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The Divine Feminine: The Biblical Imagery of God as Female
Book by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott
119 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1983
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July 2, 2024
A MARVELOUS PRESENTATION OF THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott (born 1932) is Professor Emeritus at William Paterson University, and was (temporarily) a stylistic consultant for the New International Version of the Bible. She is an active member of the Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus, and Christian Lesbians OUT. [NOTE: page numbers below refer to the original 119-page paperback edition.]
She wrote in the first chapter of this 1983 book, “Vernard Eller tells us in … The one and only truly concrete personal word to depict the human race… is MAN… Because Eller has overlooked the biblical images of God as female, which are the subject of this book, he assumes that Israel’s God is depicted as exclusively masculine… As we shall be seeing, however, the biblical authors did indeed move the feminine principle into the godhead. For those who accept trinitarianism, it will be striking that all three persons of the divine triad are depicted in feminine as well as masculine images.” (Pg. 2, 4)
She explains, “I want to explore now … the many individual Christians through the ages who read the Bible with such alertness that they have noticed and utilized the female imagery included there… It should be obvious from this list that on the whole, more men than women have explicitly recognized the feminine principle in the godhead. None of these people had been influenced by ‘subjective, liberationist, human-centered theology.’ … By utilizing imagery of God as female, they were very simply following the usage of Scripture and the guidance of their own inner experience… If the God with whom male mystics wanted to unite was described in male language, it became difficult for them to utilize metaphors of sexual union. Some monks solved that problem by depicting themselves or their souls as the brides of Christ, but others did so by making God the female parent with whom they could achieve physical union in the womb or at the breast.” (Pg. 8, 10-11)
She provides many biblical examples of female imagery for God: “‘Therefore doth God submit himself to the comparison to a MOTHER in the Prophet Isaiah [49:15].” [John Donne] (Pg. 12) “Isaiah 42:14 uses a simile of Yahweh’s experiencing labor pains… Yahweh speaks: ‘From the beginning I have been silent, I have kept quiet, held myself in check, I groan like a woman in labor, I suffocate, I stifle.’” (Pg. 15) The apostle Paul “did not hesitate to use female images concerning himself: He wrote to the Christians at Galatia, ‘I must go through the pain of giving birth to you all over again, until Christ is formed in you’ [4:19].” (Pg. 17) “Obviously, Moses [in Num 11:12-13] is saying that since God was the mother who conceived and gave birth to the children of Israel, then God should be the one to carry and suckle them and find meat for them to eat.” (Pg. 21) “Isaiah 66 depicts Zion as a woman giving birth to the sons who will defeat her enemies.” (Pg. 33)
She also suggests, “Let us consider, for instance, Isaiah 49:15: ‘Does a woman forget her baby at breast, or fail to cherish the on [or daughter] of her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you.’ Although this passage does not use direct simile or even metaphor, an analogy is established. God’s love is like a woman’s love for her sucking child… Clearly the comparison of God’s love with the love of a nursing mother indicates that in the author’s eyes, such motherlove is the MOST constant, MOST reliable, and MOST consistent of all forms of human caring.” (Pg. 20)
She clarifies, “I would like to emphasize that reclaiming the femininity of these images is not intended to reinforce stereotypes of women as gentle and men as stern and unresponsive. The point of reclaiming the female component in the supposedly masculine God of the Bible is rather to affirm both the masculine and feminine components in every human being.” (Pg. 28) She also explains, “Since the Hebrew word for Spirit is feminine, and the Greek word for Spirit is neuter, there is no earthly reason for referring to the Spirit as masculine---except for the assumption that God is masculine! I have therefore left out the Jerusalem Bible’s masculine pronoun for Spirit.” (Pg. 35)
She points out, “Jesus MODELLED the full equality of males and females; to have introduced DIRECTLY a female image of God would at the time have been misunderstood as a reversion to paganism’s multiplicity of divinities. Jesus did utilize word-pictures of God as female… But one good thing about word-pictures is that their significance does not dawn on anybody who is not ready or able to receive them. Jesus’ cultural surroundings made ‘Our Father and Mother in heaven’ an impossibility; our cultural surroundings make it not only possible but necessary. With the advantage of the whole Hebrew and Christian Scriptures to guide our thinking, we are enabled to understand that recognizing Yahweh’s female component is not a reversion to paganism, but rather a deepening toward a fuller and healthier orthodoxy.” (Pg. 61)
She speculates, “Perhaps Jesus had Psalm 123 in mind when he told a story about a female homemaker who clearly is identified with the godhead. The story is recorded in Luke 15, which depicts Jesus as telling three stories to the tax collectors, sinners, scribes, and Pharisees who were gathered around… [The second] is the story of a woman who lost one of her valuable silver coins, which she sought for relentlessly, despite the fact that she still had nine others safe within her keeping… we are led to the recognition that the FINDER… is compared to none other than God… Why have we not heard more about the fact that Jesus compared God to a woman?... Jesus was also affirming and empowering human females by allowing them the same privilege accorded to males: to see their own nature represented in the godhead.” (Pg. 64)
She acknowledges, “my own sense is that it is more in accordance with biblical imagery as a whole to interpret all three stories as depicting a godhead that is properly understood as both masculine and feminine… To depict the godhead as containing two male persons and one female person is politically unwise, since it leaves the female forever outvoted in a two-to-one power bloc. (It may sound facetious to speak of a power struggle within the godhead, but women’s experience in patriarchy has taught us to be wary about the images we use.) More importantly, from the standpoint both of good literary interpretation and good theology, it is best to follow the overall usage of Scripture, which is to attribute both male and female characteristics to the divine One. It is patriarchy that has caused the female God-imagery of the Bible to be as scarce as it is.” (Pg. 65)
She also proposes, “Matthew 13:33 records that Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’ … there is clear evidence that in the case of this particular parable, the leaven is a positive symbol and the bakerwoman is an image of God… Jesus introduced a positive symbol first, then showed that corruption can infiltrate… in Matt 13:33, Jesus directly compares the kingdom of heaven to the yeast itself: ‘The kingdom of heaven is LIKE THE YEAST.’ No negative image follows.” (Pg. 79-80)
After quoting Luke 11:27-28 [‘Happy the womb that bore you’], she comments, “Jesus replied, ‘Still happier are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’ Jesus was certainly not downing either motherhood or his own mother; he was pointing out that the focus should not be on the VEHICLE by which Mary did the will of God but rather on the TENOR of her attitudes and her actions.” (Pg. 102)
In the final chapter, she notes, “When all is said and done, the Bible contains MASSIVELY more masculine God-language and male God-imagery than female imagery. People who prefer male supremacy are, of course, delighted by that fact… My own sense is that it is perfectly natural for the Bible to contain a vast preponderance of masculine God-language, springing as it does out of a deeply patriarchal culture…. Nothing would seem more natural to them than to honor god by exclusively masculine references. And nothing would seem more Unnatural to them than to introduce the female and the feminine into their descriptions of the divine. Yet, as we have seen, they did exactly that! Not very often, of course. But the miracle is that they ever used ANY images of God as female at all.” (Pg. 110)
This is probably the fullest “biblical” treatment of female images of God, and will accordingly be “must reading” for anyone seriously studying such gender-related issues.
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott (born 1932) is Professor Emeritus at William Paterson University, and was (temporarily) a stylistic consultant for the New International Version of the Bible. She is an active member of the Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus, and Christian Lesbians OUT. [NOTE: page numbers below refer to the original 119-page paperback edition.]
She wrote in the first chapter of this 1983 book, “Vernard Eller tells us in … The one and only truly concrete personal word to depict the human race… is MAN… Because Eller has overlooked the biblical images of God as female, which are the subject of this book, he assumes that Israel’s God is depicted as exclusively masculine… As we shall be seeing, however, the biblical authors did indeed move the feminine principle into the godhead. For those who accept trinitarianism, it will be striking that all three persons of the divine triad are depicted in feminine as well as masculine images.” (Pg. 2, 4)
She explains, “I want to explore now … the many individual Christians through the ages who read the Bible with such alertness that they have noticed and utilized the female imagery included there… It should be obvious from this list that on the whole, more men than women have explicitly recognized the feminine principle in the godhead. None of these people had been influenced by ‘subjective, liberationist, human-centered theology.’ … By utilizing imagery of God as female, they were very simply following the usage of Scripture and the guidance of their own inner experience… If the God with whom male mystics wanted to unite was described in male language, it became difficult for them to utilize metaphors of sexual union. Some monks solved that problem by depicting themselves or their souls as the brides of Christ, but others did so by making God the female parent with whom they could achieve physical union in the womb or at the breast.” (Pg. 8, 10-11)
She provides many biblical examples of female imagery for God: “‘Therefore doth God submit himself to the comparison to a MOTHER in the Prophet Isaiah [49:15].” [John Donne] (Pg. 12) “Isaiah 42:14 uses a simile of Yahweh’s experiencing labor pains… Yahweh speaks: ‘From the beginning I have been silent, I have kept quiet, held myself in check, I groan like a woman in labor, I suffocate, I stifle.’” (Pg. 15) The apostle Paul “did not hesitate to use female images concerning himself: He wrote to the Christians at Galatia, ‘I must go through the pain of giving birth to you all over again, until Christ is formed in you’ [4:19].” (Pg. 17) “Obviously, Moses [in Num 11:12-13] is saying that since God was the mother who conceived and gave birth to the children of Israel, then God should be the one to carry and suckle them and find meat for them to eat.” (Pg. 21) “Isaiah 66 depicts Zion as a woman giving birth to the sons who will defeat her enemies.” (Pg. 33)
She also suggests, “Let us consider, for instance, Isaiah 49:15: ‘Does a woman forget her baby at breast, or fail to cherish the on [or daughter] of her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you.’ Although this passage does not use direct simile or even metaphor, an analogy is established. God’s love is like a woman’s love for her sucking child… Clearly the comparison of God’s love with the love of a nursing mother indicates that in the author’s eyes, such motherlove is the MOST constant, MOST reliable, and MOST consistent of all forms of human caring.” (Pg. 20)
She clarifies, “I would like to emphasize that reclaiming the femininity of these images is not intended to reinforce stereotypes of women as gentle and men as stern and unresponsive. The point of reclaiming the female component in the supposedly masculine God of the Bible is rather to affirm both the masculine and feminine components in every human being.” (Pg. 28) She also explains, “Since the Hebrew word for Spirit is feminine, and the Greek word for Spirit is neuter, there is no earthly reason for referring to the Spirit as masculine---except for the assumption that God is masculine! I have therefore left out the Jerusalem Bible’s masculine pronoun for Spirit.” (Pg. 35)
She points out, “Jesus MODELLED the full equality of males and females; to have introduced DIRECTLY a female image of God would at the time have been misunderstood as a reversion to paganism’s multiplicity of divinities. Jesus did utilize word-pictures of God as female… But one good thing about word-pictures is that their significance does not dawn on anybody who is not ready or able to receive them. Jesus’ cultural surroundings made ‘Our Father and Mother in heaven’ an impossibility; our cultural surroundings make it not only possible but necessary. With the advantage of the whole Hebrew and Christian Scriptures to guide our thinking, we are enabled to understand that recognizing Yahweh’s female component is not a reversion to paganism, but rather a deepening toward a fuller and healthier orthodoxy.” (Pg. 61)
She speculates, “Perhaps Jesus had Psalm 123 in mind when he told a story about a female homemaker who clearly is identified with the godhead. The story is recorded in Luke 15, which depicts Jesus as telling three stories to the tax collectors, sinners, scribes, and Pharisees who were gathered around… [The second] is the story of a woman who lost one of her valuable silver coins, which she sought for relentlessly, despite the fact that she still had nine others safe within her keeping… we are led to the recognition that the FINDER… is compared to none other than God… Why have we not heard more about the fact that Jesus compared God to a woman?... Jesus was also affirming and empowering human females by allowing them the same privilege accorded to males: to see their own nature represented in the godhead.” (Pg. 64)
She acknowledges, “my own sense is that it is more in accordance with biblical imagery as a whole to interpret all three stories as depicting a godhead that is properly understood as both masculine and feminine… To depict the godhead as containing two male persons and one female person is politically unwise, since it leaves the female forever outvoted in a two-to-one power bloc. (It may sound facetious to speak of a power struggle within the godhead, but women’s experience in patriarchy has taught us to be wary about the images we use.) More importantly, from the standpoint both of good literary interpretation and good theology, it is best to follow the overall usage of Scripture, which is to attribute both male and female characteristics to the divine One. It is patriarchy that has caused the female God-imagery of the Bible to be as scarce as it is.” (Pg. 65)
She also proposes, “Matthew 13:33 records that Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’ … there is clear evidence that in the case of this particular parable, the leaven is a positive symbol and the bakerwoman is an image of God… Jesus introduced a positive symbol first, then showed that corruption can infiltrate… in Matt 13:33, Jesus directly compares the kingdom of heaven to the yeast itself: ‘The kingdom of heaven is LIKE THE YEAST.’ No negative image follows.” (Pg. 79-80)
After quoting Luke 11:27-28 [‘Happy the womb that bore you’], she comments, “Jesus replied, ‘Still happier are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’ Jesus was certainly not downing either motherhood or his own mother; he was pointing out that the focus should not be on the VEHICLE by which Mary did the will of God but rather on the TENOR of her attitudes and her actions.” (Pg. 102)
In the final chapter, she notes, “When all is said and done, the Bible contains MASSIVELY more masculine God-language and male God-imagery than female imagery. People who prefer male supremacy are, of course, delighted by that fact… My own sense is that it is perfectly natural for the Bible to contain a vast preponderance of masculine God-language, springing as it does out of a deeply patriarchal culture…. Nothing would seem more natural to them than to honor god by exclusively masculine references. And nothing would seem more Unnatural to them than to introduce the female and the feminine into their descriptions of the divine. Yet, as we have seen, they did exactly that! Not very often, of course. But the miracle is that they ever used ANY images of God as female at all.” (Pg. 110)
This is probably the fullest “biblical” treatment of female images of God, and will accordingly be “must reading” for anyone seriously studying such gender-related issues.
March 12, 2022
An important book which points out the Biblical passages that portray God as female. Some of these I was vaguely familiar with, God who carries us in her womb as a Mother carries a fetus, God who gives birth to Her people, and God who nurtures Her people at Her breasts.
Other examples were unknown to me, God like a Mother eagle, God like a Mother bear, and God as Mother hen. Most surprising to me was the chapter on God Our Ezer, which you’ll have to read for an explanation.
This book is well worth the read to get a different view of God than has been traditionally portrayed. It’s also very useful if you know someone who has been abused by a male father figure, and for them the idea of a male God may be repulsive, but when presented with the image of the infinite God as female, may be more receptive.
Other examples were unknown to me, God like a Mother eagle, God like a Mother bear, and God as Mother hen. Most surprising to me was the chapter on God Our Ezer, which you’ll have to read for an explanation.
This book is well worth the read to get a different view of God than has been traditionally portrayed. It’s also very useful if you know someone who has been abused by a male father figure, and for them the idea of a male God may be repulsive, but when presented with the image of the infinite God as female, may be more receptive.
February 16, 2020
This is a concise walk through "biblical imagery of God as female," just as the title claims. Readers will find brief yet compelling descriptions of female representations of God in scripture. "The Divine Feminine" is an important contribution to accessible biblical studies that help expand awareness about a biblical God that is not, in fact, purely male in design. It is enough to stir the imagination, and footnotes at the end of each chapter provide clues toward heftier reads for those inclined to deeper study. If your experience of the biblical God is predominantly male, pick up this book!
June 28, 2022
I was hoping for exegetical arguments that, regardless of whether I disagreed with them, might have sharpened my thinking and made me pay more careful attention to the text. This book is not that. There was no attempt at exegesis, nor even coherent argument, and at times the statements bordered on the ludicrous (ie, attempting to find significance in the author's dream vision of God as an eagle, and whether or not this should be classified as a masculine or feminine image).
April 14, 2023
While the author did bring up a few good points that were rather thought-provoking (for example, I really liked her chapter on God as ezer), overall I found that the book contained some rather poor exegesis of Scripture. Many of the author’s conclusions were reached through mere assumptions and sometimes even illogical links as opposed to genuine study of the Bible. Her final chapter was full of woke ideology which I found rather disappointing.
July 9, 2018
This was just what I was hoping for: a concise but thorough survey of the feminine imagery in the Bible for God. I also appreciated that each image was read on its own as well as through historical interpretations, drawing particularly on medieval readers. I especially appreciated Mollenkott's readings of Naomi and "Lady Wisdom" in Proverbs.
April 9, 2021
A concise and accessible book that covers a variety of female images/metaphors for God. I appreciated how this author emphasizes the importance of expanding our understanding of God, not to the exclusion of male metaphors, but to include fuller, richer, more mysterious metaphors. This would be a great book to discuss with a group or use for personal study.
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October 31, 2025This is easy to read with short chapters that pack in a lot of material (without being dense!). You don't have to read the chapters in order. This book is great for a general audience. I've read and studied quite a bit on this topic and still came away with plenty of new insights.
July 23, 2025
Dry, but fascinating.
March 6, 2025
a great/clear resource.
February 18, 2025
Two 1/2 stars are being generous. The Divine Feminine is an extremely short, easy read that is not dense at all and easy to pick up and read in an hour or two. It requires a little background knowledge of scripture, but nothing that anyone who has picked up a 'Baby's First Bible' before wouldn't already have. The problem lies in the lack of facts; I am admittedly a feminist theology apologist, but the lack of information backed up by both biblical and historical citations quickly became frustrating. Mollenkott focuses instead on opinion-- well-formulated and explained opinion, but still opinion. The main points she makes surrounding God's feminine role felt pre-decided, with scripture being twisted to fit them instead of the points being informed by scripture. Then comes the fact that, excuse my French, this book is bioessentallist as *fuck*. I expected very sex-centered and binarist language walking in, as I do for most discussions of historical gender roles, but Mollenkott seemed determined to define God through the most limiting cisgender lens she could think of. I'm more than okay with Genesis being the documentation of God's labor pains, or Christ having a vulva for a side wound, but Mollenkott refuses to see past the simplified vagina=woman understanding of sex and gender, even when it would help her argument to branch out. Truly, there are better feminist and queer reads out there on the exact same topic.
January 6, 2016
This was full of alot of really compelling arguments, as well as a couple of less-than-compelling ones. I read it because someone literally put it into my hands and recommended it, but it was not a tough one to get through. A few points that I found thought provoking were the one about how we equate God with being a father and almost a husband, so it makes sense that fathers and husbands are often seen as god-like. I also always like the mentions of medieval symbols and beliefs (it is fascinating that they thought that bears were born as amorphous masses that were licked into shape and being by their mother bears). I guess that I just wasn't super invested in this book because I don't consider myself a Christian. In my world, the supreme being or whatever is so beyond genders and gendered language that I don't even really think about it. But alot of the world does, so it's good to be aware.
April 17, 2012
This book was published back in 1986, but sadly, the need for such a volume is still there. It beautifully portrays the feminine aspect of the divine nature in a series of everyday images: midwife, homemaker, dame wisdom and a number of different female animals, to name a few, providing balance in an understanding of a God that has been predominantly shown to be masculine. Ultimately, it points to the concept that God is non-gender specific.
December 21, 2014
This book examines female God images in scripture. The images inclde God as midwife, Shekinah, pelican, ezer, mother eagle and mother hen, among others. The author celebrates these images, what they reveal to us about God,and how utilizing these images can strengthen our relationships with the Divine and with one another.
December 14, 2007
Good overview of the biblical passages that include images and metaphors for God as female. God as mother, midwife, lover, etc. Nice resource.
July 15, 2009
Really brief chapters, but full on insight. She stayed true to her subtitle and referenced feminine images in both the old and new testament.
January 23, 2013
I read this for a class I took at the U of Iowa my junior year of high school: Images of Women in the Bible.
June 6, 2014
reprinted in 2014 but this copy I read was from 1982.
Very interesting concepts.
Very interesting concepts.
August 21, 2007
could be better researched.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews