There exists a bias within English Bible translations which were translated by committees when it comes to assigning a pronoun to the spirit of God. For example, in the original Greek text for Acts 5:32 and 8:16, the word “spirit” (pneuma) is neuter in gender, and does not therefore, in itself, denote personality. Yet, despite this fact, few are the number of English translations where this fact can be verified by the average, non-Greek-reading reader. Interestingly, those translations where neuter pronouns are found preserved, most often they are translations which were performed by a single translator, and not by committee. This point can be seen in the following two passages:
In Acts 8:16, the immediate antecedent to the pronoun is “spirit,” and here, as in Acts 5:32, it is neuter in gender. Yet only three major English translations performed by a committee renders the associated pronoun with a neuter “it.” These exceptions are:
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Author: Philip P. Kapusta
Keywords: Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost, Spirit of God, Spirit of Yahweh, Spirit of YHWH, God's spirit, YHWH's spirit, Yahweh's spirit, The Spirit, Spirit of Elohim, Shekinah, Shekhinah, Divine spirit, pneuma, pronoun, neuter, masculine pronoun
Bible reference(s): Acts 5:32, Acts 8:16
Source: Philip P. Kapusta.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.