ruach · wind, spirit

What it means

ruach (רוּחַ) is an Aramaic word of the Bible that means “wind, spirit”.

Wind; spirit (Aramaic): the wind of the sky, and the spirit of a person or of God. The same word as the Hebrew "ruach".

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. Air moving through the sky, blowing and stirring things.
2. What moves a person inside and gives ability; also the spirit of God.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• spirit ×9
• wind ×1
• winds ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Daniel 2:35

  Then were crushed all together the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, and they became like the chaff of the threshing floors of summer; and the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled all the earth.

• Daniel 4:8

  And at last Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and the dream I told before him:

• Daniel 4:9

  “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery is too hard for you, tell the visions of my dream that I saw and its interpretation.

• Daniel 4:18

  This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, Belteshazzar, tell the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

• Daniel 5:11

  There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and in the days of your father light and insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners, — your father, the king —

• Daniel 5:12

  because an extraordinary spirit and knowledge and insight for interpreting dreams and declaring riddles and loosening knots were found in him, in Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will declare the interpretation.”

• Daniel 5:14

  And I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and insight and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you.

• Daniel 5:20

  But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he acted proudly, he was brought down from the throne of his kingdom, and his honor was taken from him.

• Daniel 6:3

  Then this Daniel was distinguishing himself above the supervisors and the satraps, because an extraordinary spirit was in him, and the king was planning to set him over all the kingdom.

• Daniel 7:2

  Daniel answered and said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and look, the four winds of the heavens were stirring up the great sea.

• Daniel 7:15

  As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within its sheath, and the visions of my head were troubling me.