Hebrew word · Strong's H7307

רוּחַ

rûwach · roo'-akh · noun · “spirit, breath, wind”

In a sentence

Ruach means breath, wind, or spirit — the invisible, life-giving power of God. It is the Old Testament background to the New Testament’s Holy Spirit.

Ruach is as physical as a gust of wind and as deep as the breath of life. It hovers over the waters at creation, fills craftsmen and prophets, and is the very breath God breathes into humanity.

The same word names the Spirit of God who empowers and renews. Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones lives again when the ruach enters them — a vivid picture of the life only God’s Spirit gives.

Strong's reference

Definition: wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions)

KJV usage: air, anger, blast, breath, [idiom] cool, courage, mind, [idiom] quarter, [idiom] side, spirit(-ual), tempest, [idiom] vain, (whirl-) wind(-y).

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Genesis 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” Ezekiel 37:5 “This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life.” Psalms 51:11 “Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.”

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.