Job 32:8
“...it is the spirit in a person,…”
Along with the breath (or spirit) of life within humans, there also seems to be another type of spirit in humans: this specific spirit is called the spirit in a human, but what exactly is this spirit in humans?
This spirit causes humans to understand wisdom
so, it's the reason humans can understand and reason.
Job 32:8
“it is the spirit in a person,…that gives them understanding.”
This spirit causes humans to feel emotions
Like joy
Luke 1:46-47
“... my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,…”
And grief
Job 7:11
“...the anguish of my spirit,…”
Psalm 73:21
“...my spirit embittered,…”
Genesis 26:35
“...a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah[‘s spirit].” [1]
This spirit can cause humans to decide to talk action
It can cause humans to refuse to do something because they have a stubborn spirit:
Deuteronomy 2:30
“But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For…his spirit [is] stubborn ”
Or it can compel a human to do something because their spirit pushes them to do it:
Job 32:17-20
“...I too will have my say;…For (because)… the spirit within me compels me;…”
Even God can make a spirit inside a human urge that human to do something:
like God stirred up Pul’s spirit so he would conquer Israel and make them prisoners of war.
1 Chronicles 5:26
“...the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile.”
And God also stirred up what remained of his people to come back to Jerusalem and rebuild his destroyed temple:
Haggai 1:14
“...the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God,…”
This spirit can be crushed/broken
Job 17:1
“...My spirit is broken,…”
Psalm 34:18
“...crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 51:17
“...a broken spirit;…”
This spirit can get tired
Psalm 77:3
“...my spirit grew faint.”
Psalm 143:4
“...my spirit grows faint within me;…”
This spirit can ask questions
Psalm 77:6
“my spirit asked…”
A spirit can even be renewed (refreshed)
Psalm 51:10
“...O God,…renew…[the]…spirit within me.”
Genesis 45:27
“…the spirit of their father Jacob revived.”
So, whatever this spirit within a human is, we can clearly see from these verses that it controls a lot! It’s the reason humans can reason/understand, have emotions, and make decisions. Along with all this a human spirit can also become tired, ask questions and even be broken or revived under certain circumstances. So, all these verses are describing the human spirit as the main controlling power of their body and is directly responsible for their consciousness (and even could be their consciousness themselves).
So, we know the human spirit controls a lot and is directly responsible for thinking and consciousness in a human, but it's still not exactly clear what this spirit is it or even where it comes from. Does the Bible say what exactly this spirit is?
The spirit within a human=The breath of God?
Throughout the Bible, the spirit within a human and the breath of life are sometimes used as synonyms:
Job 27:3
“All the while my breath [is] in me (the breath of God: breathing/oxygen), and the spirit of God [is] in my nostrils.”
(Notice how the spirit of God is associated with being in the nostrils: that is the nose holes of a human/animal: just like the breath of life is!)
Job’s friend, Elihu, even directly Calls this spirit within humans that makes them understand the breath of God!
Job 32:8
“…it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty,”
So far, the Bible is seeming to say that the breath of life and spirit within a human are the same thing, but this does not really make sense (Biblically or scientifically):
As covered before in “What is the breath of life?” the breath of life is defined as being the very act of breathing/the oxygen bring breathed in. If this is true, then the breath of life is not necessarily within a human at all times as this spirit within a human is described as being, but rather is always described as being in the nostrils windpipe:
Job 27:3
“All the while my breath [is] in me , and the spirit of God [is] in my nostrils.”
Why this is partially within a human at times the same spirit (or breath) is not always within a human (even though breathing is a constant action). another very important difference hinted the Bible is the breath of life is described as going inside a human’s nostrils at the beginning of life (like with the first human given it: Adam) and remaining in the windpipe for the rest of their lives.
The spirit in humans is described by God instead as being formed directly inside a human body:
Zechariah 12:1
“The Lord,…who forms the human spirit within a person,…”
So, whatever this spirit is, it seems to be developed inside of a human’s body along with the rest of the human body (it doesn’t seem to go into nor leave the body except for possibly death as covered in “Heaven contradictions”:
Ecclesiastes 12:7
“the dust (the human body is made of) returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”).
Why there is obviously a close connection between the breath of life and the human spirit within them, their probably not the same thing.
So, besides the close connection together, is there any other difference between the breath of life and the spirit in a human?
Yes, we are told this spirit knows your thoughts:
1st Corinthians 2:7
“who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them?”
And also, something else very important: This spirit is considered the same as a human’s heart (notice when something happens to the spirit in the Bible the same thing is also happening to the heart):
When a spirit is grieved a heart is also grieved:
Psalm 73:21
“...When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,…”
When a spirit is broken a heart is also broken:
Psalm 51:17
“My sacrifice, Oh God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
When a spirit is stubborn a heart is also stubborn
Deuteronomy 2:30
“…his spirit [is] stubborn and his heart obstinate…”
Psalm 78:8
“…whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.”
When a spirit asks a question the heart meditates on it:
Psalm 77:6
“...I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked:…”
When the spirit gets tired the heart also gets tired:
Psalm 143:4
“...my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.”
When a spirit is revived the heart is also renewed:
Psalm 51:10
“Create in me a pure heart, Oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
(Notice both the heart and spirit are inside the body linking both together inside the body).
There is obviously a very strong connection with the human heart and the spirit: but a closer look into why the human heart and spirit share this close connection: this is because this spirit is a part of the heart: specifically, this spirit is inside the heart:
This spirit of God also feels emotions like a human spirit:
Isaiah 63:10
“...they rebelled and grieved his…Spirit.”
But this spirit also is very very different from a human's spirit (or any other living being’s spirit):
This spirit cannot be fully understood:
Isaiah 40:13
“Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,…”
And along with searching God’s thoughts it also searches everything thought's
1st Corinthians 2:10
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.”
God himself also talk about his spirit himself:
Genesis 6:3
“Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not contend with humans forever…”
This is very significant, because even though it’s true that God is also considered nothing but spirit himself, he is never described as having a soul (body) or even really the breath of life like humans do: the only thing he seems to have in common with humans is that he has a spirit that controls his consciousness!
So, whatever this spirit is it must be something that controls all living things with consciousness. But we still don’t really know what this spirit is: while throughout the entire Bible it does not really say what exactly this spirit is, eventually in one of his books, Paul reveals what exactly this spirit is by quoting an Old Testament verse that is talking about this spirit but changes the word to a more modern and relevant Greek word:
He does this why he is praising God’s ultimate and endless wisdom:
Romans 11:33-36
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
(Isaiah 40:13)
‘Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?’…”[2]
He specifically quotes Isaiah that originally talked about the spirit of God, he translates this word “spirit” with a whole new Greek word: “νοῦς”(nooce) which does not mean spirit but means ‘mind,mental capacity and/or thought’[2] This is massive, because he basically clarifies in this translation, that this spirit of God is none other than God’s mind or inner thoughts!
This makes sense from all of the descriptions of God’s spirit:
God’s spirit knows all his though and has emotions: if this is God’s mind then of course God’s mind knows his thought’s: his mind is his thoughts!
God’s spirit also knows is beyond understanding and searches all things: if this is God’s mind then of course God’s mind is beyond understanding as Paul says above:
If he knows and understands things no other living creature knows, then of course no one trully understands it! And his spirit also searches all things: his mind (he himself) is really searching all things and this is true: if he knows all things then his mind is searching all things out!
If this is true for God’s spirit, then it’s also true for all human spirits!
This means we have found out what the spirit within a human is: The spirit within a human is their mind!
This also makes sense in light of all the descriptions above:
A human’s spirit gives them understanding because it’s their mind that gives a human the ability to understand:
Job 32:8
“it is the spirit (mind) in a person,…that gives them understanding.”
A human’s spirit can feel emotions because it’s their mind that allows them to feel and process emotions and can thus experience emotions:
Mary was excited and thankful to God in her mind, so she could say:
Luke 1:46-47
“... my spirit (mind) rejoices in God my Savior,…”
Job was in torture in his mind over his painful situation he was in (both mentally for all that was happening and physically because of his sickness) so he said:
Job 7:3-11
“...I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn. My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering. My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope…Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit (mind),…”
Isaac and Rebekah’s spirit was grieved by Esau’s wives because they were grieved in their minds over the situation (over his marriage to them). (and this is how it is sometimes even translated in many English translations: the word for “spirit” is translated as “mind”, just like Paul did!):
Genesis 26:34-35
“...When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah[‘s mind].” [1]
So, all these emotions are controlled by the mind and are the reason humans feel emotion. and this is absolutely true: along with understanding, the mind is responsible for making and processing emotion.
This is also the reason why a spirit can get tired or even be broken:
In extreme depression, anxiety, or grief; the mind is so troubled with depression and/or stress it can actually get tired of the stressful thoughts:
Like David: He was in a horrible situation of being hunted down by his enemies trying to kill him: his mind (and possibly the rest of his body) was getting tired of the situation.
Psalm 143:4
“The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead. So my spirit (mind) grows faint within me;…”
This spirit can be crushed/broken is another way of saying that a human mind is very troubled or feels hopeless about a situation:
Like Job: he had lost everything: his children, his wealth and even his own health: He though God was clearly against him, so he had no hope of the situation getting better: he was definitively going to die!
Job 17:1
“My spirit (mind) is broken (given up: depressed), my days are cut short, the grave awaits me.”
This spirit can meditate and ask questions:
Psalm 77:6
“…My heart meditated and my spirit asked:…”
the mind can also meditate (or think on something) and ask questions which are called thoughts (and it even calls these questions thoughts later in a verse confirming they are nothing, but thoughts asked by the author)
Psalm 77:6
“…my spirit (mind) asked: ‘Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Then I thought, ‘To this I will appeal:…’”
And this is also true: the mind allows thinking and thoughts when not spoken out loud so it can ask questions to the human it’s in (or better put, you can ask yourself question in thoughts).
Also, based on how a human’s spirit feels (what a human mind thinks) it can make a human decide to take a certain action:
Like it caused Sihon to refuse to let the Isrealites pass through his country:
Deuteronomy 2:30
“But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For…his spirit (mind) [is] stubborn ”
This is because his mind was stubborn to the Idea of these foreigners coming through his land, so since he though this way he decided to not let them go through: along with feeling emotions, the mind allows humans to make decisions based on how they feel.
Or like it caused Job’s friend, Elihu, to speak out his thoughts on Job’s situation:
Job 32:17-20
“I too will have my say; I too will tell what I know. For I am full of words, and the spirit (mind) within me compels me; inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst. I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply.”
This is because why Job’s friends were talking to him Elihu desperately wanted to speak his own opinion because he had so many thoughts in his mind that he really wanted to speak out but could not because someone else was talking. SO, when they stopped speaking, he knew in his mind that it was finally his turn, so he spoke because he really desired to tell his thoughts.
Finally, a spirit can be renewed when a human mind hears good news or when God helps a human mind refocus to think like him:
Like when Israel found out his son was alive after all these years of thinking he was dead: his mind became excited and happy after all these years of being depressed and sad:
Genesis 45:27-28
“...when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts, Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit (mind) of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, ‘I’m convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.’”
Or like when David committed a horrible sin of Adultery and wanted to change his life by asking God to make his spirit (mind) renewed and pure again:
Psalms 51:3-10
“…I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;…Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Create in me a pure heart, Oh God,and renew a steadfast spirit(mind) within me.”
He was asking God to make his mind/thoughts pure again because he had allowed them to become unpure and he committed sin because of it!
So, we see the spirit and mind match perfectly together and it makes perfect sense this is the human mind being talked about all through these verses. This is what this spirit is! It’s a human’s mind or though process it is their consciousness: this makes sense to why it controls thinking, emotion, understanding, and actions: it is their consciousness that is formed along with the heart and the rest of a human’s body by God.
Sources:
[1]
(Note: even though the verse does not originally say “Isaac and Rebekah‘s spirit” nor does it mention anything about their spirits, in the original Hebrew text it was translated from, it does directly mention that their spirits were grieved: because the same word used for “spirit” in other verses is used here.)
[A] Genesis 26:35 Hebrew interlinear from Biblehub
Website:
https://biblehub.com/text/genesis/26-35.htm
[B] Genesis 26:35 New King James Version (NKJV) from Biblehub
Website:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+26%3A35&version=NKJV
[2]
[A] Greek interlinear Romans 11:34 by Biblehub
Website:
https://biblehub.com/text/romans/11-34.htm
[B] Strong’s Greek--3563.”νοῦς”(nooce)-- mind, understanding, reason,by Biblehub
Website:
https://biblehub.com/greek/3563.htm
[C] Isaiah 40:13 Hebrew interlinear by Biblehub
Website:
https://biblehub.com/text/isaiah/40-13.htm
[3]
Merriam-Webister dictionary “mind”
Webiste: