UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: Spirit, Spirit of God, Holy Spirit

Semantic entry: 12.18

Semantic domains: Supernatural Beings and Powers

Subdomains: Supernatural Beings

Definition: a title for the third person of the Trinity, literally: spirit

Notes: In many religious systems the significant difference between the gods and the spirits is that the gods are regarded as supernatural beings which control certain aspects of natural phenomena, while the spirits are supernatural beings, often impersonal, which indwell or inhabit certain places, including rivers, streams, mountains, caves, animals, and people. Spirits are often regarded as being primarily evil, though it may be possible to induce them to be favorable to people.|It is extremely difficult to find in some languages a fully satisfactory term to speak of the Spirit of God. If one uses a term which normally identifies local supernatural beings, there is a tendency to read into the term the meaning of evil or mischievous character. If, however, one uses a term which may identify the spirit of a person, the problems may even be greater, since according to many systems of religious belief, the spirit of an individual does not become active until the individual dies. Therefore, the activity of the Spirit of God would presumably suggest that God himself had died. However, if one uses a term which means ‘heart’ or ‘soul’ (and thus the Spirit of God would be literally equivalent to ‘the heart of God’), there may be complications since this aspect of human personality is often regarded as not being able to act on its own.|The solutions to the problem of ‘Spirit’ have been varied. In some languages the term for Spirit is essentially equivalent to ‘the unseen one,’ and therefore the Spirit of God is essentially equivalent to ‘the invisibleness of God.’|In a number of languages the closest equivalent for Spirit is ‘breath,’ and in a number of indigenous religious systems, the ‘breath’ is regarded as having a kind of independent existence. In other languages the term for Spirit is equivalent to what is often translated as ‘the soul,’ that is to say, the immaterial part of a person. There is, of course, always the difficulty of employing a term meaning ‘soul’ or ‘life,’ since it often proves to be impersonal and thus provides no basis for speaking of the Spirit of God as being a person or a personal manifestation of God.|In quite a few languages the equivalent of Spirit is literally ‘shadow,’ since the ‘shadow’ of a person is regarded as the immaterial part of the individual. Moreover, in many systems of religious thought the shadow is regarded as having some significant measure of independent existence.|In a few cases the term for Spirit is literally ‘wind,’ but there are frequently difficulties involved in this type of terminology since a term for wind often suggests calamity or evil intent. One meaning of Spirit which must be clearly avoided is that of ‘apparition’ or ‘ghost.’|Frequently it is not possible to find a fully satisfactory term for ‘Spirit,’ and therefore in all contexts some characterizing feature is added, for example, either ‘of God’ or ‘holy,’ in the sense of ‘divine.’ This may be particularly necessary in a passage such as RV MRK 1:12 · LV MRK 1:12 · Read together MRK 1:12 where the average reader might assume that a spirit which would make Jesus go out into the desert would be an evil rather than a good spirit.|Often the Holy Spirit is named by phrases which explain something of the nature and activity of the Spirit: πνεῦμα (ἐκ τοῦ) θεοῦ ‘Spirit of God,’ πνεῦμα ἅγιον ‘Holy Spirit,’ πνεῦμα αἰώνιον ‘the Eternal Spirit’ (often called ‘the unending spirit’ or ‘the spirit that never ceases’), πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας ‘the Spirit of Truth,’ that is, ‘the Spirit who communicates truth’ (sometimes rendered as ‘the Spirit that communicates the truth about God’); πνεῦμα τῆς δόξης ‘Spirit of glory,’ that is, ‘the glorious Spirit’ or ‘the wonderful Spirit’; πνεῦμα τῆς ζωῆς ‘the Spirit of life,’ that is, ‘the Spirit who brings life’ or ‘the Spirit that causes people to live’; πνεῦμα υἱοθεσίας ‘the Spirit of sonship,’ that is, ‘the Spirit who makes us sons of God’ or ‘the Spirit that causes us to become God’s sons;’ πνεῦμα τῆς χάριτος ‘Spirit of grace,’ that is, ‘the Spirit who bestows kindness’ or ‘the Spirit who shows kindness to us;’ πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ ἀποκάλυπσεως ‘Spirit of wisdom and revelation,’ that is ‘the Spirit who gives wisdom and who reveals God’ or ‘the Spirit who causes us to become wise and who shows us what God is like’ (or ‘… who God truly is’). The phrase πνεῦμα κυρίου, ‘Spirit of the Lord,’ is ambiguous because κύριος may either refer to God the Father or to Jesus Christ, but the Spirit in either case is the same: τί ὅτι συνεφωνήθη ὑμῖν πειράσαι τὸ πνεῦμα κυρίου; ‘why did you decide to put the Lord’s Spirit to the test?’ RV ACT 5:9 · LV ACT 5:9 · Read together ACT 5:9.

Sense 2: spirit

Semantic entry: 12.33

Semantic domains: Supernatural Beings and Powers

Subdomains: Supernatural Beings

Definition: a supernatural non-material being

Notes: πνεῦμα in RV JHN 4:24 · LV JHN 4:24 · Read together JHN 4:24 and RV ACT 23:8 · LV ACT 23:8 · Read together ACT 23:8 is highly generic. There is no implication of such a spirit being either good or evil, nor is πνεῦμα in such contexts to be regarded as merely an aspect of some other being. The reference is simply to a supernatural and non-material entity. In rendering RV ACT 23:8 · LV ACT 23:8 · Read together ACT 23:8, one may speak of the Sadducees rejection of the existence of spirits as ‘they say … there is nothing which isn’t physical’ or ‘… everything that exists is physical.’

Sense 3: demon, evil spirit

Semantic entry: 12.37

Semantic domains: Supernatural Beings and Powers

Subdomains: Supernatural Beings

Definition: an evil supernatural being or spirit

Notes: While in a number of languages the Devil may be spoken of as ‘the chief of the demons,’ sometimes the demons are simply called ‘the spirits of the Devil’ or ‘the servants of the Devil.’|In a number of languages the difficulty in terminology for demons is not the absence of a term, but the abundance of different terms for different kinds of demons, each one of which may be responsible for particular kinds of human behavior, for example, insanity, depression, epilepsy, sex perversion, and violent assault. Sometimes demons are classified as ‘those of the home’ and ‘those of the forest,’ in which case the latter are normally regarded as more violent and virulent. When there is an abundance of different terms for demons and no generic term for all types of demons, one can usually select a class of demons which parallels most closely the descriptions of demon activity in the NT and use such a term with appropriate contextual qualifications so as to suggest that such a term is to be understood in a general sense.

Sense 4: ghost

Semantic entry: 12.42

Semantic domains: Supernatural Beings and Powers

Subdomains: Supernatural Beings

Definition: an apparition

Notes: Most languages have quite satisfactory terms for ‘ghosts’ or ‘apparitions,’ since the psychological phenomena associated with such appearances are apparently universal. In some languages the equivalent of ‘ghost’ is simply ‘shadow.’ In other instances it may be literally ‘breath.’ In some instances the meaning of ‘ghost’ is incorporated within a verb expression, for example, ‘they saw, as it were, through him.’|The NT contains a number of lexical items (12.43: στοιχεῖον-12.47: βάθος) referring to supernatural powers believed to be active as elemental spirits exercising control over man’s fate. Though these may have certain special features associated with them and though in extrabiblical literature they may represent various grades of supernatural power, there seems to be no way in which they can be clearly distinguished on the basis of their NT usage. Appropriate equivalent expressions in other languages are extremely difficult to find, primarily because other religious systems usually have completely different beliefs relative to supernatural powers. In many languages it is simply not possible to speak of such supernatural powers without in some way identifying them with various kinds of spirits.

Sense 5: spirit, spiritual, spiritual nature, inner being

Semantic entry: 26.9

Semantic domains: Psychological Faculties

Definition: the non-material, psychological faculty which is potentially sensitive and responsive to God (πνεῦμα[e] contrasts with σάρξ [source selector 000005][f], 26.7: σάρξ, as an expression of the divine in contrast with the purely human)

Notes: A special problem is posed by the phrase πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης in RV ROM 1:4 · LV ROM 1:4 · Read together ROM 1:4. Some persons have assumed that this phrase is merely a lexical alternative for πνεῦμα ἅγιον ‘Holy Spirit,’ but this hardly seems to be the case, especially since κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης is in structural contrast with κατὰ σάρκα (RV ROM 1:3 · LV ROM 1:3 · Read together ROM 1:3). The phrase κατὰ σάρκα seems to be best interpreted as referring to the humanity of Jesus, and therefore in contrast κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης may perhaps be best interpreted as his ‘divine holiness’ or rather his ‘holy spiritual being.’ Accordingly, the relevant elements in RV ROM 1:3 · LV ROM 1:3 · Read together ROM 1:3b-RV ROM 1:4 · LV ROM 1:4 · Read together ROM 1:4 may be rendered as ‘as to his humanity, he was born a descendant of David, but as to his divine nature, he was shown with great power to be the Son of God by being raised from death.’|There are often a number of serious problems involved in obtaining a satisfactory term for translating πνεῦμα[e]. In a few instances one can use a more or less literal equivalent, namely ‘breath,’ and in other instances the appropriate equivalent is a derived term meaning ‘that which doesn’t die.’ In some instances the equivalent is ‘the person who isn’t seen,’ meaning that part of the person which is never visible. In order to emphasize the non-material aspects of πνεῦμα[e], some persons have used terms which actually refer to ghosts, but this should be avoided.|In a number of languages a clear distinction is made between (1) the spirit that dwells within a person during one’s lifetime and (2) that spirit which leaves a person and passes on into the next world. In a number of contexts one must make certain that the appropriate term is used; otherwise, there is not only extreme confusion but serious misunderstanding.

Sense 6: disposition, attitude, way of thinking

Semantic entry: 30.6

Semantic domains: Think

Subdomains: To Think, Thought

Definition: (compare πνεῦμα [source selector 000004][e] ‘inner being,’ 26.9: πνεῦμα) an attitude or disposition reflecting the way in which a person thinks about or deals with some matter

Notes: In some languages πνεῦμα[f] may be regarded as implicit in the context itself, so that the last part of RV GAL 6:1 · LV GAL 6:1 · Read together GAL 6:1 may well be translated as ‘but do it with gentleness.’

Sense 7: wind, blowing, to blow

Semantic entry: 14.4

Semantic domains: Physical Events and States

Subdomains: Wind

Definition: air in relatively rapid movement, but without specification as to the force of the movement

Notes: As in the case of English (which has, for example, such terms as breeze, zephyr, gust, storm, whirlwind, cyclone, tornado, etc.), other languages likewise normally have a number of different terms depending upon the strength of the wind and whether the wind may be carrying substances such as sand or dust. In some languages there may also be a problem involved in the use of terms for ‘wind,’ since some of these may have meanings of malicious or malevolent spirits, or they may imply a disease-bringing event.|In RV PSA 104:4 · LV PSA 104:4 · Read together PSA 104:4 the Hebrew actually means ‘you use the winds as your messengers.’ The form cited here in RV HEB 1:7 · LV HEB 1:7 · Read together HEB 1:7 reflects the Septuagint translation. It may be relevant in some translations to call attention to the reason for this difference, since it may not be easy to make the Greek form of this expression fully meaningful, for literally ‘to turn his angels into winds’ may seem like purposeless magic. Some translators must employ a phrase such as ‘he makes his angels like winds.’

Sense 8: breath

Semantic entry: 23.186

Semantic domains: Physiological Processes and States

Subdomains: Breathe, Breath

Definition: a breath of air coming from the lungs

Notes: In this figurative context, πνεῦμα[h] refers to a single breath of air. It does not refer to the process of breathing (see πνοή [source selector 000001][b] breath, 23.187: πνοή). The use of breath to kill a person may immediately suggest in some languages the power of sorcery. It would be difficult indeed to avoid this connotation in view of the total context, but it may be necessary to have some type of marginal note explaining the symbolic significance.

Sense 9: unclean spirit

Semantic entry: 12.39

Semantic domains: Supernatural Beings and Powers

Subdomains: Supernatural Beings

Definition: (a fixed phrase) an evil supernatural spirit which is ritually unclean and which causes persons to be ritually unclean

Notes: It is important in rendering a term such as ‘unclean’ to avoid the implication that one is merely speaking of ‘dirty demons.’ What is important about the term ‘unclean’ is that the possession of such a spirit makes the individual ritually or ceremonially unclean. Accordingly, ‘an unclean spirit’ is equivalent in a number of languages to ‘a contaminating spirit.’

Collocations: πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον

Sense 10: demon, evil spirit

Semantic entry: 12.38

Semantic domains: Supernatural Beings and Powers

Subdomains: Supernatural Beings

Definition: (a fixed phrase equivalent in reference to πνεῦμα [source selector 000002][c] ‘demon,’ 12.37: δαιμόνιον / 12.37: δαίμων / 12.37: διάβολος / 12.37: πνεῦμα, but with specific emphasis upon evil) a supernatural evil being

Notes: There are a number of translational problems involved in rendering ‘evil spirits.’ In the first place, one must make certain that any characterization of ‘spirits’ as ‘wicked’ or ‘evil’ or ‘unclean’ will not be misunderstood as unduly restrictive. For example, if the term for ‘spirits’ itself indicates an evil supernatural being, then ‘evil spirits’ might suggest that there were both ‘evil demons’ as well as ‘good demons.’ The same would be true of an expression such as ‘unclean spirits.’

Collocations: πνεῦμα πονηρόν

Sense 11: to show enthusiasm, to commit oneself completely to

Semantic entry: 25.73

Semantic domains: Attitudes and Emotions

Subdomains: Be Eager, Be Earnest, In a Devoted Manner

Definition: (an idiom, literally: to boil in the spirit) to show great eagerness toward something

Notes: In some languages it may be difficult to find an appropriate equivalent of the phrase ‘with great enthusiasm,’ but in some instances an equivalent expression may be ‘he showed how much he liked to do’ or ‘he showed how he did so with all his heart.’

Collocations: ζέω τῷ πνεύματι

Sense 12: to die

Semantic entry: 23.110

Semantic domains: Physiological Processes and States

Subdomains: Live, Die

Definition: (an idiom, literally: to give over the spirit) to die, with the possible implication of a willing or voluntary act

Collocations: παραδίδωμι τὸ πνεῦμα

Sense 13: to be humble

Semantic entry: 88.57

Semantic domains: Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Subdomains: Humility

Definition: (an idiom, literally: poor in spirit) pertaining to one who is humble with regard to his own capacities (in the one NT occurrence, namely, RV MAT 5:3 · LV MAT 5:3 · Read together MAT 5:3, this humility is in relationship to God)

Notes: A literal translation of πτωχὸς τῷ πνεύματι may lead to serious misunderstanding, since ‘poor in spirit’ is likely to mean either ‘lacking in the Holy Spirit’ or ‘lacking in ambition or drive.’ In order to indicate clearly that this poverty or need is related in some way to spiritual realities, one may translate ‘happy are those who recognize their need of God.’

Collocations: πτωχὸς τῷ πνεύματι

Sense 14: to make up one’s mind, to decide

Semantic entry: 30.76

Semantic domains: Think

Subdomains: To Decide, To Conclude

Definition: (an idiom, literally: to place in the mind) to engage in the process of deciding

Notes: It is also possible to interpret the phrase ἐν τῷ πνεύματι in RV ACT 19:21 · LV ACT 19:21 · Read together ACT 19:21 as being a reference to the Holy Spirit and accordingly, the passage may be translated as ‘Paul, led by the Spirit, decided to travel through Macedonia.’

Collocations: τίθεμαι ἐν τῷ πνεύματι