holy spirit in hebrew and greek

Some may still attempt to argue that the Holy Spirit is a person because the words holy and spirit are capitalized. Perhaps we go to John 16:13 and 14. The next step, as suggested by the Church of Sweden, will be our liturgy. First, in English the masculine and feminine pronouns carry more biological or physical weight than they do in the Greek and Hebrew. But back to the Holy Spirit, what do we do with it/him/her? holy spirit. Whether that is the Holy Spirit or Jesus’ human spirit is not my point here, so much as pointing out that the gender of the greek word pneuma has no indication of the gender-identification of the person whose spirit is being referred to. Second, we also have to remember that God uses human language by analogy. That means in English we are in danger of importing too much into the gender language for God in the Bible. [4], William D. Mounce argues that in the Gospel of John, when Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as Comforter (masculine in Greek), the grammatically necessary masculine form of the Greek pronoun autos is used,[5] but when Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as Spirit, grammatically neuter in Greek,[6] the masculine form of the demonstrative pronoun ekeinos ("that masculine one") is used. In the Bible, the word “spirit” is translated from the Hebrew word ruʹach and the Greek word pneuʹma.Most often, those words refer to God’s active force, or holy spirit. But the gender of a word in Greek or Hebrew has nothing to do with gender identity. Some examples include Joy In the World;[39][40] The Torah and Testimony Revealed;[41] Messianic Judaism - The Torah and the Testimony Revealed;[42] and the Union of Nazarene Jewish Congregations/Synagogues[43] ,[44] who also count as canonical the Gospel of the Hebrews which has the unique feature of referring to the Holy Spirit as Jesus' Mother. In documents produced in Syriac by the early Miaphysite church (which later became the Syriac Orthodox Church) the feminine gender of the word for spirit gave rise to a theology in which the Holy Spirit was considered feminine. The issue is about authority. [15], Some recent authors (1980s to present), while retaining masculine reference to Father and Son, have used feminine language for the Holy Spirit. ; Greek, πνεῦμα ἅγιον): Tweet. These songs made many mentions of “God”, little (or no) mention of the Father and the Son, and, in two instances, addressed the Holy Spirit as “she.”. [37][38] Messianic Judaism is considered by most Christians and Jews to be a form of Christianity. He is neither man nor woman. Now let’s compare those four statements with English. To the Hebrew, man is a unity. The Hebrew Ruach HaKodesh and the Roman Holy Spirit are two different concepts of the power of the Creator; the former sees Ruach HaKodesh as the creative force, the power of the Creator through which everything came into existence, while the latter sees it as the “third person” of the “Holy Trinity”: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three persons in one God, all Gods, yet they are one God. WD24 4AE, About us August 2020 Some people attempt to make a distinction of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer based upon the Greek prepositions “epi” and “en”. There are also some other independent Messianic groups with similar teachings. Contact us Scholars speculate that the works as such were buried there in response to a letter from Bishop Athanasius (296 – 373 AD) declaring a strict canon of Christian scripture. The point is clear: the Hebrew noun might be grammatically feminine but that doesn’t mean the thing itself is feminine or indeed necessarily has feminine characteristics. Pneuma is of course neuter. In the English we use the same word ‘another’ in both instances, but in the Greek there were two words to show this subtle difference. There the Holy Spirit is referred to as “he.” On the one hand the masculine pronoun “he” could be referring to pneuma which is neuter. The Greek Word for Spirit is “Pneuma,” In Hebrew Spirit is “Ruach” The Greek (New Testament) word for spirit is “pneuma” whereas the Hebrew (Old Testament) word for spirit is “ruach.” Both words mean: a current of air, wind, a breath in reference to either a human, demon, or the Holy Spirit of God. So, Genesis 1:2 could be legitimately translated, “the Spirit of God she was hovering over the face of the waters…”. ; “Man” and “woman” are gendered in what they refer to, but they are not grammatically gendered; It shall be eaten in a holyplace; KJV:thereof: … December 2020 In the church they are seeping into our theology and hymnody. However, in Greek the word (pneuma) is neuter. By contrast in English “she” is a much more pregnant term, if you will excuse the pun! We shouldn’t be removing God’s chosen gender language to talk about God. [45], Some scholars associated with mainline denominations, while not necessarily indicative of the denominations themselves, have written works explaining a feminine understanding of the third member of the Godhead. At the very least we must take a consistent approach. "[13], For Semitic languages, such as ancient Syriac, the earliest liturgical tradition and established gender usage for referring to the Holy Spirit is feminine. Understanding the Hebrew word ruach (and its Greek counterpart pneuma) is central to understanding why Yeshua is called "Messiah" (Mashiach, Christos). In a strange twist of irony, as our culture leaves the binary gender goal posts and heads onto the vast muddy gender-fluidity playing field it might actually help us with translation. Holy Ghost [from Greek hagion pneuma holy spirit or breath] The Holy Ghost or Spirit in the Occident usually means the Third Person of the Christian Trinity or Triune God. Scripture was written using three languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. 2 Corinthians 3:16-17. In the Old Testament it is mentioned 23 times, but in a different form: “Ru•ach Adonai,” the Spirit of God. Greek Translation. In which case we are back to square one. Pneuma (translated “spirit”) is a neuter word in the Greek. 'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Church Society is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England No. There the spirit (feminine) was troubled (feminine verb). now, when God created Adam, genesis says He "breathed" into Him, indicating that what He breathed into Adam was His spirit, because breath and spirit translate as the same word. So, we cannot argue ruach is feminine therefore we ought to translate it “she”. November 2020 Just because helper is a masculine word it doesn’t mean the helper has masculine gender. These are based on the grammatical gender of both the nouns and verbs used by the original authors for the Spirit, as well as maternal analogies used by the prophets and Jesus for the Spirit in the original Bible languages. The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible combines essential tools for Hebrew and Greek with translations that are accurate and clear. Turner, The Holy Spirit, 77. Many people assume that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, like the Father and Jesus Christ, based on references to the Spirit as "he," "him" and "himself" in the New Testament. How much we read into the gender and number of those nouns is a rather moot point. ", Susan Ashbrook Harvey, "Feminine Imagery for the Divine: The Holy Spirit, the Odes of Solomon, and Early Syriac Tradition,", Clark H. Pinnock, "The Role of the Spirit in Creation,", "God is not a sexual being, either male or female─something that was considered to be true in ancient Near Eastern religion. The Hebrew word for "spirit" (ruach) is feminine in Genesis 1:2. It perfectly describes the new man that is born into when we receive Christ as our savior. Here are four key things about the “gendered-ness” of the Greek in our New Testament: There is an overlap.) Find more words! PARAKLETOS: A Greek Word for Holy Spirit. There are biblical translations where the pronoun used for the Holy Spirit is masculine, in contrast to the gender of the noun used for spirit in Hebrew and Aramaic. b) In English a noun or pronoun that carries connotations of physical gender usually correlates to the gender of the object; Nettelhorst, Chapter Seven - Pneumatology: Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, Appendix 3 -The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament - The Occurrences of Spirit, "Gender Is an Essential Characteristic of Eternal Identity and Purpose", Ensign, Oct. 2008, 67, "Strengthening the Family: Created in the Image of God, Male and Female", Ensign, Jan. 2005, 48–49, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. God's breath, His creative power, His Holy Ruach is responsible for all that is created: the universe, the earth, and even the spirit of man. A subtle but significant shift seems to be happening. The B'nai Yashua Synagogues Worldwide,[36] a Messianic group headed by Rabbi Moshe Koniuchowsky, holds to the feminine view of the Holy Spirit. There are 3 passages that we have to consider. [10], Historian of religion Susan Ashbrook Harvey considers the grammatical gender to have been significant for early Syriac Christianity: "It seems clear that for the Syrians, the cue from grammar—ruah as a feminine noun—was not entirely gratuitous. The Gospel of Thomas is an early Christian non-canonical sayings gospel. When we use the word holy, as in a holy person, we usually associate this with a righteous or pious person. Cookies Policy It is found in earlier writings of Syriac Christianity such as the Odes of Solomon[9] and in the Gnostic early-third-century Acts of Thomas. The Holy Spirit is a δύναμις, and is expressly so called in Luke 24:49, and δύναμις ὑπιστου, Luke 1:35; but we find also πνεῦμα (or πνεῦμα ἅγιον) καί δύναμις, Acts 10:38; 1 Corinthians 2:4; and ἡ δύναμις τοῦ πνεύματος, Luke 4:14, where πνεῦμα is regarded as the essence, and δύναμις its efficacy; but in 1 Thessalonians 1:5 ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ is epexegetical of ἐν δυνάμει. What Is the Holy Spirit? In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gender is seen "as an essential characteristic of eternal identity and purpose". For example “gold” and “frankincense” are both masculine and “myrrh” is feminine; Gregory of Nazianzus in the fourth century wrote that terms like "Father" and "Son" in reference to the persons of the trinity are not to be understood as expressing essences or energies of God but are to be understood as metaphors. Jacobs, Joseph and Blau, Ludwig. THE HEBREW VIEW OF THE NATURE OF MAN. The Holy Spirit is a she. Person of the Godhead that completes the Holy Trinity: God the Holy Spirit. If we use this concept when interpreting the word holy in the Hebrew Bible, then we are misreading the text, as this is not the meaning of the Hebrew word qadosh. The Holy Spirit is a she. How to say holy spirit in Greek. To start viewing messages, select the … Turner, The Holy Spirit, 77-78. Indeed, it usually doesn’t. Ground Floor, Centre Block In English, the only alternative to “he” or “she” is “it” and “it” usually implies an impersonal object (babies sometimes being an exception). Donate now and show your support for Israel. Another word for Opposite of Meaning of Rhymes with Sentences with Find word forms … The typical form of the primary philosophic and cosmogonic triad is Father-Mother-Son with the female potency figuring both as mother, wife, and daughter of the Son. Meaning: The Holy Spirit. Answer: Martin Luther, the great Protestant reformer, wrote the following in regard to the importance of understanding Greek and Hebrew when studying the Bible: "The languages are the sheath in which the sword of the Spirit is contained." Is the Holy Spirit mentioned as God and third person of the godhead in the Hebrew and Greek Bible? In Christian theology, the gender of the Holy Spirit has been the subject of some debate in recent times. The persons of the Trinity are distinguished by the fact that they are Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [27] The LDS Church believes that before we lived on earth, we existed spiritually, with a spirit body with defined gender,[28] and that the Holy Spirit had a similar body, but was to become a member of the three personage Godhead [29] (Godhead consisting of God, or Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost). In some occasions in the Greek text, masculine verb endings and pronouns are used with the neuter gender word “Spirit" when speaking about the holy Spirit, and sometimes it is without the definite article - i.e. Nettlehorst. The holy spirit is God’s power in action, his active force. These authors include Clark H. Pinnock,[16] Thomas N. Finger,[17] Jürgen Moltmann,[18] Yves M.J. Congar,[19] John J. O'Donnell,[20] Donald L. Gelpi,[21] and R.P. Yet, despite that grammatical fact, some point to that term as proo f of a male Holy Spirit. First, in Greek and Hebrew the grammatical masculine or feminine carries a much wider range of meaning than in English, from having no indication of physical gender to being gender specific. Leviticus 7:6. Hille Business Estate When God has unambiguously used masculine language to reveal himself who are we to change God’s self-identification?! A related word, qedesh, is one who is also set apart for a special purpose but not in the same way we think of "holy," but is a prostitute (Deut 23:17). Instead of just going with my gut response, I thought it better to go back to Scripture. The word’s first use in the Bible appears in the second verse: “The Spirit of God [Ruach Elohim] was hovering over the If the divine Son uses “he”, so should we. Nettlehorst, professor at the, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The word “Spirit” in the Bible comes from the Greek word pneuma, which means wind or spirit.According to Strong’s Concordance, the word comes from the root pneó, which means “to blow,” much like the wind blows like a breath upon the earth.The person of God’s Spirit, then, blows the breath that brings all creatures to life. May 2020 Also, in Hebrew the verbs attached to those nouns take on the gender of the noun with which they are connected. The grammatical gender of the word for "spirit" is feminine in Hebrew, neuter in Greek and masculine in Latin. That doesn’t necessarily mean the objects themselves have masculine or feminine identities. Lord. Jesus was saying that He would send another The Holy Spirit in the Tanakh Read More » ... Erickson admits the idea is nonsense – therefore we must believe it). However, both of these words in Hebrew are feminine.” The Gospel of John inthe Light of Indian Mysticism, Ravi Ravindra, page 18. The same position is still held in the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church. The gender issues in culture are affecting language (see here). The word “kodesh” comes from the word “kadosh” that means “holy.” Ru•ach Ha•ko•désh is mentioned 55 times in the New Testament. Hebrew is a gendered language. This imagery is found in the fourth-century theologians Aphrahat and Ephrem the Syrian. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). http://www.theology.edu/journal/volume3/spirit.htm, More Than Just a Controversy: All About The Holy Spirit - by R.P. Although Jesus in his humanity is male in the way that men are, God in his divine being does not have male DNA and male body parts. The word’s first use in the Bible appears in the second verse: “The Spirit of God [Ruach Elohim] was hovering over the a) The Greek uses three types of grammatically gendered nouns and pronouns: masculine, feminine and neuter (Hebrew just has the first two); In Greek the word pneuma is grammatically neuter[3] and so, in that language, the pronoun referring to the Holy Spirit under that name is also grammatically neuter. Our story. The word for “spirit” (rucha, ruach) in Aramaic and Hebrew, is feminine whereas in Greek (pneuma), it is neuter in gender. HOLY SPIRIT (Hebr. God is spirit as opposed to physical or material. The “theirs/they” of the second half of each beatitude is masculine but clearly refers to all people; They see in the creation of Adam and Eve a literal image and likeness of the invisible Godhead, male and female, who is "clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made". The Greek word in verse 16 that is translated as "Comforter" in the King James Bible is "Parakletos." In Hebrew thinking, it is what man does and not what man thinks or believes. 54 RUACH HA KOIDESH (Hebrew) “The Holy Spirit ” The Infinite Spirit of God that is Holy and expressed as a central part of the Trinity Power for All the Universe. Pneuma (translated “spirit”) is a neuter word in the Greek. Greek Translation. Once again, holiness does not mean perfect. The author reiterates that God is spirit and that the Bible presents God through personification and anthropomorphism which reflects only a likeness to God.[25]. Matthew 12:31-32 Reference to the strong man’s house (Isaiah 49). 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To register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed contrast in English the and. So should we for “ Spirit ” ) is feminine in Genesis 45:27 Jacob ’ s Spirit ( feminine )... Nettlehorst, professor at the, the majority of theologians have, historically identified! General statements about Him from general statements about Him from general statements about Him general... Israelites to Greek-speaking gentiles, the word for “ Spirit ” ( ruach ) is a masculine plural.... Translating from a gendered language into a less-gendered language קֹ֥דֶשׁ NAS holy spirit in hebrew and greek of it us in studying the Bible God... Used masculine language to reveal himself who are we to change God ’ s power in action his. Man that is born into when we use the word holiness means in Hebrew neuter., more than just a Controversy: all about the Holy Spirit is the text, the of. Grammatical gender is seen `` as an essential characteristic of eternal identity purpose... 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