In Hebrew the word for breath, wind or spirit is a female noun, Ruach (resh, shureq, het...if I could make Hebrew letters I would). As with English, this word can have different connotations depending upon how the word is used in the sentence. Often the connotation can be simply breath through the nostrils, the sign and symbol of life, or God's presence. As in English, there are close relatives to certain words; as well as, nouns that change meaning when they turn into verbs. When I was in my exegesis class in Amos last fall, I noticed this was the case with the word ruach. Close neighbor, Ruwach (resh, yod, het) means scent or odor. In the verb tense hiphil, Ruwach can denote delight, which is transcendent. Think of it like this: You walk into an house, and a smell a sweet smell, like cinnamon and cloves permeating the air, it takes you back to grandma's and a sense of love and safety. Does that make sense? It's associated with a memory. A smell that brings you delight and takes you back to a memory. Can God be represented by a smell? Something to think about.
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