Supporting evidence that the Holy Spirit is Feminine
"The New Testament word - in the Greek - is sophia - also feminine. In fact"Sophia"Is the name for a goddess of wisdom in the Greek pantheon. It should be obvious that the Early Church, when reading the Greek Septuagint - the translation of the Old Testament for the Greek-speaking Jew - would have made the connection between that goddess and the Holy Spirit. Of course, a Gentile Christian would have known that the Holy Spirit was not a Greek goddess. Rather, he would have confessed that the Holy Spirit was the true Sophia in contrast to the pagan imitation.”
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS FEMININE
If any of you lack wisdom [Sophia], let him ask of God, that giveth
to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
- James 1:5
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him?
- Luke 11:13
Perhaps the first argument which can be offered in support of the
feminine gender of the Holy Spirit is Her association with"The
spirit of wisdom" (Exodus 28:3; Ephesians 1:17). In both the Old and
New Testaments, Wisdom is often personified in the feminine gender:
"Say that Wisdom is thy sister" (Proverbs 7:4)
"Wisdom has built a house for herself, and set up seven pillars"
(Proverbs 9:1)
Proverbs chapters 8 and 9 are in fact an extended allegory of Wisdom
depicted as a woman.
"Wisdom is known by her children" (Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:35)
"Therefore also said the Wisdom of God, I will also send them
prophets and apostles ...” (Luke 11:49). In this text our Lord is
equating the"Wisdom of God"With the Holy Spirit who provided
Divine inspiration to those who wrote the Scriptures (2 Peter 1:21).
He refers to Wisdom in the feminine gender.
The Old Testament word for"Wisdom"Is chokmah which has the
feminine ending.
The New Testament word - in the Greek - is sophia - also feminine.
In fact"Sophia"Is the name for a goddess of wisdom in the Greek
pantheon. It should be obvious that the Early Church, when reading
the Greek Septuagint - the translation of the Old Testament for the
Greek-speaking Jew - would have made the connection between that
goddess and the Holy Spirit. Of course, a Gentile Christian would
have known that the Holy Spirit was not a Greek goddess. Rather, he
would have confessed that the Holy Spirit was the true Sophia in
contrast to the pagan imitation.
The connection between the Holy Spirit and Sophia is more pronounced
in the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha are writings from the
Intertestamental Period which was contained in the Septuagint but
are not included in our modern Bibles. (They are regarded as deutero-
canonical by the Anglican Church).
For Sophia is a loving spirit... For the Spirit of the Lord
filleth the world.
- Wisdom of Solomon 1:5,7
For Sophia, which is the worker of all things, taught me: for in her
is an understanding spirit, holy, one only... For she is the
breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the
glory of the Almighty ... And being but one, she can do all
things: and remaining in herself, she maketh all things new: and in
all ages entering into holy souls, she maketh them friends of God
and prophets. For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with Sophia.
- Wisdom chapter 7 (excerpts)
And thy counsel who hath known, except thou give Sophia, and send
thy Holy Spirit from above?
- 9:7
In the writings of the Early Church, Wisdom (Sophia) is preserved as
feminine (e.g. the Shepherd of Hermes)
Jesus associates the"spirit of truth"With the Holy Spirit (John
16:13). Sophia and the Holy Spirit share identical roles (1
Corinthians 2:7-11; Romans 5:5; 1 John 5:6-7 KJV). Were it not for
the masculine bias of later theologians, the Church would likely
have acknowledged the allegorical associations in the Old Testament
as literal theophanies of the Holy Spirit.
The second argument which can be offered in support for the feminine
gender of the Holy Spirit is found in the very names ascribed to God
and the Holy Spirit. The name for God in the Hebrew language
is"Elohim.” Most scholars acknowledge that this word has a plural
ending, which some use to suggest an Old Testament anticipation of
the Trinity. What most scholars either do not know or care not to
inform their constituents is that"Elohim"Is not the plural of"El"
the masculine form of the name. It is plural of the
feminine," Elowah.” Strictly speaking, we can translate the Old
Testament name for God as"goddesses.”
Such a fact is naturally shocking to traditionalists who are largely
ignorant of the origins of their faith. We do not favor, however, a
translation of the name for God into the feminine because masculine
pronouns are used in association with"Elohim.” But we do argue that
the use of the feminine ending by Divine Revelation ought to settle
unequivocally that God's being encompasses both the masculine and
feminine genders. Indeed, when describing man as made in God's
image, the Scriptures say,
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he
him; male and female created he them.
- Genesis 1:27
Thus indicating that both genders exist in the Godhead.
That the Holy Spirit is the designated representation of the
feminine principle is further supported by the Hebrew word
for"spirit.” I quote now Jerome, the author of the Latin Vulgate:
In the Gospel of the Hebrews that the Nazarenes read it says," Just
now my mother, the Holy Spirit, took me.”Now no one should be
offended by this, because"spirit"In Hebrew is feminine, while in
our language [Latin] it is masculine and in Greek it is neuter. In
divinity, however, there is no gender.
- Jerome's Commentary on Isaiah 11
This explanation contains an astonishing admission. First, it tells
us that there was a tradition among a sect of Early Christians which
believed that the Holy Spirit was our Lord's spiritual mother.
Second, Jerome - a more orthodox figure cannot be imagined - admits
that the Hebrew word for"spirit" (ruach) is feminine, meaning that
for the 1st Century Christians - who were largely operating in the
Aramaic world (Paul's churches were tiny in comparison) - the Holy
Spirit was a feminine figure. It was lost in the translation from
the Hebrew into the Greek, and then it was changed to a masculine
gender when it was translated from the Greek into the Latin.
Finally, Jerome's theological bias leads him to believe the
distinction of gender is unimportant. He believes there is no gender
in God, therefore, it does not matter whether God is referred to as
a"he"or a"she"or an"It", presumably. With many centuries of
misogynist behavior by Christian leaders behind us, I think it does
matter. We are not allowed to change one"jot or tittle"of the Law,
and if God is represented as a being encompassing both the masculine
and feminine genders, then we are foolish to hide that fact in our
translations of the Sacred Text.
The third argument which can be offered is the example of early
Christian leaders in how they handled this doctrine. In his Homily
on Jeremiah 15, the learned Origen argued the case that the Holy
Spirit was Christ's mother. In a more practical application,
Methodius - also a leader with an impeccably orthodox reputation -
states directly that the family is meant to reflect analogously the
blessed Trinity:
[T]he innocent and unbegotten Adam being the type and resemblance of
God the Father Almighty, who is uncaused, and the cause of all; his
begotten son [Seth] shadowing forth the image of the begotten Son
and Word of God; whilst Eve, that proceedeth forth from Adam,
signifies the person and procession of the Holy Spirit.
- Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 6, p. 402
The Didascalia, a 3rd Century clergy manual, commanded the churches
that," the deaconess should be honored by you as the Holy Spirit is
honored.” Thus, officially confirming that the role of the Holy
Spirit is of a feminine nature.
It should be emphasized that we are not saying that the Holy Spirit
is a woman. Neither is God the Father a man. We are made in God's
image. God is not made in our image. We must maintain a theistic
perspective, rather than a humanistic one. The Holy Spirit is not
married to the Father, nor is She His wife in any human sense of the
word. Rather, marriage is a creaturely reflection of the glorious
unity which exists within the Trinity. As long as we remain loyal to
the Ecumenical Creeds, we will not go astray with this doctrine.
In conclusion, we affirm that it is not impious, nor does it in any
way diminish the deity of the 3rd Person, to address the Holy Spirit
as a"She"rather than as a"He.” While we do not favor the call for
a gender neutral Bible, we do believe that a new translation of the
Scriptures is in order - under the supervision of the Desposyni -
which will correct the Latin biases which have been carried over
from the Vulgate.
Supporting evidence that the Holy Spirit is Feminine
http://www.grailchurch.org/sophia.htm
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