The Spirit - Old Testament (27 Verses)
After each passage is a sentence or so in brackets which emphasizes the inconsistency between that verse and the popular concept of spirit. Sometimes the sentence may appear a bit humorous.
"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (neshamah, pnoe) of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7). [God put the "spirit" into Adam's nose.]
"And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath (ruach, pneuma) of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die" (Gen. 6:17). [Animals have the "spirit" in them too.]
"And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath (ruach, pneuma) of life" (Gen. 7:15). [Animals have the "spirit" in them too.]
"All in whose nostrils was the breath (neshamah, pnoe) of life, of all that was in the dry land, died" (Gen. 7:22). [The "spirit" lives in the nose.]
"And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage (ruach, pneuma) in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath" (Josh. 2:11). [Their "spirits" were all gone, but they were still alive.]
"And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit (ruach) in them any more, because of the children of Israel" (Josh. 5:1). [Their "spirits" were all gone, but they were still alive.]
"God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger (ruach, pneuma) was abated toward him, when he had said that" (Judg. 8:3). [Their "spirit" weakened or relaxed towards him.]
"And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit (ruach) in her" (1 Kings 10:4, 5). [Her "spirit" totally left, yet she was still alive.]
"There was no more spirit (ruach) in her" (2 Chr. 9:4). [Her "spirit" totally left, yet she was still alive.]
"All the while my breath (neshamah, pnoe) is in me, and the spirit (ruach, pneuma) of God is in my nostrils" (Job 27:3). [The "spirit" lives in the nose.]
"The Spirit (neshamah, pnoe) of God hath made me, and the breath (ruach, pneuma) of the Almighty hath given me life" (Job 33:4). [God's "spirit" gives us life.]
"If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit (ruach, pneuma) and his breath (neshamah); all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust" (Job 34:14, 15). [Man cannot live without his "spirit."]
"Into thine hand I commit my spirit (ruach, pneuma): thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth" (Ps. 31:5). [After being redeemed, the psalmist asks God to take care of his spirit for him.]
"So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. . . . Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath (ruach, pneuma), they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit (ruach, pneuma), they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth" (Ps. 104:25, 29, 30). [They don't get their own "spirit" back again when they are recreated. Instead, it's God's spirit that enters into them.]
"Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath (ruach, pneuma) goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish" (Ps. 146:3, 4). [When the "spirit" leaves, the person can no longer think.]
"For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath (ruach, pneuma); so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit (ruach, pneuma) of man that goeth upward, and the spirit (ruach, pneuma) of the beast that goeth downward to the earth" (Eccl. 3:19-21). [There is no difference between the "spirit" of animals and the "spirit" of people.]
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit (ruach, pneuma) shall return unto God who gave it" (Eccl. 12:7). [The "spirits" of all, both good and bad, go back to God.]
"Cease ye from man, whose breath (neshamah) is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of" (Isa. 2:22). [The "spirit" lives in the nose.]
"The breath (ruach, pneuma) of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen" (Lam. 4:20). [The "spirit" belongs to our nose.]
"Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath (ruach, pneuma) to enter into you, and ye shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath (ruach, pneuma) in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD" (Ezek. 37:5, 6). [One thing these bones absolutely had to have before they could live again was a "spirit."]
"And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath (ruach, pneuma) in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind (ruach, pneuma), prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind (ruach, pneuma), Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds (ruach, pneuma), O breath (ruach), and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath (ruach, pneuma) came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army" (Ezek. 37:8-10.
[You can have a perfect human body, but if it doesn't have a "spirit," it won't be alive. This "spirit" that gives life to the body is the same thing as the wind.]
"And shall put my spirit (ruach, pneuma) in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land" (Ezek. 37:14). [If God puts His "spirit" in us, we will live.]