Midvash

רוּחַrûwach

רוּחַ: breath, wind, spirit

Pronunciation: roo'-akh · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H7307

Meanings

1. breath, of mouth or nostrils

a. רוּחַ פִּיו (Job 15:30; Job 19:17; Lamentations 4:20)

b. as mere breath (Job 16:3; Job 6:26; Jeremiah 5:13)

c. as word of command (Psalms 33:6; Isaiah 34:16; Isaiah 11:4)

d. as hard breathing through the nostrils in anger (Job 4:9; Exodus 15:8; 2 Samuel 22:16)

e. as sign and symbol of life (Genesis 6:17; Genesis 7:15; Genesis 7:22)

2. wind

a. wind of heaven (Genesis 8:1; Exodus 15:10; Numbers 11:31)

b. quarter (of wind), side (Ezekiel 42:16; Ezekiel 42:17; Ezekiel 42:18)

c. breath of air (Jeremiah 14:6; Job 41:8)

d. air, gas, from womb (dubious) (Isaiah 26:18; Isaiah 33:11)

e. vain, empty thing (Job 7:7; Job 15:2; Isaiah 41:29)

3. spirit, as that which breathes quickly in animation or agitation = temper, disposition

a. spirit, animation, vivacity, vigour (1 Kings 10:5; 2 Chronicles 9:4; 1 Kings 21:5)

b. courage (Joshua 5:1; Psalms 76:13; Isaiah 19:3)

c. temper, especially anger (Judges 9:23; Judges 8:3; Proverbs 16:32)

d. impatience or patience (Exodus 6:9; Micah 2:7; Proverbs 14:29)

e. spirit, disposition, as troubled, bitter, or discontented (Genesis 41:8; Daniel 2:3; Daniel 2:1)

f. as crushed (Ezekiel 21:12; Isaiah 61:3; Proverbs 15:4)

g. disposition of various kinds, often unaccountable and uncontrollable impulse (1 Chronicles 5:26; 2 Chronicles 21:16; 2 Chronicles 36:22)

h. prophetic spirit (Numbers 27:18; Genesis 41:38; 2 Kings 2:15)

4. spirit of the living, breathing being, dwelling in the בָּשָׂר of men and animals, || נֶפֶשׁ

a. gift and creation of God (Zechariah 12:1; Job 27:3; Isaiah 42:5)

b. God preserves it (Job 10:12; Job 12:10; Numbers 16:22)

c. it is therefore God's spirit (Genesis 6:3)

d. it departs at death (Psalms 78:39; Isaiah 38:16; Psalms 146:4)

e. disembodied being (Job 4:15)

5. spirit, as seat of emotion = נֶפֶשׁ

a. desire (Isaiah 26:9)

b. sorrow, trouble (probably 3.e.) (Job 7:11; 1 Samuel 1:15)

6. occasionally, (and late) = seat or organ of mental acts, || לֵב, or synonym with it (Exodus 28:3; Deuteronomy 34:9; Isaiah 29:24)

7. rarely of the will (Psalms 51:12; Psalms 57:8; Psalms 51:14)

8. especially of moral character; also = לֵב (Ezekiel 11:19; Ezekiel 18:31; Ezekiel 36:26)

9. spirit of God

a. as inspiring ecstatic state of prophecy (Numbers 11:17; Numbers 11:25; Numbers 11:26)

b. spirit, as impelling prophets to utter instruction or warning (higher and later conception) (Numbers 24:2; 2 Samuel 23:2; 1 Chronicles 12:18)

c. imparting warlike energy, and executive and administrative power (Judges 3:10; Judges 11:29; Judges 6:34)

d. as endowing men with various gifts (Exodus 31:3; Exodus 35:31; Job 32:8)

e. as energy of life (Genesis 1:2; Job 33:4; Isaiah 31:3)

f. = ancient angel of the presence and later Shekina (Isaiah 63:10; Isaiah 63:11; Isaiah 63:14)

: id.

Same root

Where it appears

Appears 378 times in the Bible.

  • Genesis 1:2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
  • Genesis 3:8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.
  • Genesis 6:3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.”
  • Genesis 6:17 “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die.
  • Genesis 7:15 Two by two they came into the boat, representing every living thing that breathes.
  • Genesis 7:22 Everything that breathed and lived on dry land died.
See every passage

Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).