THE BREATH OF LIFE (NIŠMAṯ ḥAYYÎM) IN GENESIS 2:7 AND ITS INTERFACE WITH HĀRÛAḥ IN EZEKIEL 37:1-14 AND THE BREATH OF THE SPIRIT IN JOHN 20:22

Abstract

The breath of life which God breathed into the nostrils of the man which he formed from the dust of the earth made man a “living being†(nepeÅ¡ ḥayyÄh). The man, formed from the earth, became a living being only when inspirated with the divine breath of life, which God breathed into his nostrils. By stating this, the Yahwist wishes to say that human life springs directly from God. As applied to living creatures, the breath of life is the vitalizing and sustaining principle. However, humanity is not the only being that is animated by “the breath of life†from God (Gen 2:7), “all flesh†(kol-bÄÅ›Är) – human and animal – was animated by this “breath†(Gen 6:17; 7:15, 22). In the Yahwist’s view, man is set apart from the rest of living creatures because God breathed directly into his nostrils.