The Hebrew word for spirit, ruah, is of grammatically feminine gender. This point in itself is inconclusive, for a word’s grammatical gender does not necessarily indicate the maleness or femaleness of its object. Furthermore, the biblical Greek term for spirit, pneuma, is grammatically neuter, while the long-used Latin term, spiritus, is grammatically masculine. Noting these linguistic circumstances, the biblical translator and theologian Jerome figured they signified that God transcends all categories of sexuality and is indeed Spirit.13
