of The Bible "only begotten son" is probably gratuitous, as the phrase "monogenes uios" in the original Greek is fully translated by "only son" or "unique son".