John 1:18

John 1:18 monogenh.j qeo,j {B}

With the acquisition of î⁶⁶ and î⁷⁵, both of which read qeo,j, the external support of this reading has been notably strengthened. A majority of the Committee regarded the reading monogenh.j ui`o,j, which undoubtedly is easier than monogenh.j qeo,j, to be the result of scribal assimilation to John 3:16, John 3:18; 1 John 4:9. The anarthrous use of qeo,j (cf. John 1:1) appears to be more primitive. There is no reason why the article should have been deleted, and when ui`o,j supplanted qeo,j it would certainly have been added. The shortest reading, o` monogenh,j, while attractive because of internal considerations, is too poorly attested for acceptance as the text.

Some modern commentators ⁴ take monogenh,j as a noun and punctuate so as to have three distinct designations of him who makes God known (monogenh,j( qeo,j( o` w'n eivj to.n ko,lpon tou/ patro.j …).

[It is doubtful that the author would have written monogenh.j qeo,j, which may be a primitive, transcriptional error in the Alexandrian tradition (u=c=/;=c=). At least a D decision would be preferable. A.W.]

⁴ E.g. E. A. Abbott, Johannine Grammar (London. 1906), p. 42; J. H. Bernard, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John, I (New York, 1929), p. 31; John Marsh, The Gospel of St. John (Penguin Books, 1969), p. 112; and (in effect) Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to John, I (New York, 1966). p. 17.