Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah · 6. Theological Alterations
John 1:18 — 'the unique Son' or 'the unique God'?
Handle with care. The critical editions currently print 'unique God' on manuscript grounds. Ehrman's case is an internal-evidence argument against the majority view — say so, or a trained interlocutor will produce Nestle-Aland and you will look careless.
In short
- 1.Two readings: **MONOGENES HUIOS** ('unique Son') and **MONOGENES THEOS** ('unique God').
- 2.'Unique God' is supported by the Alexandrian manuscripts; 'unique Son' by a broader geographical spread.
- 3.Ehrman's internal objection: *monogenes* means 'one of a kind' — and there can only be one God, so 'unique God' is close to incoherent.
- 4.John elsewhere calls Jesus the unique **Son** (3:16, 3:18), never the unique God.
The claim being examined
John 1:18 in many modern translations reads 'the only God, who is at the Father's side, has made him known' — a strong statement of Christ's deity.
The Islamic position
The alternative reading, 'the unique Son', is both better attested in the wider tradition and internally coherent; 'unique God' is a heightening.
Analysis
Ehrman classifies this as an anti-adoptionistic change: 'unique God' forecloses any reading in which Jesus is a Son adopted or exalted. He acknowledges the Alexandrian support for the higher reading, which is why the modern critical editions print it, and argues on internal grounds that it is secondary. Present it as a live scholarly dispute — that is what it is — rather than as a settled corruption.
From the Qur'an
Q 112:1-4
قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
Say: He is Allah, One.
From the Bible
John 1:18
Greek: monogenes theos / monogenes huios
No one has ever seen God; the unique God [or: the unique Son], who is in the bosom of the Father, has made him known.
Read it in their BibleSources
Bart D. Ehrman · Bart D. Ehrman, *Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why* (HarperSanFrancisco, 2005), ch. 6, pp. 161-162
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