Holy Spirit... female?

[visionary]

Greek uncials, the Byzantine copies, the eastern Syriac Peshitta, and the Old Latin corroborate on the Holy Spirit being a 'she'. Old Syriac that predates the Peshitta , the most ancient of the rare Old Syriac copies from the 2nd or 3rd century, written in the Palestinian Aramaic, the then common language of Israel, named the Siniatic Palimpsest, found by Mrs. Anes Lewis in the Covenant of St. Catherine in the Sinia, transcribed by Syriac Professor R.L. Bensly of Cambridge University in 1892 has the words of Yeshua in John 14:26 saying ...

But She -the Spirit - the Paraclete whom He-will-send to you- my Father - in my name - She will teach you every-thing; She will remind you of that which I have told you.

(Translation courtesy of Danny Mahar, author of Aramaic Made EZ)

 

[visionary]

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.

In the Greek texts the word for Godhead is unique. It is θειότης,anglicized as theiotes. It is the feminine derivative of the masculine theos translated as God.

The pattern of “the things that were made” that the apostle Paul is referring to in the verse are given in Genesis:

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

 

[SteveCaruso]

Indeed, the change of the Holy Spirit from feminine to masculine in Christian Aramaic languages happened at around the 7th century. The word for Spirit or /ruaḥ/ is grammatically feminine, however it is declined as a masculine noun (i.e. always took on masculine endings) so the change wasn't that visible -- only obvious in the pronouns used to refer to "Her."

 

[ErezY]

2 Corinthians 3
17
Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, [there] is liberty.

So what do you think Paul means when he said this?

 

[Elihoenai]

Male and Female created he them and all in the Father.



Matthew 1:18 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

18 And of Jesus Christ, the birth was thus: For his mother Mary having been betrothed to Joseph, before their coming together she was found to have conceived from the Holy Spirit,



John 14:17 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world is not able to receive, because it doth not behold him, nor know him, and ye know him, because he doth remain with you, and shall be in you.



John 16:14 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

14 He will glorify me, because of mine He will take, and will tell to you.

 

[sahjimira]

Wow! Whole new can of worms..very interesting

 

[Hoshiyya]

2 Corinthians 3
17
Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, [there] is liberty.

So what do you think Paul means when he said this?

Well as I see it, there's two questions in that verse, being what does it mean that "the Lord is Spirit", and what does "liberty" mean.

 

[Hoshiyya]

Indeed, the change of the Holy Spirit from feminine to masculine in Christian Aramaic languages happened at around the 7th century. The word for Spirit or /ruaḥ/ is grammatically feminine, however it is declined as a masculine noun (i.e. always took on masculine endings) so the change wasn't that visible -- only obvious in the pronouns used to refer to "Her."

"The word for Spirit or /ruaḥ/ is grammatically feminine, however it is declined as a masculine noun"

Can you give an example of such a declination ?
Just curious.

(You can make up an example if you want.)

 

[SteveCaruso]

"The word for Spirit or /ruaḥ/ is grammatically feminine, however it is declined as a masculine noun"

Can you give an example of such a declination ?
Just curious.

(You can make up an example if you want.)

No problem.

In Aramaic, nouns and adjectives are declined with endings based upon three parameters:

1. Gender - Either Masculine or Feminine. There is no neuter, but there are "default" genders for certain groups of things.
2. Number - Either Singular or Plural (and there are a few holdovers from an ancient "dual" but those are usually reserved for body parts that come in pairs).
3. State - Either Absolute (or "indefinite"), Construct (used for compounds, think of it as "[word] of"), or Emphatic (think "definite"). In Eastern Aramaic dialects (like, say Classical Syriac or late Jewish Aramaic), the Emphatic has pretty much taken over as the default state for all words with the Absolute only used in phrases. In Western Aramaic dialects (like the Galilean that Jesus spoke) the Absolute/Emphatic distinction (i.e. indefiniteness vs definiteness) was preserved. Think of it as /ha-/ in Hebrew or /ho/ in Greek.

Let's take the adjective טב /ṭāv/ which means "good" or "a good thing" and decline it over all of these permutations:

In the Masculine: (Singular - Plural)

• Absolute: /ṭāv/ - /ṭāvin/
• Construct: /ṭāv/ - /ṭāve/
• Emphatic: /ṭāvā/ - /ṭāvayā/ (or /ṭāve/ in Eastern dialects)

In the Feminine: (Singular - Plural)

• Absolute: /ṭāvā/ - /ṭāvān/
• Construct: /ṭāvaṯ/ - /ṭāvāṯ/
• Emphatic: /ṭāvta/ - /ṭāvaṯa/

There are some exceptions where a word is gramattically one gender (i.e. it takes on pronouns, verbs, and matching adjectives of one gender) but is declined like the opposite gender (either in one number, or both).

Like our word /ruaḥ/ or "spirit". It is declined as a masculine noun, but takes on feminine adjectives, pronouns, and verbs.

Examples:

• /ruḥā ṭāvtā/ = "the good spirit"
• /ruḥin ṭāvān/ = "good spirits"
• /ruḥayā ṭāvaṯa/ = "the good spirits"
• etc.

/Ruaḥ/ is in the masculine emphatic form, but the adjective is in the feminine emphatic, because despite /ruaḥ/ looking masculine, it's a feminine noun. If one were to use the masculine Emphatic adjective /ṭāvā/ paired with the Emphatic /ruḥā/ it would be improper grammatically... well-- that is until about the 7th century. Then that changed when the gender of /ruaḥ/ changed (and only when it referred to the Holy Spirit).

Does that help?

 

[Hoshiyya]

No problem.

In Aramaic, nouns and adjectives are declined with endings based upon three parameters:

1. Gender - Either Masculine or Feminine. There is no neuter, but there are "default" genders for certain groups of things.
2. Number - Either Singular or Plural (and there are a few holdovers from an ancient "dual" but those are usually reserved for body parts that come in pairs).
3. State - Either Absolute (or "indefinite"), Construct (used for compounds, think of it as "[word] of"), or Emphatic (think "definite"). In Eastern Aramaic dialects (like, say Classical Syriac or late Jewish Aramaic), the Emphatic has pretty much taken over as the default state for all words with the Absolute only used in phrases. In Western Aramaic dialects (like the Galilean that Jesus spoke) the Absolute/Emphatic distinction (i.e. indefiniteness vs definiteness) was preserved. Think of it as /ha-/ in Hebrew or /ho/ in Greek.

Let's take the adjective טב /ṭāv/ which means "good" or "a good thing" and decline it over all of these permutations:

In the Masculine: (Singular - Plural)

• Absolute: /ṭāv/ - /ṭāvin/
• Construct: /ṭāv/ - /ṭāve/
• Emphatic: /ṭāvā/ - /ṭāvayā/ (or /ṭāve/ in Eastern dialects)

In the Feminine: (Singular - Plural)

• Absolute: /ṭāvā/ - /ṭāvān/
• Construct: /ṭāvaṯ/ - /ṭāvāṯ/
• Emphatic: /ṭāvta/ - /ṭāvaṯa/

There are some exceptions where a word is gramattically one gender (i.e. it takes on pronouns, verbs, and matching adjectives of one gender) but is declined like the opposite gender (either in one number, or both).

Like our word /ruaḥ/ or "spirit". It is declined as a masculine noun, but takes on feminine adjectives, pronouns, and verbs.

Examples:

• /ruḥā ṭāvtā/ = "the good spirit"
• /ruḥin ṭāvān/ = "good spirits"
• /ruḥayā ṭāvaṯa/ = "the good spirits"
• etc.

/Ruaḥ/ is in the masculine emphatic form, but the adjective is in the feminine emphatic, because despite /ruaḥ/ looking masculine, it's a feminine noun. If one were to use the masculine Emphatic adjective /ṭāvā/ paired with the Emphatic /ruḥā/ it would be improper grammatically... well-- that is until about the 7th century. Then that changed when the gender of /ruaḥ/ changed (and only when it referred to the Holy Spirit).

Does that help?

Yes, thanks much !

Do you have any thoughts on why this change occurred ?
Doctrinal influence, or did it come from the language itself ?

 

[SteveCaruso]

There is lots of speculation, but the most evidence points towards doctrinal reasons. The idea of God being in any way feminine was a challenge at that time.

 

[ErezY]

Well as I see it, there's two questions in that verse, being what does it mean that "the Lord is Spirit", and what does "liberty" mean.

You reworded it, presenting much ambiguity. However, the verse is quite straightforward, it states 'the Lord is the Spirit'.

 

[The Lone Ranger]

That is a topic I have wondered about myself.

 

[Hoshiyya]

In the Greek texts the word for Godhead is unique. It is θειότης,anglicized as theiotes. It is the feminine derivative of the masculine theos translated as God.

The pattern of “the things that were made” that the apostle Paul is referring to in the verse are given in Genesis:

"Godhead"

It seems a better translation would be Godhood, or as other translations say, Divinity.

(To be honest guys, the term "Godhead" never made sense to me at all. Makes me think of a giant with multiple heads? I guess it is a Trinitarian thing.)

 

[ScottA]

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— John 14:16

 

[Hoshiyya]

This is the Greek, not the Hebrew. In Greek, the word for spirit is masculine. So the holy spirit would be masculine in Gk and feminine in Hebrew.

However - the word "he" does not actually occur there, but rather "e":

Westcott and Hort 1881
κἀγὼ ἐρωτήσω τὸν πατέρα καὶ ἄλλον παράκλητον δώσει ὑμῖν ἵνα ᾖ μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα,

This word is a present subjunctive active verb, in 3rd person singular.
It relates to Παράκλητον, "Helper", which is in the masculine.

 

[ScottA]

If you follow down through John 14:16, 17, and 18, Jesus identifies the Spirit as:

15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

...But, also, the scriptures attest to the fact that the female came out of man, and that we who are in Christ are as a [female] bride. In that model we would also be HIS helpmate (helper)...which is not to say, that the Helper is our helpmate, as if we were the Bridegroom.

 

[Hoshiyya]

Again, as a point of linguistic fact: The spirit is masculine in Greek, feminine in Hebrew.

In actuality, it is neither feminine or masculine, as it has no genitals. It just represents the mind of God.

 

[ScottA]

Again, as a point of linguistic fact: The spirit is masculine in Greek, feminine in Hebrew.

In actuality, it is neither feminine or masculine, as it has no genitals. It just represents the mind of God.

Hahaha no genitals

The whole male/female part of creation (in their image) does have purpose, however. It is explained from the end to the beginning, as Christ being male and the saved being as a female bride. Taking that back to Genesis, then, we can further understand that in the Groom/bride model, we likewise "came out" of the man...in that case: out of Christ.

The purpose, then, being the understanding that we are not God, but "came out" of God, and it is only through marriage that we become One with God.

 

[visionary]

Think of Mary being "overshadowed" by this female ghost. Maybe that is why angels often look female.