More of the Biblical God as Mother

[dreamer_easy]

This is very interesting, I had no idea!

Deuteronomy 32:18 (NIV):

You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
you forgot the God who gave you birth.

Now this gets more interesting when you investigate the original Hebrew: according to scripturetext.com, the word rendered above as "fathered" could also be translated as "to bear young, to act as midwife". I think, though we're pretty safe with "gave you birth", since the Hebrew word, meaning "twist", is used to refer to a mother writhing in labour.

Now, the NIV renders Deuteronomy 32:11 thus:

like an eagle that stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them on its pinions.

But the KJV is explicit about the eagle's gender:

As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:

Then again, the ASV has:

Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
That hovers over its young,
He spread His wings and caught them,
He carried them on His pinions.

Well, here's the Hebrew. thegameiam, is it a lady eagle or a gentleman eagle - or can we not tell? :)

If you're interested, there are further examples in Isaiah 42:13-14, Isaiah 45:9-10, Psalm 90:2, and Numbers 11:12. biblegateway.com is a brilliant resource.

Comments

[qthewetsprocket.livejournal.com]

biblegateway.com is a brilliant resource.

ooh - they've got the wycliffe new testament! that wily yorkshireman. ;) anyway, they are indeed a brilliant resource, because i used them to find that passage i was telling you about yesterday. it's isaiah 66:12:

For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; then you will be nursed, you will be carried on her hip and trotted [lovingly bounced up and down] on her [God's maternal] knees.

in context, the 'her' jehovah is ostensibly talking about here is zion, and most other translations carry on the metaphor of being nursed and mothered by "zion"...the amplified version is the only one that gives any indication of the mother in question actually being god. which is one reason why i like it so much - it gives you the nuances in language that other translations might miss out on.

of course, the richest examples of god-as-feminine in the old testament are references to 'wisdom' as 'she'...it sounds suspiciously like the early jewish religion may have appropriated a pagan goddess and absorbed her into its own doctrine here. anyway, 'wisdom' is referred to as a feminine entity who was with god from the beginning of creation (sound famliar? she and The Word must have had a lot to talk about)...but is an intimate part of god, and flows forth freely from him. the most examples are, i think, in the book of wisdom, but you can find mentions here and there in proverbs and kings and stuff.

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

Proverbs: "Wisdom has a house with seven pillars".

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

I'm not clear on this, but I have read that the Hebrew term ruach elohim, the Spirit of God, is feminine. (And plural to boot.) The shekhinah, the Presence of God, is also feminine, or at least the word is.