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breathe, breath

Definition:

In the Bible, the terms "breathe" and "breath" are often used figuratively to refer to giving life or having life.

  • The Bible teaches that God "breathed into" Adam the breath of life. It was at that point that Adam became a living soul.
  • When Jesus breathed on the disciples and told them to "receive the Spirit," he was probably literally breathing out air onto them to symbolize the Holy Spirit coming to them.
  • Sometimes the terms "breathing" and "breathing out" are used to refer to speaking.
  • The figurative expression "breath of God" or "breath of Yahweh" often refers to God's wrath being poured out on rebellious or godless nations. It communicates his power.

Translation Suggestions

  • The expression "breathed his last" is a figurative way of saying "he died." It could also be translated as "he took his last breath" or "he stopped breathing and died" or "he breathed in air one last time."
  • Describing the Scriptures as "God-breathed" means that God spoke or inspired the words of the Scriptures which human authors then wrote down. It is probably best, if possible, to translate "God-breathed" somewhat literally since it is difficult to communicate the exact meaning of this.
  • If a literal translation of "God-breathed" is not acceptable, other ways to translate this could include "inspired by God" or "authored by God" or "spoken by God." It could also be said that "God breathed out the words of Scripture."
  • The expressions "put breath in" or "breathe life into" or "gives breath to" could be translated as "cause to breathe" or "make alive again" or "enable them to live and breathe" or "give life to."
  • If possible, it is best to translate "breath of God" with the literal word that is used for "breath" in the language. If God cannot be said to have "breath," this could be translated as "God's power" or "God's speech."
  • The expression "catch my breath" or "get my breath" could be translated as "relax in order to breathe more slowly" or "stop running in order to breathe normally."
  • The expression "is only a breath" means "lasts a very short time."
  • Similarly the expression "man is a single breath" means "people live a very short time" or "the lives of human beings are very short, like a single breath" or "compared to God, the life of a person seems as short as the time it takes to breathe in one breath of air."

(See also: Adam, Paul, word of God, life)

Bible References: