Spirit

"breath; air; strength; wind; breeze; spirit; courage; temper; Spirit." This noun has cognates in Ugaritic, Aramaic, and Arabic. The word occurs about 378 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew.

First, this word means "breath," air for breathing, air that is being breathed. This meaning is especially evident in Jer 14:6: "And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons…." When one's "breath" returns, he is revived: "…When he [Samson] had drunk [the water], his spirit [literally, "breath"] came again, and he revived…" (Judg 15:19). Astonishment may take away one's "breath": "And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table,… there was no more spirit in her [she was overwhelmed and breathless]" (1Kings 1:10-5). Rûah? may also represent speaking, or the breath of one's mouth: "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Psa 33:6; cf. Exod 15:8; Job 4:9; Job 19:17).

Second, this word can be used with emphasis on the invisible, intangible, fleeting quality of "air": "O remember that my life is wind: mine eyes shall no more See good" (Job 7:7). There may be a suggestion of purposelessness, uselessness, or even vanity (emptiness) when rûah? is used with this significance: "And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them …" (Jer 5:13). "Windy words" are really "empty words" (Job 16:3), just as "windy knowledge" is "empty knowledge" (Job 15:2; cf. Eccl 1:14, 17, "meaningless striving"). In Prov 11:29 rûah? means "nothing": "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind…." This nuance is especially prominent in Eccl 5:15-16: "And he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath labored for the wind?"

Third, rûah? can mean "wind." In Gen 3:8 it seems to mean the gentle, refreshing evening breeze so well known in the Near East: "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool [literally, "breeze"] of the day…." It can mean a strong, constant wind: "… and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night …" (Exod 10:13). It can also signify an extremely strong wind: "And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind …" (Exod 10:19). In Jer 4:11 the word appears to represent a gale or tornado (cf. Hos 8:7). God is the Creator (Amos 4:13) and sovereign Controller of the winds (Gen 8:1; Num 11:31; Jer 10:13).

Fourth, the wind represents direction. In Jer 49:36 the four winds represent the four ends of the earth, which in turn represent every quarter: "And upon Elam will I bring the four winds [peoples from every quarter of the earth] from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come." Akkadian attests the same phrase with the same meaning, and this phrase begins to appear in Hebrew at a time when contact with Akkadian-speaking peoples was frequent.

Fifth, rûah? frequently represents the element of life in a man, his natural "spirit": "And all flesh died that moved upon the earth,… All in whose nostrils was the breath of life …" (Gen 7:21-22). In these verses the animals have a "spirit" (cf. Psa 104:29). On the other hand, in Prov 16:2 the word appears to mean more than just the element of life; it seems to mean "soul": "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits [nasb, "motives"]." Thus, Isaiah can put nepesh, "soul," and rûah? in synonymous parallelism: "With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early …" (Isa 26:9). It is the "spirit" of a man that returns to God (Eccl 12:7).

Sixth, rûah? is often used of a man's mind-set, disposition, or "temper": "Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile" (Psa 32:2). In Ezek 13:3 the word is used of one's mind or thinking: "Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirits, and have seen nothing" (cf. Prov 29:11). Rûah? can represent particular dispositions, as it does in Josh 2:11: "And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you …" (cf. Josh 5:1; Job 15:13). Another disposition represented by this word is "temper": "If the spirit [temper] of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place …" (Eccl 10:4). David prayed that God would "restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit" (Psa 51:12). In this verse "joy of salvation" and "free Spirit" are parallel and, therefore, synonymous terms. Therefore, "spirit" refers to one's inner disposition, just as "joy" refers to an inner emotion.

Seventh, the Bible often speaks of God's "Spirit," the third person of the Trinity. This is the use of the word in its first biblical occurrence: "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Gen 1:2). Isa 63:10-11 and Psa 51:12 specifically speak of the "holy or free Spirit."

Eighth, the non-material beings (angels) in heaven are sometimes called "spirits": "And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him" (1Kings 22:21; cf. 1Sam 16:14).

Ninth, the "spirit" may also be used of that which enables a man to do a particular job or that which represents the essence of a quality of man: "And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him …" (Deut 34:9). Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion of his "spirit" (2Kings 2:9) and received it.

primarily denotes "the wind" (akin to pneo, "to breathe, blow"); also "breath;" then, especially "the spirit," which, like the wind, is invisible, immaterial and powerful. The NT uses of the word may be analyzed approximately as follows:

"(a) the wind, Joh 3:8 (where marg. is, perhaps, to be preferred); Heb 1:7; cp. Amo 4:13, Sept.; (b) the breath, 2Th 2:8, Rev 11:11, Rev 13:15; cp. Job 12:10, Sept.; (c) the immaterial, invisible part of man, Luk 8:55, Act 7:59, 1Co 5:5, Jam 2:26; cp. Ecc 12:7, Sept.; (d) the disembodied (or 'unclothed,' or 'naked,' 2Co 1:5-4) man, Luk 24:37, Luk 24:39, Heb 12:23, 1Pe 4:6; (e) the resurrection body, 1Co 15:45, 1Ti 3:16, 1Pe 3:18; (f) the sentient element in man, that by which he perceives, reflects, feels, desires, Mat 5:3, Mat 26:41, Mar 2:8, Luk 1:47, Luk 1:80, Act 17:16, Act 20:22, 1Co 2:11, 1Co 1:5-4, 1Co 14:4, 1Co 14:15, 2Co 7:1; cp. Gen 26:35, Isa 26:9, Eze 13:3, Dan 7:15; (g) purpose, aim, 2Co 12:18, Phi 1:27, Eph 4:23, Rev 19:10; cp. Ezr 1:5, Psa 78:8, Dan 5:12; (h) the equivalent of the personal pronoun, used for emphasis and effect: 1st person, 1Co 16:18; cp. Gen 6:3; 2nd person, 2Ti 4:22, Phm 1:25; cp. Psa 139:7; 3rd person, 2Co 7:13; cp. Isa 40:13; (i) character, Luk 1:17, Rom 1:4; cp. Num 14:24; (j) moral qualities and activities: bad, as of bondage, as of a slave, Rom 8:15; cp. Isa 61:3; stupor, Rom 11:8; cp. Isa 29:10; timidity, 2Ti 1:7; cp. Jos 5:1; good, as of adoption, i.e., liberty as of a son, Rom 8:15; cp. Psa 51:12; meekness, 1Co 4:21; cp. Pro 16:19; faith, 2Co 4:13; quietness, 1Pe 3:4; cp. Pro 14:29 (k) the Holy Spirit, e.g., Mat 4:1 (see below); Luk 4:18; (l) 'the inward man' (an expression used only of the believer, Rom 7:22, 2Co 4:16, Eph 3:16); the new life, Rom 1:8-6, Rom 8:10, Rom 8:16, Heb 12:9; cp. Psa 51:10; (m) unclean spirits, demons, Mat 8:16, Luk 4:33, 1Pe 3:19; cp. 1Sa 18:10; (n) angels, Heb 1:14; cp. Act 12:15; (o) divine gift for service, 1Co 14:12, 1Co 14:32; (p) by metonymy, those who claim to be depostories of these gifts, 2Th 2:2, 1Jo 1:4-3; (q) the significance, as contrasted with the form, of words, or of a rite, Joh 6:63, Rom 2:29, Rom 7:6, 2Co 3:6; (r) a vision, Rev 1:10, Rev 4:2, Rev 17:3, Rev 21:10." * [* From Notes on Thessalonians, by Hogg and Vine, pp 204,205.]

Notes: (1) For phantasma, rendered "spirit," Mat 14:26, Mar 6:49, AV, see APPARITION. (2) For the distinction between "spirit" and "soul," see under SOUL, last three paragraphs.

* The Holy Spirit

The "Holy Spirit" is spoken of under various titles in the NT ("Spirit" and "Ghost" are renderings of the same word, pneuma; the advantage of the rendering "Spirit" is that it can always be used, whereas "Ghost" always requires the word "Holy" prefixed.) In the following list the omission of the definite article marks its omission in the original (concerning this see below): "Spirit, Mat 22:43; Eternal Spirit, Heb 9:14; the Spirit, Mat 4:1; Holy Spirit, Mat 1:18; the Holy Spirit, Mat 28:19; the Spirit, the Holy, Mat 12:32; the Spirit of promise, the Holy, Eph 1:13; Spirit of God, Rom 8:9; Spirit of (the) living God, 2Co 3:3; the Spirit of God, 1Co 2:11; the Spirit of our God, 1Co 6:11; the Spirit of God, the Holy, Eph 4:30; the Spirit of glory and of God, 1Pe 4:14; the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead (i.e., God), Rom 8:11; the Spirit of your Father, Mat 10:20; the Spirit of His Son, Gal 4:6; Spirit of (the) Lord, Act 8:39; the Spirit of (the) Lord, Act 5:9; (the) Lord, (the) Spirit, 2Co 3:18; the Spirit of Jesus, Act 16:7; Spirit of Christ, Rom 8:9; the Spirit of Jesus Christ, Phi 1:19; Spirit of adoption, Rom 8:15; the Spirit of truth, Joh 14:17; the Spirit of life, Rom 8:2; the Spirit of grace, Heb 10:29." * [* From Notes on Galatians, by Hogg and Vine, p. 193.]

The use or absence of the article in the original where the "Holy Spirit" is spoken of cannot always be decided by grammatical rules, nor can the presence or absence of the article alone determine whether the reference is to the "Holy Spirit." Examples where the Person is meant when the article is absent are Mat 22:43 (the article is used in Mar 12:36); Act 4:25, RV (absent in some texts); Act 19:2, Act 19:6, Rom 14:17, 1Co 2:4, Gal 5:25 (twice); 1Pe 1:2. Sometimes the absence is to be accounted for by the fact that Pneuma (like Theos) is substantially a proper name, e.g., in Joh 7:39. As a general rule the article is present where the subject of the teaching is the Personality of the Holy Spirit, e.g., Joh 14:26, where He is spoken of in distinction from the Father and the Son. See also Joh 15:26 and cp. Luk 3:22.

In Gal 3:3, in the phrase "having begun in the Spirit," it is difficult to say whether the reference is to the "Holy Spirit" or to the quickened spirit of the believer; that it possibly refers to the latter is not to be determined by the absence of the article, but by the contrast with "the flesh;" on the other hand, the contrast may be between the "Holy Spirit" who in the believer sets His seal on the perfect work of Christ, and the flesh which seeks to better itself by works of its own. There is no preposition before either noun, and if the reference is to the quickened spirit it cannot be dissociated from the operation of the "Holy Spirit." In Gal 4:29 the phrase "after the Spirit" signifies "by supernatural power," in contrast to "after the flesh," i.e., "by natural power," and the reference must be to the "Holy Spirit;" so in Gal 5:17.

The full title with the article before both pneuma and hagios (the "resumptive" use of the article), lit., "the Spirit the Holy," stresses the character of the Person, e.g., Mat 12:32, Mar 3:29, Mar 12:36, Mar 13:11, Luk 2:26, Luk 10:21 (RV); Joh 14:26, Act 1:16, Act 5:3, Act 7:51, Act 10:44, Act 10:47, Act 13:2, Act 15:28, Act 19:6, Act 20:23, Act 20:28, Act 21:11, Act 28:25, Eph 4:30, Heb 3:7, Heb 9:8, Heb 10:15.

The Personality of the Spirit is emphasized at the expense of strict grammatical procedure in Joh 14:26, Joh 15:26, Joh 16:8, Joh 1:16-14, where the emphatic pronoun ekeinos, "He," is used of Him in the masculine, whereas the noun pneuma is neuter in Greek, while the corresponding word in Aramaic, the language in which our Lord probably spoke, is feminine (rucha, cp. Heb. ruach). The rendering "itself" in Rom 8:16, Rom 8:26, due to the Greek gender, is corrected to "Himself" in the RV.

The subject of the "Holy Spirit" in the NT may be considered as to His Divine attributes; His distinct Personality in the Godhead; His operation in connection with the Lord Jesus in His birth, His life, His baptism, His death; His operations in the world; in the church; His having been sent at Pentecost by the Father and by Christ; His operations in the individual believer; in local churches; His operations in the production of Holy Scripture; His work in the world, etc.