Timeline

Divine Motherhood

In the Hebrew Bible and related traditions, God is sometimes described using maternal imagery such as providing care and protection, giving birth, or breastfeeding. Later Jewish and Christian writings follow this pattern and describe God acting like a mother.

Timeline

Genesis 1:27 / Isaiah 42:13
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Genesis 1:27
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.” 27 God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I now give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
2. 740–450 BCE
  
  Isaiah 42:13
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  11 Let the wilderness and its cities shout out, the towns where the nomads of Kedar live. Let the residents of Sela shout joyfully; let them shout loudly from the mountaintops. 12 Let them give the Lord the honor he deserves; let them praise his deeds in the coastlands. 13 The Lord emerges like a hero, like a man of war²⁷ he inspires himself for battle; he shouts, yes, he yells, he shows his enemies his power. 14 “I have been inactive for a long time; I kept quiet and held back. Like a woman in labor I groan; I pant and gasp. 15 I will make the trees on the mountains and hills wither up; I will dry up all their vegetation. I will turn streams into islands and dry up pools of water.
Genesis 49:25 / Neofiti Genesis 49:25
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Genesis 49:25
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough near a spring whose branches climb over the wall. 23 The archers will attack him, they will shoot at him and oppose him. 24 But his bow will remain steady, and his hands will be skillful; because of the hands of the Powerful One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 because of the God of your father, who will help you, because of the Sovereign God, who will bless you with blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and womb. 26 The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the eternal mountains or the desirable things of the age-old hills. They will be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of the prince of his brothers.
2. 300–600 CE
  
  Neofiti Genesis 49:25
  
  Targum
  
  24 But he placed his trust in the Strong One; he stretched out his hands and his arms to ask for mercy from the Strong One of his father Jacob, from under whose mighty arm all the tribes of Israel are provided for. 25 May the Memra of the God of your father be your help, and may the God of the heavens bless you with the good of the dew and the rain that come down from the heavens above, and with the blessing of the springs of the deep that rise from the earth below. Blessed are the breasts that you sucked, and the womb in which you lay. 26 May the blessings of your father be added to you, beyond the blessings with which my fathers Abraham and Isaac blessed me, which the great ones of the world, Esau and Ishmael, have coveted from the beginning. May all these blessings come and become a crown of greatness on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the pious man who was lord and ruler over the land of Egypt and was careful of the honor of his father and the honor of his brothers.
Deuteronomy 32:18 / Jeremiah 2:27
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Deuteronomy 32:18
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  16 They made him jealous with other gods, they enraged him with abhorrent idols. 17 They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods they had not known; to new gods who had recently come along, gods your ancestors had not known about. 18 You forgot the Rock who fathered you, and put out of mind the God who gave you birth. 19 But the Lord took note and despised them because his sons and daughters enraged him. 20 He said, “I will reject them. I will see what will happen to them; for they are a perverse generation, children who show no loyalty.
2. 500–401 BCE
  
  Jeremiah 2:27
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  25 Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out and your throats become dry. But you say, ‘It is useless for you to try and stop me because I love those foreign gods and want to pursue them!’ 26 Just as a thief has to suffer dishonor when he is caught, so the people of Israel will suffer dishonor for what they have done. So will their kings and officials, their priests and their prophets. 27 They say to a wooden idol, ‘You are my father.’ They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’ Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’ 28 But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them save you when you are in trouble. The sad fact is that you have as many gods as you have towns, Judah. 29 Why do you try to refute me? All of you have rebelled against me,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 31:5 / Matthew 23:36
1. 740–450 BCE
  
  Isaiah 31:5
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  4 Indeed, this is what the Lord has said to me: “The Lord will be like a growling lion, like a young lion growling over its prey. Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it, it is not afraid of their shouts or intimidated by their yelling. In this same way the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will descend to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. 5 Just as birds hover over a nest, so the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; as he passes over he will rescue it.” 6 You Israelites! Return to the one you have so blatantly rebelled against! 7 For at that time every one will get rid of the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made.
2. 70–90 CE
  
  Matthew 23:36
  
  New Testament
  
  34 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 35 I tell you the truth, this generation will be held responsible for all these things! 36 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it! 37 Look, your house is left to you desolate! 38 For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Isaiah 66:14 / John 16:22
1. 740–450 BCE
  
  Isaiah 66:14
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  12 For this is what the Lord says: “Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river, the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks. You will nurse from her breast and be carried at her side; you will play on her knees. 13 As a mother consoles a child, so I will console you, and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.” 14 When you see this, you will be happy, and your bones will sprout like grass²⁵. The Lord will reveal his power to his servants and his anger to his enemies. 15 For look, the Lord comes with fire; his chariots come like a windstorm to reveal his raging anger, his battle cry, and his flaming arrows.
2. 90–110 CE
  
  John 16:22
  
  New Testament
  
  21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress because her time has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. 23 At that time you will ask me nothing. I tell you the solemn truth, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Psalm 91:4 / Luke 13:34
1. 600–201 BCE
  
  Psalm 91:4
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  1 As for you, the one who lives in the shelter of the Most High, and resides in the protective shadow of the Sovereign One— 2 I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold, my God in whom I trust— 3 he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter and from the destructive plague. 4 He will shelter you with his wings; you will find safety under his wings. His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall. 5 You need not fear the terrors of the night, the arrow that flies by day, 6 the plague that stalks in the darkness, or the disease that ravages at noon. 7 Though a thousand may fall beside you, and a multitude on your right side, it will not reach you.
2. 75–85 CE
  
  Luke 13:34
  
  New Testament
  
  31 At that time, some Pharisees came up and said to Jesus, “Get away from here because Herod wants to kill you.” 32 But he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Look, I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work. 33 Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it is impossible that a prophet should be killed outside Jerusalem.’ 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it! 35 Look, your house is forsaken! And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Baruch 4:8 / Galatians 4:26
1. 200–50 BCE
  
  Baruch 4:8
  
  Deuterocanon
  
  6 You were not sold to the nations for destruction, but because you moved God to wrath, you were delivered to your adversaries. 7 For you provoked him who made you by sacrificing to demons and not to God. 8 You forgot the everlasting God who brought you up. You also grieved Jerusalem, who nursed you. 9 For she saw the wrath that came upon you from God, and said, “Listen, you who dwell near Zion; for God has brought upon me great mourning. 10 For I have seen the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting has brought upon them.
2. 48–55 CE
  
  Galatians 4:26
  
  New Testament
  
  24 These things may be treated as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear children; break forth and shout, you who have no birth pains, because the children of the desolate woman are more numerousthan those of the woman who has a husband.” 28 But you, brothers and sisters, are children of the promise like Isaac.
Sirach 15:2 / Wisdom of Solomon 8:2
1. 195–180 BCE
  
  Sirach 15:2
  
  Deuterocanon
  
  1 He who fears the Lord will do this. He who has possession of the law will obtain her. 2 She will meet him like a mother, and receive him like a wife married in her virginity. 3 She will feed him with bread of understanding and give him water of wisdom to drink. 4 He will be stayed upon her, and will not be moved. He will rely upon her, and will not be confounded.
2. 50 BCE – 50 CE
  
  Wisdom of Solomon 8:2
  
  Deuterocanon
  
  1 But she reaches from one end to the other with full strength, and orders all things well. 2 I loved her and sought her from my youth. I sought to take her for my bride. I became enamoured by her beauty. 3 She glorifies her noble birth by living with God. The Sovereign Lord of all loves her. 4 For she is initiated into the knowledge of God, and she chooses his works.
Galatians 4:26 / 4 Ezra 10:7
1. 48–55 CE
  
  Galatians 4:26
  
  New Testament
  
  22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 But one, the son by the slave woman, was born by natural descent, while the other, the son by the free woman, was born through the promise. 24 These things may be treated as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear children; break forth and shout, you who have no birth pains, because the children of the desolate woman are more numerousthan those of the woman who has a husband.” 28 But you, brothers and sisters, are children of the promise like Isaac.
2. 70–132 CE
  
  4 Ezra 10:7
  
  Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
  
  5 Then I left the reflections I was engaged in, and answered her in anger, 6 “You most foolish woman, don’t you see our mourning, and what has happened to us? 7 For Zion the mother of us all is full of sorrow, and much humbled. 8 It is right now to mourn deeply, since we all mourn, and to be sorrowful, since we are all in sorrow, but you are mourning for one son. 9 Ask the earth, and she will tell you that it is she which ought to mourn for so many that grow upon her.
Matthew 23:36 / Midrash Lekach Tov
1. 70–90 CE
  
  Matthew 23:36
  
  New Testament
  
  34 so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 35 I tell you the truth, this generation will be held responsible for all these things! 36 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it! 37 Look, your house is left to you desolate! 38 For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
2. 1105 CE
  
  Midrash Lekach Tov
  
  Rabbinic
  
  When the manna would fall upon the camp at night, the dew would first descend and spread out as if it were a fine cloth, so that the manna would not become soiled. Then the manna would descend upon it, and afterward another layer of dew would come upon it from above, as it says, ‘When the dew fell upon the camp at night, the manna fell upon it’ (Numbers 11:9). The dew came to protect the manna from the snakes and scorpions. The dew resembled a woman's breast: just as an infant finds nourishment there, so too the manna came down between layers of dew, and each person would open the door of his tent and find his sustenance prepared, ready for eating and drinking, fresh as though drawn from the sun and the moon.