WatchmanOnTheWall
Well-known member
Welcome Tiger 2
Your's is the best response and retort I've had here:
I used to believe this but since discovering this gender issue I am not 100% sure. The purpose of this thread is to try and tease out what is really going on and you have given me food for thought. But as the Greek uses neuter for the Holy Spirit which classes it as not mature does this mean it is labelling it as a child or young woman (like Mary was when she conceived)? rather than a 'thing'? Is there a way of knowing this from the text?
Your's is the best response and retort I've had here:
You mean when there is no gender the OT 'usually' uses a feminine gender but not always! This there for begs the question why didn't they use a masculine gender? (I don't know the answer to this, but do you?)Chair replied to Tambora:
You are both absolutely correct about the Hebrew grammar, of course!
If Holy Spirit had been a mature person instead of a thing, it would have been in either the masculine or the feminine in both Hebrew and NT Greek!
For example, 'woman,' ' 'mother,' 'goddess,' 'maiden,' 'maidservant,' 'princess,' etc. are in the feminine gender in BOTH the NT and the OT.
And 'God,' 'man,' 'priest,' 'prophet,' 'father,' 'prince,' etc. are in the masculine gender in BOTH the OT and the NT.
But holy spirit is in the feminine gender in the OT (which has no neuter gender and most often uses the feminine gender instead).
Furthermore the NT Greek does use a neuter gender. And since 'holy spirit' in the NT is in the neuter gender, it means that it cannot be a mature person, but is something: A force or energy which God uses in numerous ways.
I used to believe this but since discovering this gender issue I am not 100% sure. The purpose of this thread is to try and tease out what is really going on and you have given me food for thought. But as the Greek uses neuter for the Holy Spirit which classes it as not mature does this mean it is labelling it as a child or young woman (like Mary was when she conceived)? rather than a 'thing'? Is there a way of knowing this from the text?