Divine Feminine Version (DFV) Working Document

Last Updated 10/31/14

In the course of our deliberations, we agreed to several guidelines, including the following:

1. Our Bible version will be based on the United Bible Society’s Fourth Edition of the Greek New Testament.
2. The generic masculine with reference to humanity will be changed to be gender-inclusive.
3. “God” will consistently be rendered “Godde.”
4. “Father” with reference to Godde will generally be rendered “Mother.”
5. In Mark 14:36; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6, “Abba, Father” will be rendered “Amma, Mother.”
6. Pronouns with reference to Mother Godde and the Holy Spirit will consistently be rendered as feminine rather than neuter or masculine.
7. Pronouns with reference to Jesus will consistently be rendered as masculine, regardless of whether the reference is to Jesus’ incarnate state or his exalted state.
8. We will render “Lord” (kyrios) as “Lady” and “King” as “Queen” when used of Godde.
9. When it is unclear whether the term kyrios applies to Jesus or Godde, we will generally render it “Lady” instead of “Lord.”
10. Names of matriarchs will be inserted alongside names of patriarchs in the text.
11. Pronouns with reference to the devil will consistently be rendered as neuter rather than feminine or masculine.
12. The term “the Son of Man” will be rendered “the Son of Woman.”
13. We will not use gender-neutral terms with reference to specific people, like “fathers” and “sons” in parables.
14. “The kingdom of God” will be rendered as “The reign of Godde.”
15. The introduction to Jesus’ parables will be rendered as “compare” instead of “like” (cf. Luise Schottroff, The Parables of Jesus).
16. People with disabilities will not be described by their disabilities (e.g., “those who are blind” instead of “the blind”).
17. “Church” or “assembly” will be rendered as “community.”
18. We will use “just” for “righteous” and “justice” for “righteousness.”
19. We will use the word “bondservant” for doulos instead of “slave” or “servant.”
20. We will use the word “partner” instead of “husband” or “wife” where appropriate.
21. We will use the word “trust” for “faith” and “believe.”
22. Pistis christou will be rendered as a subjective genitive in Paul.
23. We will use the words “sacrilege” or “slander” instead of “blasphemy.”
24. We will use the words “wrongdoing(s)” or “offense(s)” — or occasionally where appropriate, “guilt(y)” or “errant” — for hamartia instead of “sin.”
25. We will include the Gospels of Mary and Thomas in an appendix.

Essay: The Divine Feminine Version (DFV) of the New Testament: Basic Principles

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