Genesis 2:7

2:7 The Lord God formed ¹  the man from the soil of the ground ²  and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, ³  and the man became a living being. ⁴ 

Job 12:10

12:10 in whose hand ⁵  is the life ⁶  of every creature

and the breath of all the human race. ⁷ 

Job 27:3

27:3 for while ⁸  my spirit ⁹  is still in me,

and the breath from God is in my nostrils,

Job 33:4

33:4 The Spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. ¹⁰ 

Job 34:14

34:14 If God ¹¹  were to set his heart on it, ¹² 

and gather in his spirit and his breath,

Psalms 33:6

33:6 By the Lord’s decree ¹³  the heavens were made;

by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created. ¹⁴ 

Daniel 5:23

5:23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods ¹⁵  that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control ¹⁶  your very breath and all your ways!

Acts 17:25

17:25 nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything, ¹⁷  because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone. ¹⁸ 

[2:7]  ¹ tn Or “fashioned.” The prefixed verb form with vav (ו) consecutive initiates narrative sequence. The Hebrew word יָצַר (yatsar) means “to form” or “to fashion,” usually by plan or design (see the related noun יֵצֶר [yetser] in Gen 6:5). It is the term for an artist’s work (the Hebrew term יוֹצֵר [yotser] refers to a potter; see Jer 18:2-4.)

[2:7]  ² tn The line literally reads “And Yahweh God formed the man, soil, from the ground.” “Soil” is an adverbial accusative, identifying the material from which the man was made.

[2:7]  ³ tn The Hebrew word נְשָׁמָה (nÿshamah, “breath”) is used for God and for the life imparted to humans, not animals (see T. C. Mitchell, “The Old Testament Usage of Nÿshama,” VT 11 [1961]: 177-87). Its usage in the Bible conveys more than a breathing living organism (נֶפֶשׁ חַיַּה, nefesh khayyah). Whatever is given this breath of life becomes animated with the life from God, has spiritual understanding (Job 32:8), and has a functioning conscience (Prov 20:27).

[2:7]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often translated “soul,” but the word usually refers to the whole person. The phrase נֶפֶשׁ חַיַּה (nefesh khayyah, “living being”) is used of both animals and human beings (see 1:20, 24, 30; 2:19).

[12:10]  ⁵ tn The construction with the relative clause includes a resumptive pronoun referring to God: “who in his hand” = “in whose hand.”

[12:10]  ⁶ tn The two words נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) and רוּחַ (ruakh) are synonymous in general. They could be translated “soul” and “spirit,” but “soul” is not precise for נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh), and so “life” is to be preferred. Since that is the case for the first half of the verse, “breath” will be preferable in the second part.

[12:10]  ⁷ tn Human life is made of “flesh” and “spirit.” So here the line reads “and the spirit of all flesh of man.” If the text had simply said “all flesh,” that would have applied to all flesh in which there is the breath of life (see Gen 6:17; 7:15). But to limit this to human beings requires the qualification with “man.”

[27:3]  ⁸ tn The adverb עוֹד (’od) was originally a noun, and so here it could be rendered “all the existence of my spirit.” The word comes between the noun in construct and its actual genitive (see GKC 415 §128.e).

[27:3]  ⁹ tn The word נְשָׁמָה (nÿshamah) is the “breath” that was breathed into Adam in Gen 2:7. Its usage includes the animating breath, the spiritual understanding, and the functioning conscience – so the whole spirit of the person. The other word in this verse, רוּחַ (ruakh), may be translated as “wind,” “breath,” or “spirit/Spirit” depending on the context. Here, since it talks about the nostrils, it should be translated “breath.”

[33:4]  ¹⁰ tc Some commentators want to put this verse after v. 6, while others omit the verse entirely. Elihu is claiming here that he is inspired by God.

[34:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:14]  ¹² tc This is the reading following the Qere. The Kethib and the Syriac and the LXX suggest a reading יָשִׂים (yasim, “if he [God] recalls”). But this would require leaving out “his heart,” and would also require redividing the verse to make “his spirit” the object. It makes better parallelism, but may require too many changes.

[33:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “word.”

[33:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” The words “were created” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons; they are understood by ellipsis (note “were made” in the preceding line). The description is consistent with Gen 1:16, which indicates that God spoke the heavenly luminaries into existence.

[5:23]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “which.”

[5:23]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”

[17:25]  ¹⁷ tn L&N 57.45 has “nor does he need anything more that people can supply by working for him.”

[17:25]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he himself gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.”