Spirit
(Heb. ruah; Gr. pneuma), properly wind or breath. In 2 Thess. 2:8 it means "breath," and in Eccl. 8:8 the vital principle in man. It also denotes the rational, immortal soul by which man is distinguished (Acts 7:59; 1 Cor. 5:5; 6:20; 7:34), and the soul in its separate state (Heb. 12:23), and hence also an apparition (Job 4:15; Luke 24:37, 39), an angel (Heb. 1:14), and a demon (Luke 4:36; 10:20). This word is used also metaphorically as denoting a tendency (Zech. 12:10; Luke 13:11). In Rom. 1:4, 1 Tim. 3:16, 2 Cor. 3:17, 1 Pet. 3:18, it designates the divine nature.
Passages cited in this entry
2 Thessalonians 2:8 · Ecclesiastes 8:8 · Acts 7:59 · 1 Corinthians 5:5 · Hebrews 12:23 · Job 4:15 · Luke 24:37 · Hebrews 1:14 · Luke 4:36 · Zechariah 12:10 · Luke 13:11 · Romans 1:4 · 1 Timothy 3:16 · 2 Corinthians 3:17 · 1 Peter 3:18
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 3rd edition (1897). Public domain; text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. A nineteenth-century Protestant reference: its dates, archaeology and judgements reflect the scholarship of its time and are not Imago Dei's editorial position.