'Spirit' in the Bible

The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.

Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?”

When they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

You shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me.

I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship,

Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the Lord’s contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments.

And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship;

if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has defiled herself, or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself,

or when a spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife, he shall then make the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest shall apply all this law to her.

Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone.

Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.

But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp.

But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!”

But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.

And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;

But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, as he is today.

Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Now it came about when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard how the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, so that he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.

So the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him.

Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,

Now the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon.

And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, so that he tore him as one tears a young goat though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of them and took their spoil and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house.

When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds dropped from his hands.

But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord.

Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.

When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them.

Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him.

Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you.

Let our lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.”

So it came about whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house, while David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul’s hand.

Now there was an evil spirit from the Lord on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand.

Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied.

He proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

They gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; then his spirit revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.

“The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,And His word was on my tongue.

the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.

It will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth.

But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating food?”

Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’

The Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.’

Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.”

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?”

When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”

Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

They said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master; perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.”

Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, even the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away into exile, namely the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara and to the river of Gozan, to this day.

Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was the chief of the thirty, and he said,“We are yours, O David,And with you, O son of Jesse!Peace, peace to you,And peace to him who helps you;Indeed, your God helps you!”Then David received them and made them captains of the band.

Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded,

Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘How?’

He said, ‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and prevail also. Go and do so.’

Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of these your prophets, for the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.”

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?”

Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph;

Then the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who bordered the Ethiopians;

Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus God has said, ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord and do not prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has also forsaken you.’”

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose, even everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.

“You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them,Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth,And You gave them water for their thirst.

“However, You bore with them for many years,And admonished them by Your Spirit through Your prophets,Yet they would not give ear.Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.

“Then a spirit passed by my face;The hair of my flesh bristled up.

“For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,Their poison my spirit drinks;The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

‘You have granted me life and lovingkindness;And Your care has preserved my spirit.

That you should turn your spirit against GodAnd allow such words to go out of your mouth?

“My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished,The grave is ready for me.

“I listened to the reproof which insults me,And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.

“To whom have you uttered words?And whose spirit was expressed through you?

“But it is a spirit in man,And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.

“For I am full of words;The spirit within me constrains me.

“The Spirit of God has made me,And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

“If He should determine to do so,If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,

Into Your hand I commit my spirit;You have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth.

How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

The Lord is near to the brokenheartedAnd saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presenceAnd do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvationAnd sustain me with a willing spirit.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

He will cut off the spirit of princes;He is feared by the kings of the earth.

When I remember God, then I am disturbed;When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah.

I will remember my song in the night;I will meditate with my heart,And my spirit ponders:

And not be like their fathers,A stubborn and rebellious generation,A generation that did not prepare its heartAnd whose spirit was not faithful to God.

You hide Your face, they are dismayed;You take away their spirit, they expireAnd return to their dust.

You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;And You renew the face of the ground.

Because they were rebellious against His Spirit,He spoke rashly with his lips.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?Or where can I flee from Your presence?

When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,You knew my path.In the way where I walkThey have hidden a trap for me.

Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;My heart is appalled within me.