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Offline Poppy

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How come wisdom is a woman??
« on: July 14, 2011, 12:26:31 PM »
This is a section of a email explaining some things for me... what i want to know is....why is wisdom called Sophia?? and in proverbs it talks about wisdom being a woman so....how come is it a woman??

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After the natural structure of the immortal beings had completely developed out of the infinite, a likeness then emanated from Pistis (Faith); it is called Sophia (Wisdom). It exercised volition and became a product resembling the primeval light. And immediately her will manifested itself as a likeness of heaven, having an unimaginable magnitude; it was between the immortal beings and those things that came into being after them, like [...]: she (Sophia) functioned as a veil dividing mankind from the things above.
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Offline IsmiLiora

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2011, 12:30:13 PM »
The answer should be pretty obvious.  :angel:
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Offline ialmisry

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2011, 12:30:29 PM »
Quote from: Poppy on July 14, 2011, 12:26:31 PM
This is a section of a email explaining some things for me... what i want to know is....why is wisdom called Sophia?? and in proverbs it talks about wisdom being a woman so....how come is it a woman??

Quote
After the natural structure of the immortal beings had completely developed out of the infinite, a likeness then emanated from Pistis (Faith); it is called Sophia (Wisdom). It exercised volition and became a product resembling the primeval light. And immediately her will manifested itself as a likeness of heaven, having an unimaginable magnitude; it was between the immortal beings and those things that came into being after them, like [...]: she (Sophia) functioned as a veil dividing mankind from the things above.
The word Wisdom is feminine in the Semitic languages and Greek. Most abstracts are (I suspect because of the exasperation of men trying to figure women out).
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Offline orthonorm

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2011, 12:46:24 PM »
Gender does not sex make.

Christ is the Wisdom of God.
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Offline Poppy

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2011, 01:23:49 PM »
Quote from: IsmiLiora on July 14, 2011, 12:30:13 PM
The answer should be pretty obvious.  :angel:

haha... yeah but its nice to hear someone say it

No but why Sophia, is that a female name and a Greek word for Gods wisdom as well??
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Offline Fabio Leite

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #5 on: July 14, 2011, 02:00:03 PM »
Poppy, many languages attribute gender to all words. It does not imply they attribute a certain sex. This creates a tendency in artists to depict that particular concept with the sex corresponding to that gender, but not only with it.

For example, in Portuguese, rose is feminine and carnation is masculine. Computer is masculine, hd is feminine. Car is masculine, motorbike is feminine. And every single word besides conjunctions and certain pronouns have gender: example is masculine, the word "word" is feminine. The word "gender" is masculine. Salvation, cross, theosis, tomb, hypocrisy, envy, lust, gluttony are all feminine words. Miracle, Pentecost, bread, wine, suffering, are masculine words. And so on.

Likewise with Greek, Hebrew and many others. "Sophia" happens to be feminine. And one shouldn't read much more in that than that it is what social use determined through the centuries.

Of course some "mystics" will create metaphysical conspiracy theories to explain away plain social arbitrariness. True mystics will explain both how feminility can be wise (or not) and the same for masculinity.
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Online vamrat

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #6 on: July 14, 2011, 03:04:02 PM »
The gender of a noun frequently has no bearing whether or not the word has any genitals.  Remember, in German a table is feminine but a young girl is neutral!
« Last Edit: July 14, 2011, 03:04:28 PM by vamrat »
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Offline Kasatkin fan

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #7 on: July 14, 2011, 03:15:53 PM »
The word Sophia is "Wisdom" in Greek, and as explained above is feminine. The Gnostics, whose faith that email section seems to expound, personified a great deal of these words as Aeons, according to the gender of the word.
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Online Gamliel

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #8 on: July 14, 2011, 07:05:29 PM »
Why not call it Sophia?
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Offline Poppy

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #9 on: July 16, 2011, 10:25:55 AM »
Well i didn't know that Sophia was a Greek word before it was a name of a girl
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Offline choirfiend

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #10 on: July 26, 2011, 02:16:13 PM »
Sophia means Wisdom, and was used as a name much like we might call someone Faith or Hope today. In fact, St. Sophia's children were Faith, Hope, and Love (Pistis, Elpis, and Agape in Greek.)
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Offline Jason.Wike

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #11 on: July 26, 2011, 04:55:47 PM »
Quote from: vamrat on July 14, 2011, 03:04:02 PM
The gender of a noun frequently has no bearing whether or not the word has any genitals.  Remember, in German a table is feminine but a young girl is neutral!

In Scots Gaelic the young of everything are male!
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Offline Justin Kissel

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #12 on: July 26, 2011, 04:58:37 PM »
Quote from: IsmiLiora on July 14, 2011, 12:30:13 PM
The answer should be pretty obvious.  :angel:

This   :police:
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Offline Jason.Wike

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #13 on: July 26, 2011, 05:02:43 PM »
Quote from: Poppy on July 16, 2011, 10:25:55 AM
Well i didn't know that Sophia was a Greek word before it was a name of a girl

Originally all names were meaningful words that meant something. Ex. Herakles (Hercules) means "Hera's Glory." Oswald means "Divine Ruler." Just think of some popular Native American names, like Runningbear Comesatnight. Pretty much all names are like that, most people just don't realise it any more. :laugh:
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Offline Poppy

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Re: How come wisdom is a woman??
« Reply #14 on: July 26, 2011, 05:32:53 PM »
Quote from: Jason.Wike on July 26, 2011, 05:02:43 PM
Quote from: Poppy on July 16, 2011, 10:25:55 AM
Well i didn't know that Sophia was a Greek word before it was a name of a girl

Originally all names were meaningful words that meant something. Ex. Herakles (Hercules) means "Hera's Glory." Oswald means "Divine Ruler." Just think of some popular Native American names, like Runningbear Comesatnight. Pretty much all names are like that, most people just don't realise it any more. :laugh:

"runningbear comesatnight" ....sounds like a freaking nightmare haha...

id have to be named sleepsinthecloset ಥ_ಥ
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