Happy Motherhood's Day!
**User:** Did Isaiah say to God, "You are our Father"?
**Assistant:** Yes, the Prophet Isaiah mentioned the phrase "You are our Father" in more than one place, emphasizing the relationship of sonship between the people and God.
Here are the most prominent passages:
* **Isaiah 63:16:**
> "Doubtless You are our Father, though Abraham was ignorant of us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Lord, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name."
>
* **Isaiah 64:8:**
> "But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand."
>
These verses are among the powerful texts in the Old Testament that highlight the concept of the "Fatherhood of God." Isaiah emphasizes that this fatherhood is more sublime and enduring than national or ethnic ties (such as descent from Abraham or Jacob), and that it is based on creation, care, and redemption.
**User:** Did Moses say to God, "You are our Father"?
**Assistant:** Unlike the Prophet Isaiah, who used this explicit term, **there is no text in the Torah stating that Moses addressed God with the phrase "You are our Father" directly** as Isaiah did.
However, Moses referred to the concept of "God's Fatherhood" to the children of Israel in various contexts, such as a relationship of care and discipline or as the origin of creation. The most prominent examples are:
* **Deuteronomy 32:6 (In the Song of Moses):**
> "Do you thus deal with the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not **your Father, who bought you**? Has He not made you and established you?"
>
* **Exodus 4:22:**
When God commanded him to say to Pharaoh:
> "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: **Israel is My son, My firstborn**.’"
>
**The Fundamental Difference:**
While Moses used the description of "Father" to explain God's relationship to the people (as Creator and Disciplinarian), Isaiah was more frequent in using it as a form of **direct address and supplication** ("You, O Lord, are our Father"), which reflects a development in the language of prayer and the personal connection between man and God in the eras following Moses.
**User:** Is there anyone in the Old Testament other than Isaiah who said to God, "You are our Father"?
**Assistant:** Yes, this concept appeared in similar forms in the Old Testament, although the Prophet Isaiah was the most frequent user of this explicit wording in his meditations.
Here are the most prominent figures or texts that addressed God or referred to Him as a Father in a collective sense:
### 1. King David (in 1 Chronicles)
When David and those close to him presented their offerings for the building of the Temple, David prayed a famous prayer of thanksgiving in which he used this description for God, but in the context of attributing fatherhood to Israel (Jacob) and to God at the same time:
> "Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: 'Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel **our Father**, forever and ever.'" (**1 Chronicles 29:10**)
>
### 2. The Prophet Malachi (The last of the Old Testament prophets)
Malachi used a rhetorical question to confirm that God is the Father of all, in order to reproach the people for their treachery against one another:
> "Have we not all **one Father**? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another by profaning the covenant of our fathers?" (**Malachi 2:10**)
>
### 3. The Prophet Jeremiah
In the Book of Jeremiah, we find that God is the one who invites the people to call Him by the title "My Father," as a way of restoring the broken relationship:
> "But I said: ‘How I would set you among the children... And I said: ‘**You shall call Me, “My Father,”** and not turn away from Me.’" (**Jeremiah 3:19**)
>
**User:** "As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you." Where is this verse?
**Assistant:** This beautiful and moving verse is found in the **Book of Isaiah, Chapter 66, Verse 13**.
The full text is:
> **"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem."**
>
**User:** Are there other verses in the Bible about this meaning—God treating us like a mother?
**Assistant:** Yes, although describing God as "Father" is the most common, the Bible uses metaphors and emotions associated with **"Motherhood"** in several places to describe God's tenderness, care, and supreme love.
Here are the most prominent passages that carry this meaning:
### 1. The Comparison to a Mother who cannot forget her nursing child
In one of the most wonderful verses expressing emotional security, God says in **Isaiah 49:15**:
> **"Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you."**
>
### 2. The Comparison to a Hen gathering her chicks
Jesus used this comparison to express His longing to protect His people in **Matthew 23:37**:
> **"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!"**
>
### 3. The Comparison to a Weaned Child with its mother
In **Psalm 131:2**, King David describes the state of calm and serenity he finds in God by comparing it to a child who has found rest after nursing:
> **"Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me."**
>
### 4. The Comparison to an Eagle carrying its young
In **Deuteronomy 32:11-12**, God's care for His people during the journey of the Exodus is described like a mother eagle training and protecting her young:
> **"As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the Lord alone led him."**
>
### 5. Labor Pains (as a metaphorical image)
In **Isaiah 42:14**, the divine inspiration uses a strong expression to describe God's zeal and His movement to save His people:
> **"Like a woman in labor I will cry out, I will gasp and pant at once."**
>
## **أبوة الله وحنانه في الكتاب المقدس**
### **أولاً: هل نادى الأنبياء الله بلقب "أبونا"؟**
**1. نداء إشعياء النبي:**
يُعتبر النبي إشعياء من أكثر الأنبياء الذين استخدموا هذا اللقب الصريح في مناجاة الله، تعبيراً عن علاقة فداء وخلق عميقة.
* **إشعياء 63: 16:** "فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ أَبُونَا... أَنْتَ يَا رَبُّ أَبُونَا، وَلِيُّنَا مُنْذُ الأَبَدِ اسْمُكَ."
* **إشعياء 64: 8:** "وَالآنَ يَا رَبُّ أَنْتَ أَبُونَا. نَحْنُ الطِّينُ وَأَنْتَ جَابِلُنَا، وَكُلُّنَا عَمَلُ يَدَيْكَ."
**2. موقف موسى النبي:**
موسى لم يخاطب الله بكلمة "أبونا" كصيغة صلاة مباشرة، لكنه استخدم مفهوم "الأبوة" ليوضح علاقة الله بالشعب كخالق ومؤدب:
* **تثنية 32: 6:** "أَلَيْسَ هُوَ أَبَاكَ وَمُقْتَنِيَكَ، هُوَ عَمِلَكَ وَأَنْشَأَكَ؟"
* **خروج 4: 22:** "إِسْرَائِيلُ ابْنِي الْبِكْرُ."
**3. شخصيات أخرى في العهد القديم:**
* **داود النبي:** في صلاته الختامية قال: "مُبَارَكٌ أَنْتَ أَيُّهَا الرَّبُّ إِلهُ إِسْرَائِيلَ **أَبِينَا** مِنَ الأَزَلِ وَإِلَى الأَبَدِ" (1 أخبار 29: 10).
* **ملاخي النبي:** أكد على وحدة الأصل البشري بقوله: "أَلَيْسَ **أَبٌ وَاحِدٌ لِكُلِّنَا**؟ أَلَيْسَ إِلهٌ وَاحِدٌ خَلَقَنَا؟" (ملاخي 2: 10).
* **إرميا النبي:** سجل دعوة الله للشعب للعودة إليه: "تَدْعِينَنِي يَا أَبِي، وَمنْ وَرَائِي لاَ تَرْجِعِينَ" (إرميا 3: 19).
### **ثانياً: الله وصورة "الأمومة" في التعزية**
يتساءل الكثيرون عن الآية التي تصف حنان الله بحنان الأم، وهي موجودة في:
> **"كَإِنْسَانٍ تَعِزِّيهِ أُمُّهُ هكَذَا أَعَزِّيكُمْ أَنَا، وَفِي أُورُشَلِيمَ تُعَزَّوْنَ." (إشعياء 66: 13)**
>
هذه الآية ليست الوحيدة، بل يزخر الكتاب المقدس بصور جمالية تشبه رعاية الله بمشاعر الأمومة:
1. **الحب غير المشروط:** "هَلْ تَنْسَى الْمَرْأَةُ رَضِيعَهَا فَلاَ تَرْحَمَ ابْنَ بَطْنِهَا؟ حَتَّى هؤُلاءِ يَنْسَيْنَ، وَأَنَا لاَ أَنْسَاكِ" (إشعياء 49: 15).
2. **الاحتواء والحماية:** "كَمْ مَرَّةٍ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَجْمَعَ أَوْلاَدَكِ كَمَا تَجْمَعُ الدَّجَاجَةُ فِرَاخَهَا تَحْتَ جَنَاحَيْهَا" (متى 23: 37).
3. **السكينة والهدوء:** "بَلْ هَدَّأْتُ وَسَكَّتُّ نَفْسِي كَفَطِيمٍ نَحْوُ أُمِّهِ" (مزمور 131: 2).
4. **الرعاية والتدريب:** "كَمَا يُحَرِّكُ النَّسْرُ عُشَّهُ وَعَلَى فِرَاخِهِ يَرِفُّ... وَيَحْمِلُهَا عَلَى مَنَاكِبِهِ، هكَذَا الرَّبُّ وَحْدَهُ اقْتَادَهُ" (تثنية 32: 11).
### **خلاصة الفكرة:**
بينما يسيطر لقب "الأب" على مخاطبة الله للدلالة على السلطة، الحماية، والنسب، تأتي استعارات "الأمومة" لتكمل الصورة الإلهية، مؤكدة أن الله هو مصدر كل حنان ورقة وتلطف، وهو الذي يسكب التعزية في القلوب المنكسرة بلمسة تشبه حنان الأم على رضيعها.
