Hebrew Goddesses
Overview
Topics covered in this document:
Introduction
Throughout their history, the Hebrews were scattered and immersed
in other cultures, surrounded by nations who had extensive religious
cults. Do you really think they could be surrounded by people who
worshipped all those goddesses, and not have some of it rub off on
them?
Male Noun = Male Gender?
The English language is somewhat of an oddity in the world of
languages. In most languages, including Hebrew, nouns have a
gender. The Hebrew name of God is a noun that just happens to have
a masculine gender in Hebrew. But does the gender of a noun
always imply that it represents a "male" entity?
Take the Spanish word for table, for example. El cajon
is a masculine noun. But no one would claim that all tables have
male characteristics. Could it be that the name of God falls in
the same category? Could it be that it was never intended to
represent a male deity? That it was simply a masculine
noun? That it was misunderstood by the King James translators?
I'm not saying that's the case, but simply asking you to think
about it. Form your own opinion. Don't accept the conventional
wisdom simply because it's what you've always heard. It might
turn out that conventional wisdom is true, but take a moment and
ponder it for yourself. Ask yourself some questions.
No Body = No Gender?
After all, as the medieval Jewish philosopher, Maimonides, put
it, "God is not a body, nor can bodily attributes be ascribed to
him, and He has no likeness at all." If he has no body and no
likeness, how can we empirically say that he has any
gender, whether male or female?
As a side note, that doesn't mean I'm ready to call God an
It.
Summary
In this, the Goddess Department, I have barely scratched the
surface of goddess worship among the ancient Hebrews.
By the early 1940s, archaeologists had unearthed in digs around
Jerusalem over 300 terracotta figurines of nude goddesses. And more
turn up every year. Goddess worship among the ancient Hebrews, it
appears, was much more than a passing fancy. It was an integral part
of their religion.
It's significant to note that it took a great deal of effort by
the male-dominated priesthood to erase goddess worship among the
common people. To deny that goddess worship ever existed among the
Hebrews is to ignore history.
What Next?
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