Concealing The Divine Feminine pt. 4: Concealed in Plain view

[Issa J. Agyei]

Among the many pearls of truth that, for centuries, have purposely been concealed from those who attend churches and synagogues is the awareness that Elohim [el-lo-HEEM], the God of the Bible, is really simultaneously both God and Goddess. In the original Hebrew, the word Eloah [el-LO-ah], is the feminine form of ‘God’. The word, Eloah, literally means “Goddess”.
For centuries, theologians, motivated by divers agendas and biases, sometimes deliberately masked profound truths about Elohim, the God of the Bible. They concealed from the common person’s view the existence of the Divine Feminine within the Holy Scriptures, either by intent or through ignorance. Even though some of the Hebrew words for God have a distinct and clear-cut feminine gender, translators and commentators have almost universally covered up this knowledge. They were unwilling or unable to use the feminine word “Goddess”. Therefore, they consistently used only masculine pronouns when referring to God – even when feminine pronouns would have been more correct. There have been misunderstandings, ignorance, and even calculated conspiracies to purge the Goddess from synagogues and churches.

Even present-day Bible dictionaries and concordances are still biased, and ignore basic Hebrew grammatical rules when it comes to translating the various words for Deity. The result is that most Christians and Jews have been hoodwinked into to believing that the God of the Old Testament is exclusively male, and Christians have been misled into believing that the Holy Spirit is genderless.
When one studies the Bible in English, only, and when an individual is limited to what preachers and rabbis teach, it seems that there is no ‘real’ goddess for the People of the Covenant to worship. Those who study the Bible can easily discover that other people worshipped goddesses, and that God’s prophets condemned such practices. But it was not the worship of the true Goddess of Israel that was condemned, but the worship of other goddesses – just as the worship of other gods is forbidden.
This has left people who have felt drawn to relate to Goddess in quite a dilemma. If they have a Scripture-based spiritual background, it would seem that their worship of the Goddess is incompatible with the very Scripture on which they base their faith. If they voice their feelings to a pastor, they are almost universally discouraged. The reason is that most priests, pastors, and rabbis are graduates of theological seminaries that teach that there is no rightful Goddess in the Bible. The doctrine of churches and synagogues is deeply influenced by denominational dogma, by culture, and by the pressure of committees within their congregations. Therefore, congregants who inquire about a Divine Feminine are usually dismissed out of hand, and are dissuaded from pursuing Her. As the result, the majority of those who became seekers of the Divine Feminine feel compelled to exit Judaism or Christianity in order to pursue their quest. Many in the present are being drawn away from their spiritual heritage and millennia of tradition, attracted to the pantheon of gods and goddesses found in Wicca, or related Neo-pagan religions[2], because it seemed to them that the belief in Goddess was contrary to Christianity or Judaism. Centuries of androcentric cultural bias have resulted in a modern exodus of those feeling the call of Goddess in their spiritual lives.

Many plain and precious spiritual Scriptural teachings have been buried by the scholars of mainstream churches. For example, the many names of God have been deliberately kept from Christians and Jews. Scriptural teachings of the true nature of God, and of the plan of redemption were obscured. These were no accidents, but very conscious concealments by religious leaders. The truth “has been falsified by the lying pen of the scribes.” [Jeremiah 8:8] One of the mysteries[3] of the ancient writ is that the Goddess has been ever-present within the pages of the Bible.

The Scriptures were originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic[4] , and other Semitic languages. For that reason, the following includes a careful exposition of Hebrew words. It also includes explanations of Scripture passages, as well as comments by early church leaders. References are found in Bible, and in other ancient Hebrew and Christian texts[5].

Both Male and Female

Included among the many pearls of truth which have been intentionally concealed from nearly all churches and synagogues for many centuries is the awareness that Elohim – the God of the Bible – has both male and female attributes and aspects.
The androgynous nature of Elohim is quite evident in the account of the creation of mankind found in the first chapter of Genesis. “And God [Elohim] said, Let us make man [adam = mankind] in our own image, after our likeness…So God [Elohim] created man in the image of God [Elohim]…male and female created he them…and called their name Adam.” [Genesis 1:27, 5:2] Just as Elohim is both male and female, mankind was also created male and female.

In the original Hebrew of the Bible there is one word, Eloah, which literally means “Goddess”. Eloah is the feminine form of ‘God’. Other words describing God are also distinctly female. Hebrew nouns are usually gender-specific [although some can be gender-neutral in usage]. While some of the Hebrew words for God have a distinctly feminine gender, translators have almost universally chosen to suppress this, being unwilling to use the feminine word “Goddess”. Likewise, they have consistently used masculine pronouns when referring to God, even when gender-neutral or feminine pronouns would have been more appropriate. Most present-day Bible dictionaries, commentaries, and concordances are still biased, and ignore basic Hebrew grammatical rules when it comes to translating the words designating Deity. This has resulted in most Christians and Jews holding to the erroneous opinion that God is exclusively male. To most Christians and Jews, awareness of the Divine Feminine is not only unfamiliar, but, initially, may even seem unbelievable.

Elohim

Elohim is the Hebrew word that is most often translated as the English “God.” Elohim is gender-combined, plural word. The word Elohim is concurrently male and female, and simultaneously represents both unity and majestic plurality. Elohim is a compound of the feminine singular Eloah with the masculine plural suffix –im. The word Elohim represents a majestic, awesome God that is beyond the ability of the human mind to fully comprehend. We can comprehend some of the attributes of Elohim, but the fullness of the Godhead is beyond our understanding.
El is the masculine singular Hebrew word for God. Although specifically male, in practice, El is often gender-neutral. Eloah[8] is the feminine singular form of the same word, and is correctly translated ‘Goddess’. In Hebrew, the –oah¬, –oh or -ah suffix makes a word feminine. This is very similar to the English suffix –ess, used in such words as waitress, stewardess, or poetess. Eloah is Goddess, the feminine form of God.

Elohim is a combination of the singular feminine word Eloah, to which the masculine plural suffix –im has been added. In Hebrew, the –im suffix is normally added only used to make masculine words plural. The question that naturally arises is, Why add a masculine suffix to a feminine root? The answer is that Elohim is androgynous, being simultaneously male and female in principle and attributes.


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