Vine Old Testament Dictionary :: Spirit

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.