Breath)¶

The Chain¶

Hebrew OT          LXX (Greek OT)         Greek NT
───────────        ───────────────         ────────
רוּחַ (ruach)   →  πνεῦμα (pneuma)     →  πνεῦμα (pneuma)
H7307, 434×        235× as translation     385× in NT
"wind, breath,     of ruach                "spirit, Spirit,
 spirit"                                    wind, breath"

OT Usage (Hebrew)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
H7307	רוּחַ (ruach)	434	wind, breath, spirit, disposition
H7308	רוּחַ (ruach)	11	Aramaic form (Daniel, Ezra)
H7309	רְוָחָה (revachah)	2	relief, respite

Key OT passages: - Gen 1:2 — "the Spirit (ruach) of God moved upon the face of the waters" - Isa 11:2 — "the spirit (ruach) of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding" - Eze 37:9–10 — "Come from the four winds (ruchoth), O breath (ruach), and breathe upon these slain" — ruach used as wind, breath, and life-force in a single passage - Joel 2:28 — "I will pour out my spirit (ruach) upon all flesh"

See: H7307-ruach.md

LXX Bridge¶

Hebrew	Greek Translation	Count	Notes
ruach (H7307)	πνεῦμα (G4151)	235×	Primary equivalent; carries all major senses
ruach (H7307)	ἄνεμος (G417)	44×	Used for physical wind sense
ruach (H7307)	πνοή (G4157)	10×	Used for breath sense
ruach (H7307)	ματαιότης (G3153)	8×	Ecclesiastes "vexation of spirit" rendered as "vanity"
ruach (H7307)	καύσων (G2742)	7×	Scorching/burning wind

Semantic handling in translation: The LXX translators split ruach's semantic range across multiple Greek words. Pneuma received the theological weight (divine Spirit, human spirit, life-breath), while anemos absorbed the purely meteorological sense. This division is cleaner than Hebrew, where a single word covers the entire range from physical wind to the Spirit of God.

NT Usage (Greek)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
G4151	πνεῦμα (pneuma)	385	spirit, Spirit, wind, breath
G4152	πνευματικός (pneumatikos)	26	spiritual (adjective)
G4154	πνέω (pneō)	7	to blow (root verb)
G4157	πνοή (pnoē)	2	breath, wind

Key NT passages: - Acts 2:17–18 — "I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh" (quoting Joel 2:28) - Luke 4:18 — "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me" (quoting Isa 61:1) - Rom 8:9–11 — "the Spirit of God dwell in you... the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus" - John 3:8 — "The wind (pneuma) bloweth where it listeth... so is every one that is born of the Spirit (pneuma)" — NT wordplay mirrors OT semantic range

See: G4151-pneuma.md

Direct OT→NT Quotations¶

NT Verse	Quotes OT	Shared Word	Significance
Acts 2:17–18	Joel 2:28–29	ruach → pneuma	Pentecost fulfillment: "pour out my Spirit" — identical verb and concept
Luke 4:18	Isa 61:1	ruach → pneuma	Jesus applies the anointing of the Spirit to himself
1 Cor 2:10	Isa 40:13 (allusion)	ruach → pneuma	"Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD?" → "the Spirit searcheth all things"

Continuity and Shifts¶

What stays the same across testaments: - The Spirit of God as active agent in creation, prophecy, and empowerment (Gen 1:2 → Acts 2:4) - Ruach/pneuma as divine presence that fills, rests upon, and empowers chosen individuals (Exo 31:3 → Eph 5:18) - The association of spirit with life — departure of spirit = death (Ecc 12:7 → James 2:26) - Evil/unclean spirits as agents of deception (1 Sam 16:14 → Mark 1:23)

What shifts: - Scope of Spirit-giving widens: OT Spirit comes upon select individuals (judges, prophets, kings); Joel 2:28/Acts 2 promises Spirit poured out on "all flesh" - Wind/spirit ambiguity narrows: In the NT, anemos handles "wind" (31×), so pneuma skews heavily toward "spirit" (only John 3:8 clearly means wind). In the OT, ruach covers the full range without a separate "wind" word - Trinitarian identity: NT progressively identifies the Spirit as a divine person alongside Father and Son (Matt 28:19, 2 Cor 13:14) — a development beyond the OT's "spirit of God/LORD" language - Ecclesiastes "vexation of spirit": This distinctive pessimistic use of ruach (pursuit of wind/futility) has no NT parallel; the LXX itself shifted it to mataiotēs (vanity)

Generated from: search_strongs.py (--lxx-map, --hebrew-source, --lookup, --lexicon), kjv.txt Last updated: 2026-03-31