Begat and Begotten

 

 

I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have

begotten thee. Palms 2:7

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

For unto which of the angels said he at any time, 

Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? Psalm 2:7

And again, 

I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?  2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chron. 17:13

And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, 

And let all the angels of God worship him. Deut. 32:43 (see Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint)

And of the angels he saith, 

Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. Psalm 104:4

But unto the Son he saith, 

Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.  Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.  Psalm 45:6,7

Hebrews 1:5-9

 

The Elizabethan Begat and Begotten does not have a modern equivalent.

beget (v.)

Old English begietan "to get by effort, find, acquire, attain, seize" (class V strong verb, past tense begeat, past participle begeaton), from be- + get

(v.). Sense of "to procreate" is from c. 1200, generally used of the father only. Similar formation in Old Saxon bigitan, Old High German pigezzan, Gothic bigitan "to get, obtain." Related: Begot; begotten.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/beget 

In English law the begotten is a lawful heir, though not a son by procreation. The heir will be recognized with all filial rights. The Meaning of Begotten in the Bible and Creed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAKKjODpSmA

Now look at Psalms 2:7 in this light.

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

Jesus is the eternal Son, so when God began His plan...He, as the Father, made a lawful decree that Jesus would be His heir, without having to be procreated to be a son through generation.

The illustration of this is Abraham's forgotten son, Eliezer.

Genesis 15:2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus? ” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

Eliezer was Abram's servant, but could not inherit his possessions because he was not his procreated son. For Eliezer to be his lawful heir Abram had to lawfully begat Eliezer, before witnesses, as his son in word similar to Psalms 2:7.

You are my son; today I have become your father.

From that day forward Eliezer was legally Abrams son.

What does this mean and why is it important?

Genesis 1:1 says IN the beginning.

So creation is occurring IN a period called "the beginning."

When did it start?

You are my son; >>today<<< I have become your father.

When did it end?

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

After The Father begat His Son by decree, creation started with the Heavens along with all the angels and creatures. We have to extrapolate detail from the Bible about heaven. Read Hebrews 1 in this light about the spiritual realm.

Once the kingdom of heaven was finished...then came the creation of the physical realm...our universe.

This why the word begat and begotten is an important theological word that was lost over time as our language was changed.