Why does the Hebrew use a female noun for the Holy Spirit?

Question: Why is the word in Hebrew for the Holy Spirit a female noun? I am not saying God is a woman or a man. I am saying the word for Holy Spirit in Hebrew is of feminine gender.

Answer: Gender in a noun does not always mean it is referring to a male or a female.

Most words in non-English languages have gender. If in Spanish the word for "fish" is masculine (pescado), does it only refer to a male fish? No, of course not. It just means that the word for fish is expressed in the masculine gender. We English-speakers have taken out many of the gender markers on words. Other than words like "steward" vs."stewardess," most English words have no gender.

The Hebrew word for spirit, "ruach," is a feminine noun. But that simply means the word itself is expressed in that gender. Nothing more is implied.

It does not indicate that the Holy Spirit is feminine. It is simply the way that word is rendered in that language. In the Greek language of the New Testament, the word for "spirit" is "pneuma," which is a neuter noun. Basing a doctrine on the gender of a noun in Hebrew or Greek is sheer foolishness.


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