'Breathing' in the Bible

After concluding this set of instructions to his sons, Jacob tucked his feet up into bed, quit breathing, and was gathered to his ancestors.

When they stop breathing, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans evaporate!

As I continued to watch, I saw tendons growing on the bones, and muscles growing and covering them, and then skin covered the flesh from above. But the bodies weren't breathing.