G4151 — πνεῦμα (pneuma)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G4151
Original: πνεῦμα
Transliteration: pneuma
Pronunciation: pnyoo'-mah
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Root: πνέω (pneō) — to blow, breathe
Occurrences: 385 in NT (BLB); 342 indexed in occurrences table (John, James, Philippians, 1–3 John not indexed)
First Occurrence: Matt 1:18 — "she was found with child of the Holy Ghost (pneuma)"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domains¶

πνεῦμα spans an unusually wide range of Louw-Nida domains, reflecting its semantic breadth:

Domain	Label	Sense
12.001	Supernatural Beings	The Holy Spirit; demonic spirits; angels
14.002	Wind	Physical wind, moving air
23.007	Live, Die	Life-force; the animating principle that departs at death
23.010	Breathe, Breath	Breath as physical phenomenon
25.006	Be Eager, Be Earnest	Inner disposition, fervor
26	Psychological Faculties	The inner self, human spirit as seat of thought/feeling
30	Think / To Decide	Mental disposition, inclination of mind
88.007	Humility	"poor in spirit" — humility of disposition

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[012] Supernatural Beings and Powers
[014] Physical Events and States
[023] Physiological Processes and States
[025] Attitudes and Emotions
[026] Psychological Faculties
[030] Think
[088] Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
Spirit / spirit (all forms)	212	62.0%
Ghost (all forms)	86	25.1%
spirits / Spirits	26	7.6%
spiritually / spiritual	2	0.6%
life	1	0.3%
Other prepositional phrases	15	4.4%

Note: KJV uses "Ghost" exclusively in the compound "Holy Ghost" (86×); modern translations uniformly render this "Holy Spirit." The underlying Greek is identical: πνεῦμα ἅγιον.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Acts	70	7.0
1 Corinthians	41	9.4
Luke	38	3.3
Romans	35	8.1
Mark	23	3.4
Revelation	23	5.7
Matthew	19	1.8
Galatians	18	12.1
2 Corinthians	17	6.6
Ephesians	15	9.7
Hebrews	12	4.0
1 Peter	9	8.6
1 Thessalonians	5	5.6
1 Timothy	4	3.5
2 Timothy	3	3.6
2 Thessalonians	3	6.4
Jude	2	8.0
Colossians	2	2.1
Titus	1	2.2
2 Peter	1	1.6
Philemon	1	4.0

John, Philippians, James, 1–3 John also contain pneuma but are not in the indexed occurrences table. Galatians has the highest concentration (12.1 per 100 verses), reflecting its Spirit-vs-flesh argument. Acts leads in raw count (70) due to Pentecost narrative and missionary accounts.

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Holy Spirit / Spirit of God¶

The dominant NT usage — the divine Spirit as person, agent, and gift. - Matt 3:16 — "he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove" - Acts 2:4 — "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues" - Rom 8:9 — "if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you" - 1 Cor 2:10 — "God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things" - Gal 5:22 — "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering"

2. Unclean / Evil Spirits¶

Demonic beings; spirits causing disease or oppression. - Matt 12:43 — "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man" - Mark 1:23 — "a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out" - Mark 5:2 — "a man with an unclean spirit" - Luke 4:33 — "a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil" - Rev 16:13 — "three unclean spirits like frogs"

3. The Human Spirit / Inner Disposition¶

The immaterial part of a person; seat of emotions, will, and consciousness. - Matt 26:41 — "the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" - Mark 8:12 — "he sighed deeply in his spirit" - John 11:33 — "he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled" - Acts 17:16 — "his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry" - Rom 1:9 — "God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit"

4. Life-Force / Animating Breath¶

The vital principle that sustains life; its departure = death. - Matt 27:50 — "Jesus... yielded up the ghost (pneuma)" - Luke 23:46 — "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" - John 19:30 — "he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost" - James 2:26 — "the body without the spirit is dead" - Rev 11:11 — "the Spirit of life from God entered into them"

5. Disembodied Spirits / Spiritual Beings¶

Spirits of the dead or angelic beings. - Luke 24:37 — "they... supposed that they had seen a spirit" - Luke 24:39 — "a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" - Acts 23:8–9 — "the Sadducees say... neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both" - Heb 1:7 — "Who maketh his angels spirits" - Heb 12:23 — "the spirits of just men made perfect"

6. Wind / Breath (Physical)¶

Rare in NT; the root meaning from πνέω. - John 3:8 — "The wind (pneuma) bloweth where it listeth" (wordplay: wind/Spirit) - Heb 1:7 — "Who maketh... his ministers a flame of fire" (context includes wind imagery)

7. Figurative / Animating Power¶

Non-personal life or power given to an object. - Rev 13:15 — "he had power to give life (pneuma) unto the image of the beast" - 1 Cor 15:45 — "the last Adam was made a quickening spirit"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἅγιος (hagios)	G40	92×	"Holy Spirit" (πνεῦμα ἅγιον)
θεός (theos)	G2316	72×	"Spirit of God" (πνεῦμα θεοῦ)
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)	G2424	42×	"Spirit of Jesus," "Jesus... by the Spirit"
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	39×	"Spirit of the Lord"
Χριστός (Christos)	G5547	30×	"Spirit of Christ" (πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ)
ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos)	G444	27×	"spirit of man," exorcism contexts
δίδωμι (didōmi)	G1325	24×	"God gave the Spirit," gift language

Word Family / Cognates¶

G4152 πνευματικός (pneumatikos) — spiritual (adjective); 26 occurrences
G4153 πνευματικῶς (pneumatikōs) — spiritually (adverb); 2 occurrences
G4154 πνέω (pneō) — to blow (wind); root verb
G4157 πνοή (pnoē) — breath, wind; 2 occurrences

Synonyms¶

G5590 ψυχή (psychē)
G3563 νοῦς (nous)

Antonyms¶

G4561 σάρξ (sarx)
G1121 γράμμα (gramma)
G4983 σῶμα (sōma) — listed by Abbott-Smith via search_relationships.py

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ψυχή (psychē)	G5590	both can = "spirit/life"	psychē = soul, natural life, self; pneuma = spirit, divine realm, inner disposition
φάντασμα (phantasma)	G5326	both translated "spirit" 2×	phantasma = apparition, ghost (phantom); pneuma = true spiritual being
ἐκπνέω (ekpneō)	G1606	"ghost" (gave up the ghost)	ekpneō = to expire, breathe out (verb); pneuma = the spirit that departs (noun)
ἐκψύχω (ekpsychō)	G1634	"ghost" (gave up the ghost)	ekpsychō = to breathe one's last (verb); pneuma = the spirit entity

Hebrew Source¶

The primary Hebrew word behind πνεῦμα in the LXX:

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Frequency	Notes
רוּחַ (ruach)	H7307	235×	Dominant source (~90% of LXX renderings); wind, breath, spirit
רוּחַ (ruach)	H7308	10×	Aramaic form; Daniel and Ezra
נְשָׁמָה (neshamah)	H5397	10×	Breath of life; Gen 2:7, Isa 42:5
רְעוּת (re'uth)	H7469	7×	"Vexation of spirit" (Ecclesiastes)
הֶבֶל (hebel)	H1892	8×	"Vanity" — appears in Spirit-context Ecclesiastes passages