H7307 — רוּחַ (ruach)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H7307
Original: רוּחַ
Transliteration: rûwach
Pronunciation: roo'-akh
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: רוּחַ (ruach) — wind, breath; related to H7306 רוּחַ (to smell, perceive)
Occurrences: 434 in OT
First Occurrence: Gen 1:2 — "And the Spirit (ruach) of God moved upon the face of the waters"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions): air, anger, blast, breath, cool, courage, mind, quarter, side, spirit(-ual), tempest, vain, (whirl-)wind(-y).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
spirit / Spirit (all forms)	~233	53.7%
wind / winds (all forms)	~93	21.4%
breath / blast	~33	7.6%
side / quarter	~7	1.6%
mind	~5	1.2%
vain	~2	0.5%
cool, air, tempest, courage, anger	~5	1.2%
Other (articles, prepositional phrases)	~56	12.9%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Ezekiel	61	4.8
Isaiah	56	4.3
Psalms	48	2.0
Job	36	3.4
Proverbs	25	2.7
Ecclesiastes	25	11.3
Jeremiah	23	1.7
1 Samuel	19	2.3
Numbers	15	1.2
Exodus	15	1.2
1 Kings	14	1.7
2 Chronicles	12	1.5
Genesis	11	0.7
Judges	11	1.8
Zechariah	9	4.3
Hosea	7	3.6
Daniel	5	1.4
2 Kings	5	0.7
1 Chronicles	5	0.5
Haggai	4	10.5
Jonah	4	8.3
Micah	3	2.9
Nehemiah	3	0.7
Malachi	3	5.5
2 Samuel	3	0.4
Deuteronomy	2	0.2
Ezra	2	0.7
Joshua	2	0.3
Joel	2	2.7
Habakkuk	2	3.6
Amos	1	0.7
Lamentations	1	0.6

Ecclesiastes has the highest concentration (11.3 per 100 verses) due to the recurring phrase "vexation of spirit." Ezekiel leads in raw count (61) with its extensive Spirit-imagery (valley of dry bones, new spirit, divine transport). Absent from Ruth, Esther, Song of Solomon, Obadiah, Nahum, Zephaniah.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Spirit of God / Divine Spirit¶

The Spirit as God's active presence and power in creation, prophecy, and empowerment. - Gen 1:2 — "the Spirit (ruach) of God moved upon the face of the waters" - Exo 31:3 — "I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding" - Isa 11:2 — "the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD" - Isa 61:1 — "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me" - Joel 2:28 — "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh" - Eze 36:27 — "I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes"

2. Wind / Meteorological Force¶

Physical wind — east wind, storm wind, the four winds. - Gen 8:1 — "God made a wind (ruach) to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged" - Exo 10:13 — "the LORD brought an east wind (ruach) upon the land all that day" - Exo 15:10 — "Thou didst blow with thy wind (ruach), the sea covered them" - Jer 49:36 — "upon Elam will I bring the four winds (ruchoth) from the four quarters of heaven" - Jon 4:8 — "God prepared a vehement east wind (ruach)"

3. Breath / Life-Force¶

The animating breath that sustains life; its departure means death. - Gen 6:17 — "all flesh, wherein is the breath (ruach) of life" - Job 33:4 — "The Spirit (ruach) of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life" - Psa 104:30 — "Thou sendest forth thy spirit (ruach), they are created" - Ecc 3:21 — "Who knoweth the spirit (ruach) of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward" - Ecc 12:7 — "the spirit (ruach) shall return unto God who gave it"

4. Human Spirit / Disposition¶

Inner state — attitude, courage, grief, resolve, emotional condition. - Gen 41:8 — "his spirit (ruach) was troubled" (Pharaoh's agitation) - Exo 6:9 — "they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit (ruach)" - Psa 51:10 — "renew a right spirit (ruach) within me" - Pro 16:32 — "he that ruleth his spirit (ruach) than he that taketh a city" - Pro 18:14 — "The spirit (ruach) of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?" - Dan 2:1 — "his spirit (ruach) was troubled, and his sleep brake from him"

5. Spirit Beings (Non-Divine)¶

Evil spirits, lying spirits, spirits of whoredom. - 1 Sam 16:14 — "the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit (ruach) from the LORD troubled him" - 1 Ki 22:21 — "there came forth a spirit (ruach), and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him" - Hos 4:12 — "the spirit (ruach) of whoredoms hath caused them to err"

6. Vanity / Futility (Ecclesiastes)¶

"Vexation of spirit" — pursuit of wind, emptiness. - Ecc 1:14 — "all is vanity and vexation of spirit (ruach)" - Ecc 2:11 — "all was vanity and vexation of spirit (ruach)" - Ecc 4:6 — "than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit (ruach)"

7. Compass Direction / Side¶

Spatial orientation — sides of a structure, quarters of heaven. - Eze 42:16–20 — measurements of the temple on each "side" (ruach) - Jer 52:23 — "ninety and six pomegranates on a side (ruach)"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	102×	"spirit of the LORD" (ruach YHWH)
אֱלֹהִים (elohim)	H430	46×	"spirit of God" (ruach elohim)
אֶרֶץ (erets)	H776	36×	"winds of the earth," "spirit upon the earth"
פָּנִים (paniym)	H6440	33×	"before his face" — presence contexts
נָתַן (nathan)	H5414	29×	"give/put spirit" — God bestowing spirit
יָד (yad)	H3027	26×	"hand" — power/agency contexts
לֵב (leb)	H3820	23×	"heart and spirit" pairing (Psa 51:10, Eze 11:19, 36:26)
מַיִם (mayim)	H4325	23×	"wind upon the waters," "water and spirit"
נָשָׂא (nasa')	H5375	23×	"spirit lifted/carried me" (Ezekiel transport)

Word Family / Cognates¶

H7306 רוּחַ (ruach) — verb: to smell, perceive, accept
H7308 רוּחַ (ruach) — Aramaic form; 11 occurrences in Daniel/Ezra
H7309 רְוָחָה (revachah) — relief, respite, breathing space

Synonyms¶

H5397 נְשָׁמָה (neshamah) — breath of life; the closest Hebrew neighbor when ruach denotes animating breath rather than wind, disposition, or divine Spirit.

Antonyms¶

H1320 בָּשָׂר (basar) — flesh; the anthropological counterterm in passages contrasting mortal/material humanity with spirit.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
אוֹב ('ob)	H178	"spirit" (16×)	'ob = familiar spirit, necromancy medium; ruach = spirit broadly
נְשָׁמָה (neshamah)	H5397	"spirit" (2×), "breath" (17×)	neshamah = breath of life from God (Gen 2:7); ruach = broader: wind, spirit, disposition
נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh)	H5315	rarely overlaps	nephesh = living being, soul, appetite; ruach = spirit, wind, breath
רוּחַ (ruach) Aramaic	H7308	"spirit," "wind"	Same word in Aramaic; confined to Daniel and Ezra

UBS Semantic Domains¶

search_relationships.py assigns ruach to an unusually broad spread of relationship domains, reflecting its range from literal wind/breath to divine Spirit, human disposition, and directional usage.

Code	Domain Label	Notes
001001001	Deities	Covers uses where ruach names God's Spirit or the spirit world.
001002007	People	Captures human-spirit and inner-disposition usages.
001002010001	Air	Fits literal wind, air, and breath contexts.
002002001002	Blow	Overlaps the physical blowing/breathing sense.
002004001009008	Speak	Fits inspiration, utterance, and inward-expression uses.
002003002005	Chastise	Reflects disciplinary or judgment contexts carried by ruach imagery.
002002003002	Non-Endure	Captures transient, short-lived, or failing-spirit usage.
002003003013	Fail	Fits fainting, vexation, or collapse-of-spirit extensions.
003002005	Spatial Referents	Covers quarter/side/wind-direction uses.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Frequency	Notes
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	235×	Dominant equivalent (~90%); carries full semantic range
ἄνεμος (anemos)	G417	44×	Used when ruach = physical wind
πνοή (pnoē)	G4157	10×	Used when ruach = breath
καύσων (kausōn)	G2742	7×	Scorching wind / burning heat
ματαιότης (mataiotēs)	G3153	8×	Ecclesiastes "vexation of spirit" → "vanity"