The Tanakh [the writings of Moses, the prophets, etc.] is the ancient Jewish text that most openly and directly influenced Rabbinic thought. Ruah is an important term in the Tanakh from the first page of Genesis, where Ruah Elohim, the spirit or wind of God “hovers over the face of the water.” (Genesis 1:2). The word may variously signify wind, breath, or spirit (human or divine). Ruah is dynamic, and is described in conjunction with many verbs, such as “hovering” (Genesis 1:2), “filling” (Exodus 31:3), “pouring out” (Numbers 11:25, Joel 3:1-2), “enveloping” (Judges 6:33-34), “ringing” or “pounding” (Judges 13:25), “bearing” (1 Kings 18:12), “guiding” (Isaiah 63:14), and even “tormenting” (1 Samuel 16:14-15). Ruah as wind, breath, or spirit, is used some 250 times in the Tanakh in conjunction with divine activity. These references to Ruah as the Spirit of Elohim or the Spirit of YHWH, are found in many books and are particularly prominent in Judges and the books of Samuel. Some use of the term ruah is found in all books of the Bible except for Leviticus in the Pentateuch; Obadiah, Nahum, Zephaniah in the Minor Prophets; and Ruth, Lamentations, and Esther in the Writings.
In the book of Isaiah, the term can mean breath or wind, but is commonly used with emotional and abstract “spiritual” connotations, particularly in Deutero-Isaiah. Ruah assumes an explicit role in prophecy in the exilic period. For the other major prophets, the word ruah in Jeremiah most often refers to wind, while in Ezekiel it refers to such diverse concepts as strength and courage, a miraculous, life-giving wind from God, or the spiritual power to prophesy.
The context modifies the meaning of the term ruah, offering a range of uses, many with positive and a few with negative connotations. In some cases the use of ruah is multivalent, and can signify wind, breath, and spirit in a single passage, as in Ezekiel 37:1-14. In this dramatic vision, Ezekiel is carried by Ruah YHWH to a valley full of dry bones. The word ruah by itself could signal a physical transportion by wind, but as the phrase Ruah YHWH it signifies that the prophet entered a spiritual state in which he was able to experience visions. He is told to prophesy over the dry bones and to the ruah as wind (along with its other connotation of life force), so that God will bring his ruah (breath of life) to resurrect the bones and turn them back into living, breathing people.
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Author: Julie Hilton Danan
Keywords: Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost, Spirit of God, Spirit of Yahweh, Spirit of YHWH, God's spirit, YHWH's spirit, Yahweh's spirit, The Spirit, Spirit of Elohim, Shekinah, Shekhinah, Divine spirit, Metonym for God, Metonym, Metonymy, Ruah ha-Kodesh, Ruach ha-Kodesh, Ruach, Ruah, Spirit, Breath, Wind, Life, Evil spirit
Bible reference(s): Genesis 1:2, Genesis 6:3, Genesis 41:38, Exodus 31:3, Exodus 35:31, Numbers 24:2, Judges 3:10, Judges 6:34, Judges 11:29, Judges 13:25, Judges 14:6, Judges 14:19, Judges 15:14, 1 Samuel 10:6, 1 Samuel 10:10, 1 Samuel 11:6, 1 Samuel 16:13-14, 1 Samuel 19:20, 1 Samuel 19:23, 2 Samuel 23:2, 1 Kings 18:12, 1 Kings 22:24, 2 Kings 2:16, 2 Chronicles 15:1, 2 Chronicles 24:20, 2 Chronicles 18:23, 2 Chronicles 20:14, Nehemiah 9:30, Job 27:3, Job 33:4, Psalms 51:11, Psalms 104:30, Psalms 139:7, Psalms 143:10, Isaiah 11:2, Isaiah 30:1, Isaiah 40:13, Isaiah 42:1, Isaiah 44:3, Isaiah 59:21, Isaiah 61:1, Isaiah 63:10, Isaiah 63:11, Isaiah 63:14, Ezekiel 3:14, Ezekiel 11:5, Ezekiel 11:24, Ezekiel 36:27, Ezekiel 37:1, Ezekiel 37:14, Ezekiel 39:29, Joel 2:28-29, Haggai 2:5, Zechariah 4:6, Micah 2:7, Micah 3:8, Matthew 1:18, Matthew 1:20, Matthew 3:11, Matthew 3:16, Matthew 12:28, Matthew 12:32, Matthew 28:19, Mark 1:8, Mark 3:29, Mark 12:36, Mark 13:11, Luke 1:15, Luke 1:35, Luke 1:41, Luke 1:67, Luke 2:25, Luke 2:26, Luke 3:16, Luke 3:22, Luke 4:1, Luke 4:18, Luke 10:21, Luke 11:13, Luke 12:10, Luke 12:12, John 1:33, John 14:26, John 20:22, Acts 1:2, Acts 1:5, Acts 1:8, Acts 1:16, Acts 2:4, Acts 2:17-18, Acts 2:33, Acts 2:38, Acts 4:8, Acts 4:25, Acts 4:31, Acts 5:3, Acts 5:9, Acts 5:32, Acts 6:5, Acts 7:51, Acts 7:55, Acts 8:15, Acts 8:17, Acts 8:19, Acts 8:39, Acts 9:17, Acts 9:31, Acts 10:38, Acts 10:44, Acts 10:45, Acts 10:47, Acts 11:15, Acts 11:16, Acts 11:24, Acts 13:2, Acts 13:4, Acts 13:9, Acts 13:52, Acts 15:8, Acts 15:28, Acts 16:6, Acts 19:2, Acts 19:6, Acts 20:23, Acts 20:28, Acts 21:11, Acts 28:25, Romans 5:5, Romans 8:9, Romans 8:14, Romans 9:1, Romans 14:17, Romans 15:13, Romans 15:16, Romans 15:19, 1 Corinthians 2:11, 1 Corinthians 2:14, 1 Corinthians 7:40, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 Corinthians 12:3, 2 Corinthians 3:17, 2 Corinthians 6:6, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 1:5, 1 Thessalonians 1:6, 1 Thessalonians 4:8, 2 Timothy 1:14, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 2:4, Hebrews 3:7, Hebrews 6:4, Hebrews 9:8, Hebrews 10:15, 1 Peter 1:12, 2 Peter 1:21, Jude 1:20, 1 John 4:2, Susanna 1:45, Wisdom of Solomon 1:7, Wisdom of Solomon 9:17, 2 Esdras 14:22, Judith 16:14
Source: Ph.D., Dissertation: The Divine Voice in Scripture: Ruah ha-Kodesh in Rabbinic Literature, The University of Texas at Austin (Austin: 2009), pp. vi-vii, 69-77.
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