John 1:18

The Only Begotten Son

KJV Reading Defended

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Why the KJV Reading Is Retained

The KJV/TR reads 'only begotten Son,' while important early Alexandrian witnesses read 'only begotten God.'

Disputed unit

The noun following μονογενής: υἱός against θεός, with the expanded υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ kept separate.

Doctrinal variantComplex evidenceMajority Greek supportLatin supportSyriac support

Evidence assessment

In the 236-document IGNTP/ITSEE John corpus, 132 named Greek entries read υἱός and seven read θεός. GA 2192 carries the expanded υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. All twenty collatable rows in the official Vetus Latina John synopsis read unigenitus filius, and Tertullian and Hilary use the Son reading directly.

Primary support for the KJV reading

132 named entries in the selected IGNTP John corpus

King James Bible reading

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Open in Research Desk

Evidence sources

Where the evidence on this page comes from.

Sources used for the witnesses, readings, dates, and notes on this page. Complete citations appear in the References section at the end of the page.

Governing apparatus and count scope

The official IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John Greek apparatus, whose corpus is 236 selected documents including 22 supplements, together with the official Vetus Latina John synopsis and the 2021 Sahidic critical edition.

Full witness information

Earliest KJV-supporting evidence

The earliest reviewed support at a glance.

c. AD 190–200 — Hippolytus. Hippolytus quotes John 1:18 with “only-begotten Son.”

Earliest surviving Greek support: Fifth century — Codex A.

Primary support for the KJV reading

132 named entries in the selected IGNTP John corpus

The sections below preserve each supporting, competing, and related record under its proper evidence type.

Majority Text standing

“Only begotten Son”

The KJV/TR Son reading is the overwhelming numerical Majority Text reading in Greek.

Estimated Greek support: Approximately 1,610 Greek manuscripts, plus about 17 minor Son-form variations

This preserves the site's established working estimate while the selected IGNTP roster independently shows 132 Son states against 7 God states.

Source scope and denominator

The official IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John Greek apparatus, whose corpus is 236 selected documents including 22 supplements, together with the official Vetus Latina John synopsis and the 2021 Sahidic critical edition.

Greek support in the cited corpus

132 named Greek entries in the 236-document IGNTP John corpus

Greek competing evidence in the cited corpus

7 named Greek states in the 236-document IGNTP John corpus

Lectionary evidence

Lectionaries read 'only begotten Son'

Principal competing witnesses named in the snapshot

P66
P75
Codex Sinaiticus (01)
Codex Vaticanus (03)

Evidence represented on this page

Greek manuscripts

Represented

Ancient versions

Represented

Church fathers

Represented

Printed editions

No entry listed

Complete source-scoped roster

Complete roster within the stated source scope.

This roster preserves every named or grouped state recovered in the governing sources, including exact readings, competing readings, corrections, related forms, lacunae, versions, and aggregate traditions. When Maj or Byz appears on the KJV side, it marks the numerically dominant Greek transmission at that unit. The green Majority Text card above supplies the best available passage-specific estimate. The grouped siglum is then retained so it is not mistaken for one individual manuscript.

Apparatus and roster scope

The official IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John Greek apparatus, whose corpus is 236 selected documents including 22 supplements, together with the official Vetus Latina John synopsis and the 2021 Sahidic critical edition.

Greek support in cited scope: 132 named Greek entries in the 236-document IGNTP John corpus
Greek competing evidence in cited scope: 7 named Greek states in the 236-document IGNTP John corpus
Evidence classification: 132 named entries in the selected IGNTP John corpus

The noun after μονογενής

KJV/TR unit: υἱός

Greek manuscripts

Supports the KJV/TR form

02 04C2 07 011 017 028 032S 033 037 038 041 044 045 063 0141 0211 1 13 18 22 35 69 109 118 124 138 157 168 173 209 213 226 265 295 333 346 357 377 382 397 430 543 544 565 579 597 732 788 792 799 807 821 826 828 841 865 884 892 983 992 994 1009 1010 1014 1029 1071 1079 1093 1128 1192 1210 1219 1230 1241 1242 1253 1278 1293 1319 1320 1321 1344 1424 1463 1546 1561 1571 1582 1654 1689 1788 1797 2106 2193 2223 2372 2411 2561 2575 2615 2680 2713 2718 2766 2768 2786 2886

Lectionaries

Supports the KJV/TR form

L5 L17 L32 L60 L141 L252 L253 L335 L387 L425 L638 L663 L704 L735 L770 L847 L1000S L1073 L1075 L1076 L1086 L1091 L1096 L1552 L1692

Old Latin

Supports the KJV/TR form

unigenitus filius

VL2 VL3 VL4 VL6 VL7 VL8 VL9A VL10 VL11 VL11A VL13 VL14 VL15 VL27 VL29 VL30 VL33 VL35 VL47 VL48

Greek manuscripts

Related or qualified evidence

υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ

2192

Coptic

Related or qualified evidence

the conflated Sahidic form

sa1 sa3 sa4 sa5 sa9 sa13 sa134

Greek manuscripts

Competing reading

θεός

P66 P75 01 03 04* 019 33

Coptic

Non-directional evidence

reconstructed at the target

sa10 sa40 sa103 sa117 sa139 pbo

Target letters are mostly or entirely editorial reconstruction; proto-Bohairic has the phrase wholly inside restoration brackets.

Coptic

Non-directional evidence

fragmentary, unassigned

fa16

Fayumic fa16 (GA 0260 / P.Berlin 5542) is fragmentary at the target and cannot be assigned cleanly.

Deficient at the verse

Supporting witnessCitation type: Patristic citation

Quotes John 1:18 with 'only-begotten Son'

Locator: IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John Greek positive apparatus, John 1:18, word address 12; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier

Open source

Cyril of Alexandria

AD 376–444

Apparatus-level attribution

Competing witnessCitation type: Patristic citation

Strongly uses 'only-begotten God'

Locator: IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John Greek positive apparatus, John 1:18, word address 12; exact work and section are not separately identified in the current dossier

Open source

Roster distinctions

The 132 entries include manuscript, supplement and lectionary states.
The Sahidic text carries a conflated form with God language followed by “the only Son”.

Evidence notes

Important distinctions in the evidence.

The 132 entries include manuscript, supplement and lectionary states.
The Sahidic text carries a conflated form with God language followed by “the only Son”.

Evidence assessment

Why the KJV reading is retained

In the 236-document IGNTP/ITSEE John corpus, 132 named Greek entries read υἱός and seven read θεός. GA 2192 carries the expanded υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. All twenty collatable rows in the official Vetus Latina John synopsis read unigenitus filius, and Tertullian and Hilary use the Son reading directly.

Primary support for the KJV reading

132 named entries in the selected IGNTP John corpus

Evidence represented on this page

Evidence types, without turning rows into votes.

GreekRepresented

LatinRepresented

Other versionsRepresented

FathersRepresented

Printed editionsNot listed

References

Editions and works cited.

Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung. New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room. Münster: University of Münster.
New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room
Aland, Barbara, et al., eds. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28th rev. ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.
Robinson, Maurice A., and William G. Pierpont. The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 2018. Nürnberg: VTR Publications, 2018.
The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 2018
Tyndale House, Cambridge, ed. The Greek New Testament. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017.
IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John Greek positive apparatus. John 1:18, word address 12.
Open source
ITSEE Vetus Latina John synopsis. John 1:18.
Open source
Förster, Sänger-Böhm and Schulz, Kritische Edition der sahidischen Version des Johannesevangeliums (2021). John 1:18.
Open source
INTF Kurzgefasste Liste / NTVMR manuscript metadata. Physical dates for the named Greek manuscripts.
Open source
New Advent Fathers of the Church. Tertullian, Adv. Prax. 15; Hilary, De Trinitate 5.33–34.
Open source
IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John introduction and corpus scope. Selected corpus of 236 Greek manuscripts including 22 supplements.
Open source
IGNTP/ITSEE ECM John encoding instructions. Meaning of the state suffixes * C S r V used in the rosters.
Open source
ITSEE Vetus Latina John manuscript register. Identity and physical date of the VL sigla named at John 1:18.
Open source
Official Sahidic John XML dataset (University of Birmingham eData 1042). Raw Sahidic John 1:18 verse files.
Open source
Schulz, proto-Bohairic appendix to the 2021 Sahidic critical edition. Proto-Bohairic John 1:18.
Open source

The Only Begotten Son

John 1:18 in the King James Bible

Where the evidence on this page comes from.

The earliest reviewed support at a glance.

132 named entries in the selected IGNTP John corpus

Complete roster within the stated source scope.

The noun after μονογενής

Greek manuscripts

Lectionaries

Old Latin

Greek manuscripts

Coptic

Greek manuscripts

Coptic

Coptic

Deficient at the verse

Church Fathers and literary witnesses

Irenaeus

Hippolytus

Clement of Alexandria

Tertullian

Origen

Eusebius Vercellensis / Latin De Trinitate tradition

Gregory of Elvira

Gregory Nazianzen

Basil

Augustine

Hilary of Poitiers

Phoebadius of Agen

Cyril of Alexandria

Important distinctions in the evidence.

Why the KJV reading is retained

Evidence types, without turning rows into votes.

Editions and works cited.