Abstract
The Acts of Thomas is notable for its inclusion of prayers that identify the Holy Spirit as “Mother” and that use other feminine imagery in speaking of her. This imagery develops language for the divine spirit known from the Hebrew tradition, and incorporates also the understandings of Wisdom from Hellenistic Judaism. The present essay notes how earlier references are developed in the Syriac-speaking Christianity seen in the Acts of Thomas. In addition, the essay examines the possibility that concepts from the Hebrew tradition intersect with language used of goddesses in the region that produced the work, and explores the possibility that the link between these different religious traditions can be found in the figure of the second- and third-century Christian court philosopher Bardaiṣan.
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