ermetic
writings from the first century AD reveal that the first century Christians used
the symbols of both male and female to express the 'light and the life' within
God. Clearly the ancient church traditions refer to the Holy Spirit in feminine rather than masculine terms. "Syriac theology (and sometimes Orthodox Theology) often regarded it as an archetype of femininity and hypostatic union
The Hebrew word for spirit (ruwach) is feminine. Furthermore, in the Old Testament the wisdom of God (Sophia) is portrayed as a female spirit (Proverbs, chaps. 8 and 9). Finally, in John's Gospel, the Holy Spirit which Jesus promises his disciples serves the feminine function of comforting and reassuring Christians whose faith is threatened by persecution. There is clear evidence that early Christians believed that the Holy Spirit was a female entity. The Gospel of the Nazarenes, used by Jewish-Christians in the post-apostolic age, contained a quotation of Jesus in which he speaks of "my mother, the Holy Spirit." The Acts of Thomas, a product of either early Syriac or Egyptian Christianity, includes hymns or liturgical prayers of invocation to the Holy Spirit addressed to "the compassionate mother ... the Feminine who reveals hidden mysteries ... and darling of the Most High's compassion. In the Gospel of Mani, we find a trinitarian doxology, derived from some ancient Christian group, which praises the power of the Father, the blessing of the Mother and the goodness of the Son.
hat ultimately
emerges from this conspectus is that, contrary to the generally held view, the
religion of the Hebrews and the Jews ( including the first Christians ) was
never without the feminine in its God-concept. At times, as in the Tahnudic and
even more so in the post-Talmudic periods, the female element in the deity was
pushed into the background. At others, as in the Biblical and again in the
Kabbalistic eras, it occupied an important place in popular theology,
occasionally even to the extent of overshadowing the male deity or the male
component of the godhead. Only in the most recent times, after the Kabbalistic
upsurge had subsided, was the female element eliminated from the God-concept
among Reform, Conservative, and non-Hasidic Orthodox Jews, The Shekinah, in the everyday tradition of Judaism, denotes the presence of God - the name is derived from the Hebrew word meaning 'to dwell'. She is the dwelling place of God, his presence, and she shines in glory. Although her name is feminine, most mainstream rabbis did not stress this but often identified the community of Israel with her. Sometimes she was understood as God's Holy Spirit. However, in the strong mystical - and for a very long time, secret - tradition within Judaism, named the Kabbalah, the Shekinah assumes her divine female form. She is the central presence in the Tree of Life, she is partner to God, and is the channel of His glory; She is in direct line with ancient Hebrew goddesses. She was understood to be a personified female, she accompanied the dispossessed Jews and mourned with them in their troubles and persecutions, and she is believed to be an intermediary between God and the world. There are many similarities between her and descriptions of Wisdom.