Why Is God Called 'He' If God Transcends Gender?

Someone asked me this week: "If God is beyond gender, why does the Bible call God 'He'?"

It's a fair question. And it touches on something most Christians never think about: the limits of language when trying to describe the infinite.

The short answer? Hebrew had to pick a pronoun. And the one it chose tells us more about how language works than it does about God's biology.

Hebrew Has No Neuter Pronoun

Unlike English, which has he/she/it, Hebrew only has two options: masculine or feminine. Every single noun is grammatically gendered. There is no neutral third option.

When the writers of Scripture needed to name God, they had to choose.

They chose ELOHIM - a grammatically masculine word. But here's the thing: the function of that word goes far beyond gender.

ELOHIM: Masculine Grammar, Transcendent Function

ELOHIM is the very first name for God in Scripture. Genesis 1:1 opens with it:

"In the beginning, ELOHIM created the heavens and the earth."

Grammatically, ELOHIM is masculine. But functionally, it's used to describe the God who transcends every human category - including gender.

In fact, ELOHIM is a plural form (the -im ending in Hebrew marks plurality). Yet it takes a singular verb. One God, plural majesty. The grammar itself is stretching to hold something bigger than language can contain.

God Uses Feminine Imagery for Himself

Here's what makes this even more fascinating: the same God who gets called "He" throughout Scripture also describes Himself using explicitly feminine metaphors.

Isaiah 49:15 - "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!"

God compares Himself to a nursing mother. Not as a metaphor for gentleness, but as the defining image of covenant faithfulness.

Job 38:29 - "From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?"

God asks Job: who gave birth to creation? The answer, of course, is God. The imagery is explicitly maternal.

Deuteronomy 32:18 - "You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth."

Father and mother imagery in the same verse. Because God is both. And neither. And more.

The masculine pronoun isn't limiting God. It's just the best tool Hebrew had.

Why Masculine, Then?

If God transcends gender, why didn't Hebrew pick a feminine pronoun instead? Or create a neutral one?

Because ancient Hebrew - like most ancient languages - associated grammatical masculinity with authority, power, and transcendence. It wasn't about biology. It was about function.

The masculine form was the linguistic tool for expressing "beyond human limitation." It's the same reason kings and rulers were referred to with masculine titles even when the ruler was a woman (see: Deborah in Judges 4-5).

God isn't male. But the pronoun that carries the weight of ultimate authority in Hebrew is masculine.

And so, Hebrew used it.

The Pronoun Is a Tool, Not a Statement

Here's the bottom line: the pronoun "He" for God is a grammatical necessity, not a theological claim about God's gender.

God is spirit (John 4:24). God has no body. No chromosomes. No biological sex.

When we call God "He," we're using the best linguistic tool we have to describe someone who is fundamentally beyond all human categories.

It's like trying to describe a four-dimensional object using three-dimensional language. The words will always fall short. But we use them anyway, because they're the closest we can get.

What This Means for Us

Understanding that "He" is a grammatical tool - not a biological statement - should actually expand how we see God, not limit it.

God is not male. But God is also not an impersonal force. The pronoun keeps God relational - someone we can know, not just something we acknowledge.

And when Scripture uses feminine imagery for God, we should lean into it just as deeply as we do the masculine language. God is the mother who will never forget you. God is the one who gave birth to all of creation.

Both are true. Both are essential. And both remind us that God is always more than our language can hold.

How Other Languages Handle This

Interestingly, every language that translates the Bible faces this same challenge.

Spanish uses "Él" (he). French uses "Il" (he). German uses "Er" (he). All masculine.

But languages like Finnish, which does have a gender-neutral pronoun (hän), still choose to use forms that carry authority and transcendence - because that's what the source text is doing.

The pronoun choice is not about God's biology. It's about finding the linguistic tool that best expresses God's authority, power, and otherness.

In every language, translators have to make the same call the Hebrew writers made: which pronoun carries the weight of ultimate reality?

And in most languages, that pronoun is grammatically masculine - not because God is male, but because that's the form associated with transcendence.

What About Jesus?

Some people point to Jesus as proof that God is male. After all, Jesus was incarnated as a man.

True. But the incarnation is not a statement about God's eternal gender. It's a statement about God entering into human history at a specific time and place.

Jesus was born into first-century Jewish culture. In that context, a male incarnation was necessary for His message to be heard. A female rabbi would not have been able to gather disciples, enter synagogues, or speak with the authority Jesus carried.

God chose the incarnation that would accomplish the mission.

But Jesus Himself used feminine imagery for His own ministry. In Matthew 23:37, He compares Himself to a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings.

Even in the incarnation, the masculine form is a tool - not a limit.

Why This Matters

If you've ever felt like the Bible's language for God was limiting - or if you've struggled with the "He" pronoun because it seems to exclude women - this is why studying the original languages matters.

The text isn't saying what English makes it sound like it's saying.

The Hebrew writers were doing the best they could with the tools they had. And what they were saying was this: God is beyond all of it. Masculine grammar, feminine imagery, transcendent reality.

Language has limits. God doesn't.

And when you understand that, the pronouns stop being a stumbling block and start being what they were always meant to be: signposts pointing to someone far bigger than words can hold.

Practical Implications for How We Talk About God

So what does this mean for how we pray, how we preach, how we talk about God in everyday conversation?

Should we stop using "He"? Should we use "She" sometimes? Should we use "they"?

Here's my take: use the language that helps you encounter God as personal and relational, not as an abstract force.

The pronoun "He" does that for most people, because it's rooted in Scripture and tradition. It reminds us that God is not an idea - God is someone we can know.

But don't let the pronoun become an idol. If someone says "she" for God because that helps them grasp that God is as tender as a nursing mother, let them. Scripture gives us permission to do that.

The goal is not grammatical correctness. The goal is encountering the living God.

And however we get there - through masculine pronouns, feminine imagery, or the tension between the two - we're doing what the Hebrew writers did: using the best tools we have to point to the One who is always beyond our language.

Go Deeper

This is exactly why tools like Sola Bible App exist - to help you access the richness of the original languages without needing a seminary degree. When you see ELOHIM in the text, you're not just seeing "God." You're seeing a word that's trying its best to hold the infinite.