UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: to breathe on

Semantic entry: 23.185

Semantic domains: Physiological Processes and States

Subdomains: Breathe, Breath

Definition: to breathe upon something

Notes: The process of breathing on someone may have very important symbolic implications. In some instances this can be related to a blessing, as in OET JHN 20:22, but in some languages the act of breathing on a person almost inevitably suggests some harmful influence, often connected with the use of black magic. It may therefore be important to select some less specific term so as to avoid a symbolic meaning which would considerably distort the significance of this one passage in which ἐμφυσάω occurs in the NT.