God’s “Only;’ His “Darling”
Many years ago, God asked of Abraham a heavy thing. “And he [God] said [to Abraham], Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee, into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Genesis 22:2). “And he [the Angel of the Lord] said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad … for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me” (verse 12). “[God said to Abraham through the Angel], because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven” (verses 16, 17).
Verses 2, 12, and 16 all contain the continuing phrase “thine only son,” yet we know that Abraham had another son, an older son, at the time, whose name was Ishmael. Therefore, in our minds we modify the statement “thine only son.” Though this particular point has been puzzling, and even troubling, for many years, we notice that in each instance in the King James Version, the word “son” in the phrase “thine only son” is in italics, which indicates it was supplied. The phrase in the original Hebrew text is simply “thine only.” Aware of this omission, the translators apparently felt compelled to proffer some kind of response to the existence of the short phrase “thine only;” that is, they felt compelled to add a word in order to explain the meaning of the expression “thine only” – “thine only … what?” Believing that the word “son” was implied and, therefore, appropriate, they added that word as an answer to the dilemma. However, instead of clarifying the situation, the addition of the word “son” further complicates it, for Christians familiar with Scripture realize at once that at the time of this incident Isaac was not Abraham’s only son. Ishmael, another son, preceded the birth of Isaac.
YACHID
Though the root meaning of the Hebrew word yachid (pronounced “yaw-kheed”) basically signifies “only,” “single,” and/or “solitary,” yet the word can have three or more varieties of application, especially when it is considered in the idiomatic sense. We have at hand six eminent Hebrew authorities to demonstrate the different varieties of application of this word.
In the case of Abraham’s son, yachid is an adjectival noun expressing quality and not procreation, generation, or derivation of personal being. Here yachid denotes uniqueness in the sense of concentrated affection or of being tenderly beloved.
It is intriguing to note that in two instances in the Psalms the scholars of the Authorized Version were forced to render this same Hebrew word yachid in a different fashion in order to provide some degree of sense – even though the rendering “my darling” would be only partially understood. How much more appropriate and exquisite would the sense be if the rendering of “darling” had been given to the text concerning Abraham in Genesis 22:2! “Take now thy son, thy darling Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah.” The same insertions should be made in verses 12 and 16 of Genesis 22.
Jesus, God’s “Darling,” praying for strength for the ordeal.
Incidentally, the rendering “thy darling” still does not fully express the thought of the Hebrew word yachid, but it certainly brings the Genesis 22 account into better focus and gives it a more understandable application, for Isaac was Abraham’s special darling son and not his only son.
Let us now tum to the King James account of Psalm 22:20. “Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling [yachid] from the power of the dog [that is, from the power of the uncircumcised Gentile and the uncircumcised-in-heart, unregenerate Jew].” And in Psalm 35:17 the Hebrew yachid is again used. “Lord [Adonai, an affectionate term referring to Jehovah], how long wilt thou look on? Rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling [yachid] from the lions.”
The context of these two verses in the Psalms concerns the crucifixion scene on Golgotha Hill. Here the holy Spirit, through the exercise of Jehovah’s omniscient power and precursory skills, documents for the sake of future posterity His foreknowledge of the most intimate innermost thoughts of Jesus while nailed to the Cross of Calvary – a thousand years in advance of the reality. Upon first examination, the expression “my darling,” “my yachid,” seems disingenuous, indeed somewhat odd. But this conclusion is far from the fact of the matter.
JESUS’ PRAYER
We pause now to digress for a moment. It seems almost necessary to engage in or resort to a purely imaginary and speculative characterization as to what transpired on that most momentous occasion, the crucifixion, when the fate of history hung in the balance. The thoughts of Jesus appear to be in the nature of a heartfelt and soul-wrenching prayer, somewhat as follows:
“Father in heaven, of this crucifixion thou hast previously fully informed me, and for this very purpose am I come into the world to give my life a ransom for many. But I did not fully realize the utter depth of human depravity that would surround me, nor even the full significance of the expression in the Psalms concerning me. I am a worm, being completely bereft of clothing and beset about by men of such bestial vulgarity who gaze upon me with roaring open mouths and devouring looks. I am at this moment confused and feel so, so alone! Did thou not say when I was baptized at Jordan in the presence of John the Baptist, ‘This is my darling, this is my beloved Son?’ Also, on the Mount of Transfiguration, did thou not voice the same opinion of me and thy plea sure and love for me? Do thou be near and stay close to me lest I weaken in my resolve in the presence of my enemies. Thou art my only hope and stay. Rescue me, hasten my death and departure, from which state thou has promised a subsequent resurrection. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”
We have resorted to this stratagem in order to give some feeling or background as to the reason why Jesus said, “my darling.” In both the New Testament and the Old Testament he was referring to the wording of the Heavenly Father concerning him. The above explanation, we believe, is not only the meaning and use of the expression “my darling” in Psalms 22 and 35, but also the contextual or true meaning of the Hebrew wordyachid in the Old Testament instances quoted thus far.
MONOGENES
We now turn our attention to the New Testament. The translators of the Authorized Version are again at fault. In converting into English the Greek account of the same incident concerning Abraham offering his son on the hill of Moriah, they used similar wording, but instead of saying, as in Genesis 22, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac,” they rendered Hebrews 11:17, “Abraham … offered up his only begotten son.” This wording in the New Testament must be rejected for the same reason – Isaac was not Abraham’s only begotten son. Did not he also beget Ishmael?
One can be sure, therefore, that the Apostle Paul did not consider the Greek word monogenes (pronounced monodge’-en-ace) to mean “only begotten” as the translators rendered it. Rather, the word should be considered as a Greek idiom of one being singularly begotten or singularly born (the latter is preferred), that is, someone remarkable and extraordinary. Hence the suggestion is here made that the Greek word monogenes should be translated in its New Testament usage as follows:
- “We beheld his glory, a glory as of [one most] singularly begotten of the Father” John 1:14).
- “No man hath seen God at any time; the [most] singularly begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath made [him] known” John 1:18).
- “For God so loved the world, that he gave the Son of himself, the [most] singularly begotten one” John 3:16).
- “In the name of the [most] singularly begotten Son of God” John 3:18).
- “God sent the Son of himself, the one [most] singularly begotten into the world” (1John 4:9).
It may be of interest to some that one of the definitions given in Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon for the word monogenes is “unique,” and in Young’s Analytical Concordance under the English word ”begotten” is “chief.”
In any event, we hope that sufficient grounds have been presented thus far to demonstrate that though Jesus in a special sense is styled “The Son of God,” yet there exists no bona fide proof that he was and is the only Son of God. The allegory that prefaces the Book of Job (1:6) states, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present them selves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.” Job 38:7 informs us, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” All of these sons of God were originally perfect. Only after some fell were those angels called demons. Thus there existed in the spirit realm other “sons of God.”
– Frank Shallieu, 1997 (extracted)