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Biblical Revelation in Chinese Writing, part 3

Genesis 1:2 says,

² The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

We also read in Genesis 1:6, 7,

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.

Thus the Bible explicitly speaks of waters below and waters above, separated by the raqia (firmament, expanse).

The Chinese word for “Spirit” is 靈. At the top is: 雨 (yǔ), “rain.” Throughout Chinese tradition, rain was viewed as a heavenly blessing descending from above. The character was originally a picture, not a compound built from independent radicals. Nonetheless, when we separate the radicals on which “rain” is constructed, we see three main components: 一 (heaven, sky, above), 冂 (cover, canopy, perhaps a cloud layer), and interior dots, which represent water drops descending.

Thus, Heaven + Cover + Water = Rain

This parallels the Hebrew conception of rain. Isaiah 55:10, 11 says, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven… so will My word be.” We see Heaven above, the clouds covering the sky, and water descending to earth. The Chinese visual structure captures precisely this sequence within the word for Spirit. Hence, Spirit is associated with rain, much like we see in biblical symbolism connecting the former rain and the latter rain to the outpouring of the Spirit. The structure of the modern character aligns well with both Chinese symbolism and biblical imagery of rain descending from heaven. Deuteronomy 11:14 says,

¹⁴ that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil.

Joel 2:23 adds,

²³ … For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, the early and latter rain as before.

Under the Chinese word for “rain” (in the middle) appear three mouths.: 口口口. The ancient idea is often understood as speaking, invocation, prayer, or communication. In very old interpretations, these mouths were associated with prayers offered to heaven.

The biblical prophet often functions as one who hears from heaven, speaks God's word, and communicates it to mankind. So we read in 1 Kings 17:1,

¹ Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

At the bottom of the 靈 is 巫 (wū), “a mediator, one who communicates between heaven and earth, or even a worker of magic.” Biblical priests and prophets essentially were called as mediators, representing God to the people or the people to God. In ancient China, the 巫 served as an intermediary between the heavenly realm and mankind. It pictures two men 人人 separated by 工 (gōng), meaning “work, labor, craftsmanship.” The oracle-bone and bronze forms of 巫 often appear as a figure engaged in ritual activity.

This led some traditional commentators to understand 巫 as referring to a spiritual power operating between heaven and earth. In a biblical sense, it is a mediator between God and men, who exercises spiritual gifts and callings; in a non-biblical sense, it can mean a worker of magic.

These are the components of the Chinese word for Spirit.