pronoun for "God"

God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).

Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.

In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.

While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”

In Kouya, Godié, Northern Grebo, Eastern Krahn, Western Krahn, and Guiberoua Béte, all languages of the Kru family in Western Africa, a different kind of system of pronouns is used (click or tap here to read more):

In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.

Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”

In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)

Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”

In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )

In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)

The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.

Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as the closely related Indonesian and Malay. In the latter two languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).

See also first person pronoun referring to God.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Gender of God .

Translation: Chinese

在现代汉语中，第三人称单数代词的读音都是一样的（tā），但是写法并不一样，取决于性别以及是否有生命，即男性为“他”，女性为“她”，动物、植物和无生命事物为“它”（在香港和台湾的汉语使用，动物则为“牠”）。这些字的部首偏旁表明了性别（男人、女人、动物、无生命事物），而另一偏旁通常旁提示发音。

到1930年为止，基督教新教《圣经》经过整整一百年的翻译已经拥有了十几个译本，当时的一位圣经翻译者王元德新造了一个“神圣的”代词“祂”，偏旁“礻”表示神明。一般汉语读者会立即知道这字的发音是tā，而这个偏旁表示属灵的事物，因此他们明白这个字指出，三位一体的所有位格都没有性别之分，而单单是上帝。

然而，最重要的新教圣经译本（1919年的《和合本》）和天主教圣经译本（1968年的《思高圣经》）都没有采用“祂”；虽然如此，许多其他的圣经译本采用了这个字，另外还广泛出现在赞美诗和其他基督信仰的书刊中。（资料来源：Zetzsche）

《吕振中译本》的几个早期版本也使用“祂”来指称“上帝”；这个译本的《新约》于1946年译成，整部《圣经》于1970年完成。克拉默斯（Kramers）指出：“‘他’的这种新写法（即‘祂’）产生了一个小问题，就是在指称耶稣的时候，是否一律使用这个敬语代词？《吕振中译本》遵循的原则是，在称呼耶稣这个人的时候，用一般的‘他’，而在称呼耶稣神性的时候，特别是升天之后的耶稣，则用尊称‘祂’。”

Translator: Simon Wong

Translation commentary on Luke 7:39

Exegesis:

ho Pharisaios ho kalesas auton ‘the Pharisee who had invited him.’

eipen en haeutō ‘he said to himself.’

houtos ei en prophētēs ‘if this man were (really) a prophet,’ but, in the Pharisee’s judgment, he is not. houtos suggests contempt. As v. 16 shows, people considered Jesus a prophet.

tis kai potapē hē gunē hētis haptetai autou ‘who and of what sort the woman is who clings to him,’ with estin understood. For potapos cf. on 1.29; here it is used with a note of contempt, as appears from the explanatory clause that follows, i.e. hoti hamartōlos estin (see below).

hoti hamartōlos estin ‘that she is a sinner,’ explaining tis kai potapē.

Translation:

For invited see on 14.7. The rendering may have to coincide with that of “asked to eat with him” in v. 36.

Said to himself, cf. on 3.8.

If this man were … (etc.). The speaker does not expect his supposition to come true, as is indicated in some languages by the use of a modal verbal form, a comparable suffix joined to the verb or, as here, to the noun ‘prophet’ (Javanese), or a specific adverb, particle, or conjunction (Bahasa Indonesia RC), but in other languages (e.g. Batak Toba) the mood is left implicit and to be concluded from the context, i.e. from the fact that in Jesus’ behaviour towards the woman there is nothing to corroborate the supposition.

Know, i.e. realize, recognize.

Who and what sort of woman this is. The double predicate ‘who and what sort’ may make necessary that the introductory verb is repeated, as e.g. in, ‘he would already know who this woman (is), he would also know the manner-of life of this woman,’ or with some variation, ‘he knows this woman … and recognizes her behaviour’ (Batak Toba). Shifting to a single predicate the rendering of the phrase may become, ‘who this woman is’ (Sranan Tongo), ‘the doings (lit. the-like-this-and-like-that) of this woman’ (Sundanese), ‘what kind of individual this woman is.’

For she is a sinner, preferably, ‘that (or, namely, that) she is a sinner.’ This interpretation implies that this clause is also governed by the introductory ‘he would have known.’

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 7:39

Paragraph 7:39

7:39a

When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as saw this is literally “seeing.” It refers to seeing what the woman did for Jesus in 7:38.

he said to himself: The phrase he said to himself refers to what the Pharisee thought. He did not speak his thoughts aloud. In many languages it may be more natural to translate this as:

he thought
-or-
he said in his head/mind/heart

7:39b–e

If this man were a prophet, He would know…she is a sinner: The thoughts that the Pharisee had in 7:39b–d imply that before the woman came, he thought that Jesus might be a prophet. However, after Jesus allowed the woman to touch him in 7:38, the Pharisee thought that Jesus could not really be a prophet. The Pharisee thought this because of certain ideas that he had about prophets:

(1) He believed that God would reveal to a prophet what the prophet needed to know. As a prophet, Jesus would know that the woman was immoral.

(2) He believed that a prophet would never let an immoral woman touch him because that would cause him to be ritually “unclean.”

So the Pharisee believed that Jesus must not know anything about this woman. That caused the Pharisee to wrongly conclude that Jesus was not a prophet.

Another way to translate this is:

This man must not be a prophet because a prophet would know about this woman who is touching him. He would know what kind of woman she is. A prophet would know that she is a sinner. ⌊A prophet would never let such a woman touch him, but this man has allowed it.⌋

7:39b

If this man were a prophet: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as this man is literally “this (one).” It probably expresses disrespect for Jesus. The whole clause indicates serious doubt that Jesus was a prophet. Here is another way to express this doubt:

If this man really were a prophet (Good News Translation)

prophet: A prophet was a person who spoke on behalf of God. He told people what God revealed to him. God gave some prophets power to work miracles. Some ways to translate this are:

a spokesman for God
-or-
a man who speaks God’s words
-or-
God’s message-speaker

It is good to use a general term that does not focus only on foretelling the future. Although prophets did foretell the future, they also gave people other messages from God. They especially told people to stop sinning and to obey God.

When choosing a term for prophet, consider how you will distinguish prophet from other words which are similar in meaning such as “angel,” “apostle,” and “preacher.”

See also the note on “prophet” at 1:70 and prophet in the Glossary.

7:39c-d

He would know who this is and what kind of woman is touching him: The phrase know who this is and what kind of woman is touching him refers to knowing personal information about the woman, such as her name and where she lived. It does not imply that Jesus could not see the woman.

The phrases who this is and what kind of woman is touching him mean the same thing. The Pharisee is using repetition for emphasis. Another way to translate this is:

who this woman is who is touching him (Good News Translation)

what kind of woman is touching Him: The Pharisee assumed that Jesus did not know that this woman had a bad reputation as an immoral person.

touching Him: The phrase touching Him refers specifically to the woman’s actions of kissing Jesus’ feet and anointing them with perfumed oil. Be sure that the expression you use here does not imply any inappropriate action. In some languages you may need to use a more specific expression. For example:

anointing him

7:39e

for she is a sinner: There are two ways to interpret the Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for:

(1) It means that. It introduces something that Jesus would have known if he were a prophet. For example:

that she is a sinner (NET Bible)

(New American Standard Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, NET Bible, Revised English Bible)

(2) It means for or because. It connects with the implied information that a Rabbi would not let a sinful woman touch him: “⌊And he would not let her touch him⌋ because she is a sinner.” For example:

for she is a sinner (Revised Standard Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, King James Version; probably God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

sinner: The word sinner refers to someone who habitually offends God. The ways a person may offend God include doing and thinking things that God does not approve. A person may also offend God by his attitudes and by not doing what God wants him to do. Some ways to translate sinner are:

person who sins
-or-
someone who does not obey God
-or-
wrongdoer

In this context the Pharisee used the word sinner to imply that the woman had committed sexual sins. You may be able to translate it in a similar way as you translated “sinful” in 7:37. See the note on “a sinful woman from that town” in 7:37a.

General Comment on 7:39c–e

The Pharisee thought that Jesus should have known:

(a) who the woman was;

(b) what kind of woman she was;

(c) that she was a sinner.

These facts are quite similar and there are various ways to combine them. For example:

…he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives! (Good News Translation)
-or-
…he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner! (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
…he would know that the woman touching him is a sinner! (New Century Version)

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