Hebrew
רוּחַ
ruach
Spirit, breath, wind
The Hebrew word for spirit, breath, or wind — used for God's Spirit hovering over the waters at creation (Genesis 1:2), for the breath of life God breathed into Adam (Genesis 2:7), and throughout the Old Testament for the Spirit's presence and power.
Ruach (רוּחַ) is the Hebrew word for spirit, breath, or wind. Like its Greek equivalent pneuma, ruach covers a range from physical wind, to human breath, to the divine Spirit. Hebrew ruach is feminine in grammatical gender (which has been theologically reflected on, though grammatical gender does not equal personal identity in Hebrew). Ruach appears nearly 400 times in the Old Testament — for the wind that drives back the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21), for human breath (Genesis 7:22), for the spirit of life that God gives (Job 33:4), and most importantly for God's own Spirit. The first appearance is at creation — Genesis 1:2: 'and the Spirit of God [Ruach Elohim] moved upon the face of the waters.' From the very first chapter of the Bible, ruach is at work.
Ruach in the Old Testament has several major uses. (1) The Spirit of God at creation. Genesis 1:2 — 'the Spirit of God [Ruach Elohim] moved upon the face of the waters.' Job 33:4 — 'The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath [neshamah] of the Almighty hath given me life.' (2) The Spirit empowering leaders. Judges 6:34 — 'But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon.' 1 Samuel 16:13 — 'the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.' (3) The Spirit of prophecy. Numbers 11:25 — 'when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied.' Joel 2:28 — 'I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh' — quoted by Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:17). (4) The new heart promise. Ezekiel 36:26-27 — 'A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you... And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.' (5) The dry bones vision. Ezekiel 37 — 'Come from the four winds [ruchot], O breath [ruach], and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.' (6) Breath of life. Genesis 2:7 — 'God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.' (7) Wind. Exodus 14:21 — God parted the Red Sea by 'a strong east wind [ruach].' Exodus 15:8 — 'with the blast of thy nostrils [ruach] the waters were gathered together.' (8) The contrite spirit. Psalm 51:17 — 'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit [ruach]: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.'
“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.”
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you... And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.”
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.”
“Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.”
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
The same ruach that hovered over creation indwells believers in Christ. Pray for the Ruach's empowering (Joel 2:28). Cultivate a broken and contrite ruach (Psalm 51:17). Live by the Spirit (Romans 8:13). The Old Testament's longing for the Spirit poured out on all flesh is fulfilled at Pentecost — the Ruach of God now indwells all who trust Christ.
Ruach (רוּחַ) is the Hebrew word for spirit, breath, or wind. It appears nearly 400 times in the OT — for the wind that drove back the Red Sea, for human breath (Genesis 7:22), for the Spirit of God hovering over the waters at creation (Genesis 1:2), and for the Spirit's empowering of leaders, prophets, and craftsmen.
Ruach is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek pneuma. Both mean spirit, breath, or wind. The Septuagint regularly translates ruach with pneuma. The NT picks up the same range of meanings — Jesus' words in John 3:8 ('the wind blows where it wills') play on the very ambiguity that ruach and pneuma share. The Holy Spirit is the Ruach HaKodesh in Hebrew, the Pneuma Hagion in Greek.
Ruach is grammatically feminine in Hebrew, but grammatical gender does not equal personal identity (the Hebrew word for 'sun' is masculine; 'moon' is feminine — these are not statements about the sun's or moon's gender). The NT consistently uses masculine pronouns for the Spirit (e.g., John 14:26, ekeinos). The Holy Spirit is a person, not gendered male or female — though the masculine pronouns are conventional in Scripture.
Genesis 1:2 — 'the Spirit of God [Ruach Elohim] moved upon the face of the waters.' The very first action attributed to God in creation involves his Ruach. The Spirit's hovering precedes the spoken word — the Spirit prepares; the Word creates. The same pattern is repeated in new creation: the Holy Spirit hovers over the heart; the gospel word speaks new life into being (1 Peter 1:23).