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The Holy Spirit (Rucha) — What Changed in the Bible Text

Translation choice · documented · Feminine

What the source readsthe earliest Syriac — Aphrahat, Ephrem, the Odes of Solomon — spoke of the Holy Spirit as feminine, even as 'Mother'; Rucha (ܪܘܚܐ) is a grammatically feminine noun

What this version readsthe Peshitta and later Syriac give the Spirit masculine agreement — here 'He (hu) will teach you' (John 14:26) — aligning with Greek theology: the feminine noun kept, the feminine person let go

In Hebrew ruach and in Syriac rucha the Spirit is feminine, and the early Syriac church prayed to the Spirit as 'she', even 'our Mother' (Brock). As the Syriac aligned with Greek doctrine the Spirit was masculinized — our Peshitta already reads 'He will teach you', 'He will guide you'. A third of the Godhead quietly changes gender.

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