THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

ENCYCLOPEDIA ON MORMONISM 1992 HOLY “GHOST”

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter﷓day Saints teaches that the Holy Ghost is a spirit man, a spirit son of God the Father. It is fundamental Church doctrine that God is the Father of the spirits of all men and women, that Jesus is literally God's Son both in the spirit and in the flesh, and that the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit separate and distinct from both the Father and the Son. The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Eternal Godhead, and is identified also as the Holy Spirit, Spirit of God [syn. Light of Christ], Spirit of the Lord, and the comforter. All three members of the Godhead were manifested at Jesus' baptism (Mark 1:9﷓12; see also Dove, Sign of). Regarding them the Prophet Joseph Smith taught: "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us" (D&C 130:22). In a figurative sense, the Holy Ghost dwells in the hearts of the righteous Saints of all dispensations (D&C 20:18﷓21).”

“Joseph Smith also stated that an "everlasting covenant was made between three personages before the organization of this earth, and relates to their dispensation of things to men on the earth; these personages…are called God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the witness or Testator" (TPJS, p. 190).”

“Latter﷓day Saints understand that by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel Adam received the Holy Ghost and thus learned that redemption from the Fall will come through Christ to all who accept him (Moses 5:6﷓9). Thus, the gospel was preached from the beginning, being declared by angels, by the voice of God, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost (Moses 5:58﷓59; cf. 2 Pet. 1:21). Nephi1 (c. 600 B.C.) testified that the Holy Ghost is "the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men…. For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come" (1 Ne. 10:17﷓19).”

“Joseph Smith taught that the influence of the Holy Ghost, which is the convincing power of God of the truth of the gospel, can be received before baptism, but the gift, or constant companionship, of the Holy Ghost, which comes by the laying﷓on of hands, is obtained only after baptism (TPJS, p. 199). "You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man," he said, "if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half—that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost" (TPJS, p. 314). Thus, a person is expected to receive the witness of the Holy Ghost to the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, of scripture, and of the words of the living prophets before baptism; the full outpouring of the Spirit does not come, however, until the person has complied with the command to be baptized. Only after baptism can the gift be conferred by one in authority (Moro. 10:3﷓5; D&C 76:52). And even then the Holy Ghost cannot be received by someone who is not worthy of it, since the Holy Ghost will not dwell in the heart of an unrighteous person. Thus, the actual companionship of the Holy Ghost may be received immediately after baptism or at a subsequent time, when the one receiving the promise becomes a fit companion for that holy being. Should the individual cease thereafter to be clean and obedient, the Holy Ghost will withdraw (1 Cor. 3:16﷓17).”

“The Holy Ghost is a sanctifier. Because no unclean thing can dwell in a divine presence, the whole system of salvation centers on the process of sanctification; people are saved to the extent that they are sanctified. Sanctification and holiness are inseparable. "To be sanctified is to become clean, pure, and spotless; to be free from the blood and sins of the world; to become a new creature of the Holy Ghost, one whose body has been renewed by the rebirth of the Spirit. Sanctification is a state of saintliness, a state attained only by conformity to the laws and ordinances of the gospel" (MD, p. 675).”

“The Holy Ghost is a revelator. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that "no man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations" (TPJS, p. 328). To enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost is to enjoy the spirit of revelation (D&C 8:2﷓3). Without revelation there can be no competent witness of Christ or his gospel (Rev. 19:10). The Holy Ghost is the source of all saving knowledge. Those who sincerely and prayerfully seek this knowledge are promised that everything expedient will be revealed to them (D&C 18:18). Nephi testified that Christ manifests himself "unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith" (2 Ne. 26:13; cf. 1 Cor. 2:11﷓13; D&C 76:116).”

“The Holy Ghost is a teacher. All who will be saved must be tutored by the Holy Ghost. The things of the Spirit can only be understood when taught and learned by the Spirit (D&C 50:11﷓24). The divine commission to teach the truths of salvation rests with the Holy Ghost. Jesus was filled with the power of the Holy Ghost (Luke 4:1). "He spake not as other men, neither could he be taught; for he needed not that any man should teach him" (JST Matt. 3:25). The Father gave Christ the Spirit without measure (John 3:34). Angels also speak by the power of the Holy Ghost (2 Ne. 32:3). Such is the standard for all who go forth in Christ's name. "Ye are not sent forth to be taught," the Savior said to the early Latter﷓day Saints, "but to teach the children of men the things which I have put into your hands by the power of my Spirit; and ye are to be taught from on high. Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power, that ye may give even as I have spoken" (D&C 43:15﷓16).”

“Describing the influence of the Holy Ghost as it fell upon him and Oliver Cowdery, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, "We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation. Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of" (JS—H 1:73﷓74; cf. Alma 5:46). The Holy Ghost also brings to remembrance that which has previously been learned (John 14:26), directs that for which one should pray (D&C 46:30), and makes known what is to be spoken in preaching and teaching (D&C 84:85).”

“The Holy Ghost is the Comforter. A distinctive characteristic of the truths of salvation is that they are attended by a spirit of comfort and peace. It is the office of the Holy Ghost to lift burdens, give courage, strengthen faith, grant consolation, extend hope, and reveal whatever is needed to those having claim on his sacred companionship (Moses 6:61).”

“Jesus taught that no sin is greater than the sin against the Holy Ghost (Matt. 12:31﷓32). A latter﷓day revelation explains, "The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which shall not be forgiven in the world nor out of the world, is in that ye commit murder wherein ye shed innocent blood, and assent unto my death, after ye have received my new and everlasting covenant, saith the Lord God" (D&C 132:27). Joseph Smith observed further that such a one rejects the Son after the Father has revealed him, denies the truth, and defies the Plan of Salvation. "From that time he begins to be an enemy…. He gets the spirit of the devil—the same spirit that they had who crucified the Lord of Life—the same spirit that sins against the Holy Ghost. You cannot save such persons; you cannot bring them to repentance; they make open war, like the devil, and awful is the consequence" (TPJS, p. 357﷓58; cf. D&C 76:31﷓38, 43﷓48; see also Unpardonable Sin).”

“The Holy Ghost is such an uplifting power and source of necessary gospel knowledge that to have his constant companionship and influence is the greatest gift a person can receive in mortality (cf. D&C 121:46). It is reported that on one occasion, when the Prophet Joseph Smith was asked, "Wherein [the LDS Church] differed from the other religions of the day," he replied, that it was in "the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying﷓on of hands,…[and] that all other considerations were contained in the gift of the Holy Ghost" (HC 4:42).”

Bibliography
McConkie, Bruce R. A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, chaps. 28﷓31. Salt Lake City, 1985.
McConkie, Joseph Fielding, and Robert L. Millet. The Holy Ghost. Salt Lake City, 1989.
Author Joseph Fielding McConkie

MORMON 1992 VIEW OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

“The Light of Christ refers to the spiritual power that emanates from God to fill the immensity of space and enlightens every man, woman, and child. Other terms sometimes used to denote this same phenomenon are Holy Spirit, "Spirit of the Lord," and "Spirit of Truth," but it is different from the Holy Ghost. The scriptures are not always precise in the use of such terminology, and several attempts have been made to describe the various aspects of this important manifestation of God's goodness and being.”

“Jesus Christ is the light and life of the world (John 8:12; 3 Ne. 15:9). This light is described in the Doctrine and Covenants as "the same light that quickeneth your understandings; which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—the light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things (D&C 88:11﷓13). B. H. Roberts, a seventy, interpreted this to mean that the Light of Christ is a creative power, a governing power, a life﷓giving power, and an "intelligence﷓inspiring power" (Roberts, 2:7﷓8).”

“This light manifests itself in different ways and degrees. In its "less refined existence," wrote Parley P. Pratt, it is visible as sunlight. It is also the refined "intellectual light of our inward and spiritual organs, by which we reason, discern, judge, compare, comprehend, and remember the subjects within our reach." It is revealed as instinct in animals, reason in man, and vision in the prophets (p. 25).”

John A. Widtsoe gave this general description of the emanation of God's power: "God is a personal being of body—a body limited in extent. He cannot, therefore, at a given moment be personally everywhere…. By his power, will and word, [he] is everywhere present…. The Holy Spirit permeates all the things of the universe, material and spiritual" (Widtsoe, pp. 68﷓69).”

“Since God possesses a fulness of this power and man only a small portion, it becomes a goal of Latter﷓day Saints to receive more of this light, which for the faithful grows "brighter and brighter until the perfect day" (D&C 50:24). Initially, this "Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world" (D&C 84:46; see also John 1:9; Moro. 7:16). It equips all people with a basic discernment of good and evil, which Latter﷓day Saints often equate with conscience. By listening to the promptings of the Spirit one is led via faith and baptism to a higher spiritual blessing called the gift of the Holy Ghost, "a greater and higher Endowment of the same Spirit which enlightens every man that comes into the world" (C. W. Penrose, JD 23:350). Continued progression will eventually lead to a fulness of the Spirit, or glorification in the Celestial Kingdom..”

Bibliography
Pratt, Parley P. Key to the Science of Theology. Salt Lake City, 1979.
Roberts, B. H. Seventy's Course in Theology, 5 vols. Salt Lake City, 1907﷓1912; Vol. 3 on the doctrine of deity and Vol. 5 on divine immanence.
Smith, Joseph Fielding. DS, Vol. 1, pp. 49﷓54.
Widtsoe, John A. A Rational Theology. Salt Lake City, 1915.
Author C. Kent Dunford

Jay E. Jensen wrote the Encyclopedia of Mormonism article titled Spirit.. “The existence of both good and evil spirit beings is a prominent doctrine in LDS theology. Spirits are intelligent, self﷓existent, organized matter and are governed by eternal laws. Moreover, all living things had a pre﷓earthly spirit existence. LDS understanding on this subject is formulated by biblical and latter﷓day scripture and the teachings of latter﷓day prophets

“Latter﷓day revelation declares that "all spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure than the physical materials of earth life (D&C 131:7﷓8). The Prophet Joseph Smith explained:

“A very material difference [exists] between the body and the spirit; the body is supposed to be organized matter, and the spirit, by many, is thought to be immaterial, without substance. With this latter statement we should beg leave to differ, and state the spirit is a substance; that it is material, but that it is more pure, elastic and refined matter than the body; that it existed before the body, can exist in the body; and will exist separate from the body, when the body will be mouldering in the dust; and will in the resurrection, be again united with it [TPJS, p. 207].”

“Although the Lord has revealed much in ancient and latter﷓day scripture about spirit matter and spirit beings, many unknowns remain, especially the full meaning of such terms as "intelligence," "light," and "truth," which are used in the revelations in association with the word "spirit." Spirit matter is identified with intelligence or the light of truth (D&C 93:29). Joseph Smith taught that elements were not created or made, but can be organized into a spirit being. This spirit, intelligence, or light has always existed, being coeternal with God. It can act and be acted upon; it can be organized, but it cannot be destroyed. Spirits exist upon a self﷓existent principle, and "all…spirits that God ever sent into the world are susceptible of enlargement" (TPJS, pp. 351﷓54), meaning that they are capable of intellectual growth and maturation and that "there is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God" (TPJS, p. 191).”

“It is LDS doctrine that human spirits are the literal offspring of perfected, exalted parents, a Father and a Mother in Heaven (cf. Num. 16:22; Heb. 12:9). God instituted a Plan of Salvation whereby his spirit children could advance and become like him (see Council in Heaven). Paul said that the human family is God's offspring (Acts 17:29). All men and women lived as personal, individual spirit children with God in a premortal life before they were born into physical bodies. Likewise, one's personal, individual spirit existence extends beyond the death of the mortal body.”

“Jesus Christ was the firstborn of all God's spirit children and is thus the elder brother of the rest of mankind (see Jesus Christ: Firstborn in the Spirit). Because of the faith of the brother of jared (c. 2200 B.C.), he was permitted to see the Lord's premortal spirit body. The Lord explained to him, "Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image. Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; …and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh" (Ether 3:15﷓16). Since spirits are the offspring of Heavenly Parents, they are in that image and likeness, both male and female (Gen. 1:26﷓27; Moses 3:4﷓7; Abr. 3:18﷓23).”

“Enoch was shown a vision of the spirits of all men and women who had lived or who would yet live on the earth and who were first created as spirits in heaven (Moses 6:28; 7:38﷓40, 57). Abraham also saw the premortal spirits of mankind and noted that they varied in intelligence and obedience (Abr. 3:18﷓19). Among these were many noble and great ones whom God said he would make rulers and leaders in his kingdom. Abraham was told that he was one of these and was chosen before he was born (Abr. 3:22﷓23). Many were foreordained to perform certain tasks when upon the earth (see Foreordination). In the premortal state, spirits received their first lessons in the gospel and the work of God that they would do on the earth (D&C 138:55﷓56; cf. Jer. 1:5; Eph. 1:3﷓4; Titus 1:2). Many of these spirit beings were called and prepared from the foundation of the world because of their faith and good works, to bear the priesthood and teach the gospel and the commandments of God in mortality (Alma 13:1﷓6).”

“Inherent in the makeup of their intelligent nature, spirits have agency and are able to make choices. The scriptures teach that spirits are capable of all the emotions, passions, and intellectual experiences exhibited by mortals, including love, anger, hate, envy, knowledge, obedience, rebellion, jealousy, repentance, loyalty, activity, thought, and comprehension. Using their agency, some of God's children rebelled in the premortal life, and war in heaven ensued. The rebellious spirits followed Lucifer and with him were cast down to the earth and became devils or evil spirits, never to receive physical bodies on earth (Moses 4:1﷓4; D&C 76:25﷓27; cf. Rev. 12:4, 7﷓9; D&C 29:36). Satan and his followers remain spirit beings made in the image of God but are still rebellious and evil. They are desirous of having a mortal body. The Prophet Joseph Smith explained, "The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment. He is pleased when he can obtain the tabernacle of man, and when cast out by the Savior he asked to go into the herd of swine, showing that he would prefer a swine's body to having none" (TPJS, p. 181; cf. pp. 297﷓98).”

“Latter﷓day revelation has not identified or clarified the nature of seraphim or cherubim mentioned in the Bible (Gen. 3:24; Isa. 6:2) and whether these are spirit beings or merely symbolic representations. Some spirits are messengers of the Lord and minister to mortals (Heb. 1:14; D&C 129), but spirit ministrants cannot perform all the functions of those angels who have resurrected bodies (TPJS, pp. 191, 325).”

“A spirit being who has never entered mortality is in an "unembodied" state. A spirit with a mortal body is in an "embodied" state and the body and spirit constitute the soul (D&C 88:15). Death is the separation of the mortal, physical body from the spirit (James 2:26), after which the spirit lives in a "disembodied" state in the postmortal spirit world, while the mortal, physical body, without life, decays in the grave. In the postmortal world, the spirit awaits being "reembodied" in the resurrection, which is the reuniting of the spirit and the body, never to be separated (Alma 11:44﷓45). Every person in the mortal world has come from the spirit world, and all will eventually die and then be resurrected.”

“Latter﷓day revelation teaches that God the Father and Jesus Christ are resurrected, exalted beings, meaning that they have glorified bodies of flesh and bones (D&C 130:22). Man exists that he "might have joy" (2 Ne. 2:25), and the revelations teach that a fulness of joy can be experienced only in the resurrected state—with the spirit and the body inseparably united (D&C 93:33﷓34). Therefore, existence as a spirit alone in either the premortal or postmortal spirit world has its limitations. Departed spirits who know the plan of God and the value of a physical body are anxious to be resurrected (D&C 45:17; 138:50). Because they rejected God's Plan of Salvation, Lucifer and his followers have been denied forever the privilege of having a physical body and thus are limited or curtailed in their progress. The Lord declared, "Where I am they cannot come, for they have no power" (D&C 29:29).” “The spirit creation pertains not to the human family alone but to all living things. Latter﷓day scriptures teach that the human spirit is in the likeness of that which is physical, as was demonstrated in the case of the spirit of Jesus Christ, who appeared to the brother of Jared, noted above.

Thus, "the spirit of man [is] in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of the beast, and every other creature which God has created" (D&C 77:2; see also Animals). Moses wrote that every plant of the field, every herb, indeed every thing, was created "in heaven" before it was naturally upon the face of the earth (Moses 3:5﷓7). [See also First Estate; Hell; Spirit Body; Spirit Prison.]”

Bibliography
"The Father and the Son: A Doctrinal Exposition by the First Presidency and the Twelve." AF, pp. 465﷓73. Salt Lake City, 1963.
Millet, Robert L., and Joseph F. McConkie. The Life Beyond. Salt Lake City, 1986.
"The Origin of Man," An official declaration in MFP 4:200﷓206.
Packer, Boyd K. "The Law and the Light." In The Book of Mormon: Jacob Through the Words of Mormon, To Learn with Joy, ed. M. Nyman and C. Tate, pp. 1﷓31. Provo, Utah, 1990.
Smith, Joseph. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, ed. Joseph Fielding Smith, pp. 202﷓215. Salt Lake City, 1938.
Top, Brent, L. The Life Before. Salt Lake City, 1988.
Author Jay E. Jensen

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

GOLDEN GATE BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

PACIFIC NORTHWEST CAMPUS

L1212 - SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY II

DR. CLINT ASHLEY

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

GERALD L. STOKES

MAY 17, 2002

INTRODUCTION

As I gathered passages dealing with these issues, I discovered it is hard to find a strictly Old Testament frame of reference on the Holy Spirit. Christian theology is based more in the Greek New Testament with its connection to the Greek Septuagint. I found Greeks and Jews thought very differently. The goal of the Jewish mind was “Da’ath Elohim,” or a knowledge of God. The aim of the Greek was “Gnothi seauton” or know yourself. This has created a wide gap. As I tried to study Old Testament theology, I found that Christian theology has not always given as much emphasis to the Old Testament.

To evaluate textual sources I will partition my research from the Law, the Prophets, the Writings. As a Christian, I have no hierarchy as to inspiration of different books like the Jews who associate a higher degree of inspiration to the Law than to the prophets or writings. The reason I have chosen to research the Holy Spirit from an Old Testament perspective is because Dispensationalists, Pentecostals, Charismatics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormons all have distinctive views of his person and work. Millard Erickson says there is a reason behind the confusion. “Unlike other doctrines there are no systematic discussions regarding the Holy Spirit.”

I plan to approach each text using standard exegetical and hermeneutical tools with the goal of trying to discover what Michael J. Gorman calls “authorial intention”using a “synchronic approach.” As I progress in my research, I will carefully ask each passage, “what is really meant by this text?” It will be the purpose of this research to pursue each passage in a neutral setting allowing the passage itself to have its full authority.

Some assumptions will mark my research regarding the authority that lies behind my own theological determination. My first assumption is that my God, who is both sovereign and holy, was able and faithful to express his will in his word. I recognize that no one living today was around when the biblical authors and scribes did their work. For this reason, the core of what I believe about the Bible itself rests in my faith about the God of the Bible himself. Since it was the work of the Holy Spirit himself to author Scripture, I believe it is important to agree with David who said, "the Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue” [2 Sam 23:2]. Two important Jewish converts, Peter and Paul, later experienced that same inspiration as they penned letters in the New Testament [1 Tim. 3:16, 2 Pet. 1:19-21].

My assumptions conform with Martin Luther’s Sola Scriptura, which means my final theological determination will rely on the weight of God’s word alone. When I approach what many might term a difficult passage, I plan to give “direct statements” in Scripture more authority than “direct implications.” When we have “probable implications” of Scripture, I will give them less authority. Because my research has shown that the conclusions of other students and even the finest scholars are variable, I give their conclusions a decreased weight of authority when compared with the Scriptures themselves. Conclusions inferred from general revelation I weigh with even less authority. Outright speculations which use hypothesis based on a single statement in Scripture, or on an unclear portion of Scripture, I use with a high degree of uncertainty. Finally, I choose to limit my research within Calvin’s plea that we agree with Augustine, “when the Lord is silent, who of us may say, this is or that is? Or if we should presume to say it, how do we prove it??”

NEW UNGER'S BIBLE DICTIONARY HOLY SPIRIT
Scriptural Designations (Heb. ruah, 'elohim "Spirit of God," or ruah, YHWH, "Spirit of Jehovah"; Gk. to pneuma to hagion, "the Holy Ghost," or "the Holy Spirit"). Frequently the term is simply "the Spirit," or "the Spirit of the Lord," or "the Spirit of God." [New Unger's Bible Dictionary]

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYLOPAEDIA

The expression Spirit, or Spirit of God, or Holy Spirit, is found in the great majority of the books of the Bible. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word uniformly employed for the Spirit as referring to God's Spirit is ruach meaning "breath," "wind" or "breeze." The verb form of the word is ruach, or riach used only in the Hiphil and meaning "to breathe," "to blow." A kindred verb is rawach, meaning "to breathe" "having breathing room," "to be spacious," etc. The word always used in the New Testament for the Spirit is the Greek neuter noun pneuma, with or without the article, and for Holy Spirit, pneuma hagion, or to pneuma to hagion. In the New Testament we find also the expressions, "the Spirit of God," "the Spirit of the Lord," "the Spirit of the Father," "the Spirit of Jesus," "of Christ." The word for Spirit in the Greek is from the verb pneo, "to breathe," "to blow." The corresponding word in the Latin is spiritus, meaning "spirit."

I. The Teachings as to the Spirit in the Old Testament.-- At the outset we note the significance of the term itself.

1. Meaning of the Word: From the primary meaning of the word which is "wind," as referring to Nature, arises the idea of breath in man and thence the breath, wind or Spirit of God. We have no way of tracing exactly how the minds of the Biblical writers connected the earlier literal meaning of the word with the Divine Spirit. Nearly all shades of meaning from the lowest to the highest appear in the Old Testament, and it is not difficult to conceive how the original narrower meaning was gradually expanded into the larger and wider. The following are some of the shades of Old Testament usage. From the notion of wind or breath, ruach came to signify: (1) the principle of life itself; spirit in this sense indicated the degree of vitality: "My spirit is consumed, my days are extinct" (; also ); (2) human feelings of various kinds, as anger , desire , courage ; (3) intelligence ; (4) general disposition .

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT LAW

THE SPIRIT IN CREATION

Both the Hebrew and Greek Bibles link Spirit with the word God. In the Hebrew he was Elohim ~yhil{a and in the Greek Theos qeou/ which both agree in defining a description of God without being a personal proper name. Mosaic authors appear to be giving us a picture of the Holy Spirit as fully God moving over a chaotic sea with sufficient power to bring order. Does this passage evidence the personhood of the Spirit? Reading primarily modern English translations alone seems to evidence clearly this is the work of an intelligent Spirit associated with God. But not all Hebrew scholars agree. Gorden Wenham in his 1998 translation of Genesis 1:2 for the Word Biblical Commentary demonstrates how many are thinking of that verse today.

“And the Wind of God hovered over the waters.” There is deep disagreement among modern commentators as to the correct interpretation of this phrase. On the one hand von Rad, Speiser, Schmidt, Westermann, and NEB see this as simply a description of the primeval chaos and therefore translate it “a mighty wind swept over the surface of the waters.” On the other hand, Cassuto, Kidner, and Gispen, as well as older commentators such as Gunkel, Skinner, and Procksch prefer the traditional translation: “The Spirit of God was moving … ” while Ridderbos and Steck think “the breath of God” a preferable translation.” Wenham concludes by saying, “thus the phrase must be taken to involve some manifestation of God, whether as wind, spirit, or breath.”

The account of Adam’s creation is another evidence for the Spirit. “Then the LORD God shaped man from the dust of the land and blew into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living creature” [Gen 2:7]. All the metaphors of potter and clay come back to this earthy beginning. Wenham says of this passage uses different Hebrew vocabulary.

“The breath of life” (µyyj tmvn ) is different from the word for “spirit” (jwr ) in Ezekiel. Indeed hmvn and jwr sometimes occur in parallel (e.g., Job 27:3; Isa 42:5) suggesting a near synonymity. In fact hmvn “breath” is a narrower and rarer term than jwr “wind, spirit.” “Breath,” the ability to breathe, is a key characteristic of animal life as opposed to plant life. The flood destroyed “everything which has the breath of life in its nostrils” (7:22). Frequently, however, “breath” is more restrictive: to have breath is to be human (Josh 11:11; Isa 2:22), though it can of course be used analogically of the breath of God, e.g., 2 Sam 22:16. So when this verse says God blew into man’s nostrils the breath of life, it is affirming that God made him alive by making him breathe. As a result of this divine inbreathing, man became a “living creature” (hyj vpn.”

Job taught about the Spirit’s work of creation, "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” [Job 33:4]. We see author of Job used ruach much like the Mosaic author did in Genesis 1:2. Old Testament scholar Edmund Jacob says the term ruach is often used to denote the “breath of life” or the “breath of God” which demonstrate that part of the creative work of the Spirit involved its being a source for life as in this passage in Job. Jacob says “numerous passages in the Old Testament affirm that the breath of God is life-giving [Gen 6:17, 7:15, Num 16:22, Jg 15:19, Ps. 104:29, Eccl 3:1, 9:21, 12:7, Isa 37:6, 8, Zech 12:1].

THE SPIRIT IN THE GENESIS FLOOD

Gordon Wenham says, “almost every word in this statement has been the subject of controversy, though there are signs of an emerging consensus among recent commentators.” This passage contains evidence that the Holy Spirit and the personal, proper name Yahweh hw"hy> God were linked. For those seeing the spirit as an impersonal force, we see instead evidence for a personal being linked with a pronoun to Yahweh. We see a person capable of deciding which humans would strive with, and for how long he would continue his effort. Old Testament scholar Wenham wrote, “My spirit.” Though Skinner argued this referred “to the divine substance common to Yahweh and the angels” (145), it seems much more likely that it denotes the life-giving power of God, on which every creature is entirely dependent for its life. It is called the “breath of life” (2:7) or “the spirit of life” (6:17; 7:15) and the phrase “my spirit” is used again in Ezek 37:14.” While not everyone prefers to use the word “remain,” Wenham says, “However, the early translators (G, Vg) seem to have been confirmed by modern etymological research. Cassuto pointed to cognates in Akkadian, Aramaic, Arabic, and late Hebrew which all support the meaning “abide, remain.”

THE HOLY SPIRIT AT THE TOWER OF BABEL

Genesis 11:6-7
6. The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. 7. "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech."

We see the plural grammar in this passage just as we saw it in the Genesis creation account. While not all Hebrew scholars agree that this complexity evidences the entire Trinity which would include the Holy Spirit this is a distinct possibility. "Christians have traditionally seen this verse as adumbrating the Trinity. Clines (TB 19 [1968] 68–69), followed by Hasel (AUSS 13 [1975] 65–66) suggests that the plural is used because of plurality within the Godhead. God is addressing his Spirit who was present and active at the beginning of creation (1:2)."[Wenham, Gordon J., Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 1: Genesis 1-15, (Dallas, Texas: Word Books, Publisher) 1998.]

THE OPPOSITE OF PENTECOST

[Confound their language]. Jehovah understood the spirit, the motive, and the selfish plans of the rebellious people. Immediately he set out to upset their foolish schemes. The very thing they had sought to avoid came suddenly upon them. God directly intervened to see to it that no one understood the words of the others about him. And he scattered them far and wide. Hebrew [balal], "confound," indicates that there was a distinct disturbance that left the people greatly confused. The word Babel is translated [Babylon]. The best Hebrew lexicographers claim that it could not have come from the Hebrew [balal], to "confuse" or "mix," but that it meant "gate of God." Through a play on words it came to mean "confusion." The Aramaic word [balbel] means "confusion."

Alan Richardson reminds us that the bestowal of the gift of tongues at Pentecost (Acts 2:5-11) can be thought of as the reverse of the confusion of tongues at Babel. He says: "When men in their pride boast of their own achievements, their results nothing but division, confusion, and incomprehensibility; but when the wonderful works of God are proclaimed, then every man may hear the apostolic gospel in his own tongue" ([Genesis 1-11], p. 126). [Wycliffe Commentary].

THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES ISBE

Burton Scott Easton, The Confusion Of Tongues, International Standard Bible Encylopaedia
(tungz): According to , at some time not very long after the Flood, "the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.

1. The Narrative: And it came to pass, as they journeyed east" (the "they" is left vague) that they settled in the land of Shinar (Babylonia). There they undertook to build "a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven," using the Bah burned brick and "slime" as building materials. The motive was to "make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." This seems to mean that the buildings would give them a reputation for impregnability that would secure them against devastating invasions. "And Yahweh came down to see." And He said, "Nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do. Come, let us go down, and there confound their language." The persons spoken to are not named (compare ), nor is it explained how Yahweh, who in verse 5 was on earth, is now in heaven. "So Yahweh scattered them abroad from thence," and the name of the city was "called Babel (babhel); because Yahweh did there confound (balal) the language of all the earth: and from thence did Yahweh scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."

The purpose of this narrative is the explanation of the diversity of human languages. They originated through an act of Yahweh, in order to destroy the presumptuous designs of the first builders of Babylon.

2. Context: The section admittedly belongs to J and it has no connection with the matter (mostly P) in . For chapter 10 explains the origin of the nations "every one after his tongue, after their families" (verses 5,20,31) as due to the orderly migration and gradual spreading of the sons and descendants of Noah, and names Nimrod (verse 10) as the sole founder of Babylon. Nor does <11:1-9> logically continue the J matter in chapter 9, as too many persons are involved for the time immediately following the Flood. Still, it is quite possible that some J matter was dropped when the J and P sources were united at this point. Another possibility is to see in the continuation of , which it carries on smoothly, with the same distrust of human culture. The murderer Cain went to the East of Eden <4:16>, and his descendants brought in the knowledge of the various arts <4:20-22>. These descendants journeyed still farther to the East <11:2>, attempted to use their skill in building the tower and were punished by the balal catastrophe. No account of the Deluge could have followed, for all the diversities of languages would have been wiped away by that event.

This assumption of a special, early source within J probably best explains the facts. It is indicated by the very primitive, naive theology, which is much less developed than that of J as a whole. And the obscure relation of to the Flood narrative is accounted for, for two narratives were combined here, one of which contained an account of the Deluge, while the other did not.

3. Homogeneity: By using the repeated "going down" of verses 5,7 as a clue, the section can be resolved fairly easily into two narratives, e.g. (1) The men build a tower, "whose top may reach unto heaven," in order to make a name for themselves as marvelous builders. Yahweh, seeing the work beginning and "lest nothing be withholden from them," etc., goes down and confounds their language. (2) The men build a city, as a defensive measure, "lest we be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth." Yahweh goes down to see and scatters them abroad. For other analyses see the commentaries But they are hardly imperative. For (2) gives no motive for Yahweh's action, while "city" and "tower," "confusion of tongues" and "scattering," are complementary rather than parallel terms. The supposition that a few words describing Yahweh's return to heaven have disappeared somewhere from verse 6 relieves the awkwardness.

4. Historicity: The "historicity" of the narrative will be upheld by very few persons of the present day. Human languages began to diverge (if, indeed there ever was such a thing as a primitive language) tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years before the building of Babylon and long before human beings had attained enough skill to erect the most rudimentary structures, let alone such an elaborate affair as the brick-built city and tower of Babel. And what is true of languages as a whole is equally true of the languages spoken in the vicinity of Palestine If Egyptian Hittite, and the Semitic group have any common point of origin, it lies vastly back of the time and cultural conditions presupposed in . It is needless to enlarge on this, but for the harm done by a persistent clinging to the letter of the narrative, White's History of the Warfare of Science with Theology may be consulted. It belonged to the genius of the Hebrews to seek religious explanations of the things around them. And such an explanation of the origin of languages is the content of .

5. Sources: This explanation seems, as yet, to be without parallel, for the translation of the fragmentary British Museum Inscription K 3657 is entirely uncertain. Indeed, legends as to how the differences of human speech began seem to be extremely scanty everywhere, as if the question were not one that occupied the minds of primitive people. Comparative folklore still has much work to do as regards this special topic (for a few references see Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th edition), article "Babel" and Gunkel in loc.). The other features of the narrative, however, are without great significance. Buildings that were unfinished because the builders offended the gods are fairly abundant, and it is quite possible that the writer of had some particular Bah structure in mind (see BABEL, TOWER OF). Nor are attempts of men to climb into heaven difficult to conceive, when the sky is thought of (as it nearly always was until comparatively modern times) as a material dome. So Greek Bar (3:6 f) specifies that they "built the tower to the height of 463 cubits. And they took a gimlet, and sought to pierce the heaven, saying, Let us see whether the heaven is made of clay, or of brass, or of iron." Closely parallel to the Babel story is the Greek legend of the giants, who piled Pelion on Ossa in their attempt to storm the dwelling of the gods, and, as a matter of fact, the two accounts seem to be combined in Sib Or 3:97-104.

Whether aided by a tradition about some particular Babylonian tower or not, the localization of the story in Babylonia was inevitable. The Babylonians, above all nations in the world, relied on their wisdom and their skill, and so nowhere but in Babylon would this supreme presumption have been possible. Babylon, the embodiment of pride, at the very beginning of her existence was guilty of an act of pride so overwhelming as to call out God's vengeance. The "folk-etymology" babhel-balal (in Aramaic babhel-balbel) may have been suggested by this story or (perhaps more probably) it may have originated separately, perhaps at first as a piece of deliberate irony. Certainly the many languages that could be heard in Babylon were not without significance for the story.

6. Religious Value: The religious value of the story is dimmed for the modern reader because of the very primitive concepts that it contains. The men are able to build up into heaven. In order to see what they are doing Yahweh is obliged to "come down." He is obliged to take action lest His dwelling-place be invaded (compare ). And the "let us go down" of verse 7, while certainly not polytheistic, is equally certainly a polytheistic "remnant." On the other hand, it is to be noted that God's power is never in question and that there is no desperate and uncertain battle as in the Greek legend. Important, also (and often overlooked), is the realization that God's power is just as active in Babylon as it is in Palestine The primal meaning to the Israelite, however, was this: In Babylon was seen the greatest enemy of the people of God, possessing immeasurable resources. Humanly speaking, there were no limits to this power, and if it had been uncontrolled at the beginning, all the world would have been overwhelmed with the rule of evil. This God had prevented.

LITERATURE.-- Driver in Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (five volumes); Cheyne (article "Babel, Tower of") in Encyclopaedia Biblica; the commentaries on Genesis, especially those of Skinner, Driver, Procksch, and Gunkel.
Burton Scott Easton [International Standard Bible Encylopaedia]

THE SPIRIT IN THE EXODUS

THE SPIRIT INSTRUMENTAL IN GIVING THE LAW

THE SPIRIT IN JUDGES

THE SPIRIT IN SAMUEL, KINGS AND CHRONICLES

THE SPIRIT IN THE PROPHETS

ISAIAH

THE SPIRIT AND THE SUFFERING SERVANT

The Spirit of Yahweh is preferred. Hebrew scholar John Watts, wrote in 1998, “ The prophecy reaches behind David to Jesse (as Mic 5:1 [2] reaches behind Jerusalem to Bethlehem.” Watts says it demonstrates the way “Jesse’s descendants will take on new life. Job 14:7 uses the same words to picture the revival of an apparently dead tree.” Watts says the Spirit of Yahweh is a common theme in Isaiah “apparent throughout Isaiah’s vision (cf. 4:4; 32:15–20; 34:16; 40:7, 13; 42:1; 44:3; 47:16; 48:16; 59:19,21; 61:1,3).”

"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations” [Isa 42:1].

Gerald Hawthorne in 1987 wrote, “Yahweh’s db[ “servant” was identified as Jacob/Israel in 41:8–10 and was named “messenger to Zion” in 41:7. Now a servant is presented as the messenger of the heavenly court to bring notice of decisions reached there to the nations and to establish them as the verdict in the land.” Hawthorne wrote, “The integrity of the servant’s manner of service is expressed in vv 2–3. tmal “for truth, truly” expresses that integrity, while the rest of the verse notes in negative terms the quiet, pervasive, sensitive way that he will go about his task. The verdict must be made known and established for the nations.”

"As for me, this is My covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring," says the LORD, "from now and forever" [Isa 59:21]. Hawthorne says this passage confirms Yahweh’s promise saying “My spirit is the gift which makes rule or service possible [cf. Isa. 11:2].” Even in this Old Testament setting we see the Holy Spirit being defined as being personally related to Yahweh. It is spoken of as being a gift from Yahweh which allows otherwise impossible service to be accomplished.

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners” [Isa 61:1].

Hawthorne’s translation reads like this, “The spirit of my Lord Yahweh is on me because Yahweh has anointed me.” He comments, “The spirit of my Lord Yahweh: compare the similar theme of 11:2. There the king was clearly in view, whether real or ideal. Has anointed me: compare 45:1 where the reference is to Cyrus. The anointing here is clearly related more to God’s gift of his spirit than to the oil used in ceremonies. In 50:4 where another individual speaks of a divine mission, Yahweh’s discipline is the central theme.”

This passage was quoted by Jesus on the first day of his public ministry [Luke 4]. If we examine the context of Luke we see the Holy Spirit leading Messiah into the wilderness for temptation and then to the synagogue where this quotation was made. We see again Isaiah having a high view of the Holy Spirit. Where the Old Testament priests were anointed with oil, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit. We see no evidence that Isaiah intended to present an impersonal force when he mentioned the Holy Spirit.

PERSONALITY OF THE SPIRIT IN ISAIAH

Hawthorne’s translation reads, “Examine Yahweh’s scroll and read aloud. Let nothing be left out. Let (no line) miss its parallel line. For Yahweh’s mouth commanded (them) and his Spirit gathered them.” He comments the way this passage relays a judicial picture. “The judicial procedure closes with the formal instructions for the transcript, Yahweh’s scroll, to be read aloud to be sure that no item of the curses that comprise the judgment has been omitted.” “So that the body of evidence can be “collated and arranged by his Spirit stresses his direct participation in their origin.”

This work of the Spirit calls for personal attention to judgment in accordance with Yahweh’s scroll.

“Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as His counselor has informed Him?” [Isa 40:13]. Hawthorne’s translation reads, “Who can gauge Yahweh’s spirit? Or instruct him as his personal counselor?” The Spirit of Yahweh is in this passage a synonym for God.

Hawthorne says the word “gauge, survey” repeats the verb of v 12. LXX translates here with e[gnw “understood.” Isaiah saw no one but the Spirit being able to be Yahweh’s counselor. “The questions turn to the infinitely more impossible thought of evaluating God’s ways and strategies. No effort is made here to speak of weighing or measuring God himself; that is beyond consideration. Israel had challenged his announcement and his program. “Who can ‘second guess’ God?” Gauge is the same word used of the sky in v 12. jwr “spirit” is a literal translation. It includes mind, purpose, and plans, but moves beyond them to include motivation and implementation, wtx[ Ťya “personal counselor” is literally “man of his counsel.”

This passage is powerful evidence for both the deity and personhood of the Holy Spirit.

“But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore He turned himself to become their enemy, He fought against them. Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses. Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them” [Isa 63:10-11]. Hawthorne identifies the source of rebellion. “But they rebelled introduces the second part of Deuteronomy’s theology of sacred history. God’s goodness is met with Israel’s stiff-necked refusal. His holy spirit, like the angel of his face, is evidence of God’s presence and his agent of providential leading, salvation, and redemption. But Israel even in that ancient age rebuffed them. So God turned around. Instead of being their supporter and protector he became their enemy. He fought against them. The deuteronomic doctrine of retribution is evident here. God’s personal involvement with his people is evident positively in his leading and negatively in his judgment.”

Isaiah presents an intelligent personal agent [the Holy Spirit] who was able to judge action verses legal requirement, and having power to take action in defense of Yahweh’s holy covenant.

Isaiah’s theology of the Holy Spirit includes several important things. First he said the Holy Spirit was capable of being “grieved” [Isa 63:10] which comes from the Hebrew word WbC.[iw>. `atsab which means to cause pain or anger. Second there is evidence in verse 10 that “He” was more than an impersonal power source. Isaiah used the masculine singular. Third Isaiah names him “Holy Spirit” with holy coming from quadesh Avd>q and spirit from ruach x;Wr. When the rabbis translated ruach quadesh into the Septuagint they used to. pneu/ma to. a[gion with pneuma meaning spirit, and agion meaning holy. We see later New Testament authors using the same language as well as to. pneu/ma tou/ qeou/ which means the Spirit of God. The New Testament use of this language was not new, but an adaptation of the way Old Testament authors wrote about the Holy Spirit. The evidence from this connection demonstrates that the person of the Holy Spirit is fully God. While we do see some old covenant objects being made holy, we do not see that holiness as here where they were “grieved.” Evidence would suggest this is the domain of a person, but no Old Testament passage teaches a complete doctrine of the Spirit.

Isaiah 28:1-14
1. Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is at the head of the fertile valley of those who are overcome with wine!
2. Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; as a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has cast it down to the earth with His hand. 3. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden under foot.
4. And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is at the head of the fertile valley, will be like the first-ripe fig prior to summer, which one sees, and as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it.
5. In that day the LORD of hosts will become a beautiful crown and a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people;
6. A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, a strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.
7. And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; they reel while having visions, they totter when rendering judgment.
8. For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.
9. "To whom would He teach knowledge, and to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?
10. "For He says "Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line, a little here, a little there."'
11. Indeed, He will speak to this people through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12. He who said to them, "Here is rest, give rest to the weary," and, "Here is repose," but they would not listen.
13. So the word of the LORD to them will be, "Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line, a little here, a little there," that they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.
14. Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers, who rule this people who are in Jerusalem.

“Indeed, He will speak to this people through stammering lips and a foreign tongue” [Isa 28:11]. The context of this passage is like a lamentation. Since God’s people did not follow their Law, and instead invited pluralism, they will be taught by foreigners in a foreign land who spoke with foreign tongues. Chapters 28-33 contain prophecies concerning God’s people and their neighbors. This passage is actually a threat “if you will not listen to my speech, you will be forced to listen to the same message from those who speak with the intention of mocking you.”

John D. Watts says the word stammering actually comes “from g[l comes from a root meaning mock, deride, stammer. It is sometimes used of foreigners (33:19; 37:22). BDB (541) suggests the noun, used only here in this sense, means stammerings. KB thinks this refers to the people of stammering lips. Chalot refers it to the stammering itself, “by stammering lips.” Watts continues, “The respondent insists that God continued to speak to his people even through such a stammering lip. With another tongue is understood (Wildberger, 1060) to refer to the Assyrians. 33:19 speaks of “the people of a speech too obscure to hear, a stammering tongue,” while 36:11 tells of the Assyrians being asked to use their usual tongue, Aramaic.”

Even though this passage seems to have a clear and intended meaning, many modern Pentecostals or Charismatics interpret this passage as speaking prophetically of the future work of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Pentecostal theologians Duffield and Van Cleave say, “Regarding the speaking with new tongues, this phenomonon is also part of the Great Commission and it is promised to the Church in several places [1 Cor. 12:14, Acts 2:4, Isa 28:11, Acts 10:46, 19:6].”

Jack W. Hayford says of Isaiah 28:11, “the apostle Paul adapts this passage in 1 Corinthians 14:21 and refers to it as a statement from the Law. He challenges the Corinthian believers to recognize that the Old Testament context from which he takes his quote served as a judgment aganst those who would not hear the message of a prophet. In the New Testament context, the application is much the same, directed at the hardheartedness of believers.”

When Pentecostals and Charismatics read passages describing the Holy Spirit working inwardly in human beings as in Joel 2:23, 28-29, 1 Corinthians 14, and Acts 2, they automatically assume it should be connected to this “stammering lips” or “ecstatic tongues” as being the expected norm. This hermeneutic created division between Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals beginning in the early twentieth century. The division is often so deep it has led many Pentecostals to develop their own way of interpreting history.

Many see traditional Christianity as fallen and in need of a radical new spiritual Reformation which they claim is provided by a Pentecostal experience. Some define Pentecostals as being part of a “later rain” [Joel 2:23, 28-9, Acts 2:17-21] movement which they say is “the prelude to the end.” Because of this Pentecostals and non-pentecostals even differ in the way they interpret eschatology. As I studied the way Pentecostals connect all these verses, I found them violating many hermeutical rules often misses what the passage is saying.

THE PERSONALITY OF THE SPIRIT IN OTHER PROPHETS

H.G.M.Williamson, author of the Word Biblical Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah comments on the way God abandoned them to the power of their enemies”), and txrah ym[ dyb µnttw (v 30; “you handed them over into the power of the peoples of the lands”) which reflects an outlook based on the Deuteronomic view of history, expressed clearly, for instance, in Judg 2:11–23, 2 Kgs 17.” We see the Holy Spirit here in a crucial role of defending the Deuteronomic covenant in ways that evidence personal attributes.

“As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!” [Hag 2:5].

Ralph Smith says the Biblical author here “ recalled the exodus from Egypt and remembered that Yahweh promised Moses that he would be with him. The vocabulary is strange (“the word which I cut”) but the thought is correct. Yahweh was with his people during the exodus from Egypt. He will be with them now as they face the task of rebuilding the temple in the midst of opposition and poverty. They should not fear (v 5).”

“Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts” [Zech 4:6].

Ralph Smith says, “There are really two words from Yahweh here (4:6–7 and 8–10a) but they both say essentially the same thing. One, the temple will be built. Zerubbabel started the rebuilding and he will finish it. Two, strength to finish the temple will not be man’s physical ability lyj or military might joK , but will be by the power of the Spirit of Yahweh of hosts (4:6).”

Zechariah associates the Spirit with Yahweh as “My Spirit” using relational pronound which evidence person as well as an unlimited source for power.

“On the other hand I am filled with power - With the Spirit of the LORD - And with justice and courage To make known to Jacob his rebellious act, even to Israel his sin” [Micah 3:8]. Ralph Smith says, “Micah was preaching because he was sent by the spirit and power of God. V 8 is a kind of call narrative for Micah.” Micah’s theology of the Spirit demonstrated him to have power, he links it with Yahweh himself, justice, and courage in revelation.

SPIRIT OF GRACE AND SUPPLICATION

“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn” [Zech 12:10].

Ralph Smith says not everyone agrees on the meaning of this passage. “Yahweh may be the speaker and may be saying that the people had pierced him metaphorically by their rebellion and ingratitude, or they pierced him when they attacked his representative (perhaps some unidentified martyr). The NEB keeps both pronouns and reads “… on me, on him whom they have pierced.” D. R. Jones understands the passage to mean that the people of Jerusalem will look upon Yahweh (in prayer) touching those whom they (the nations) have slain (Jones 161).”

It is hard to read this passage in light of the Jew’s history and see evidence of fulfillment. This is a favorite passage for premillennial dispensationalists. Reconcilling the eschatology of dispensationalism in the Old Testament is not as problematic to my research as reconciling the depth of the difference between the Old and New Covenant experience with the Holy Spirit. While Chafer and Walvoord limit the experience of Old Testament believers having an inward relationship with the Holy Spirit as being rare, the actual evidence shows it is not that rare. Millard Erickson sites the evidence of Mosaic authors commanding a circumcision of the heart [Deu 10:16, 30:6; Jer 4:4]. Erickson also noted the way Israel was commanded to love Yahweh with all their heart and soul. This does not sound like strictly an external religion if just such a relationship is commanded.

Erickson writes, “If there were radical differences between salvation of Old Testament believers and that of Christians from Pentecost on, we might be inclined to think that the pattern we find in the New Testament is also a variable form subject to change. But the fact that the essence of salvation has remained unchanged across widely different times and cultures, with only minor variations attributedable to progressive revelation, indicates that the New Testament pattern of salvation is to be ours as well.”

EZEKIEL

Leslie Allen writes, “ The heart stands for the will: Israel’s hearts had been hard and wanton (2:4; 3:7; 6:9). “Stone hearts” refer to that which is unconscious, immobile, and so unresponsive to God (cf. Exod 15:16; 1 Sam 25:37). By contrast, “hearts of flesh” relate to that which is tender, yielding, and responsive.” Ezekiel spoke of the needed work of the Holy Spirit in “replacing unresponsiveness with a new compliance to the will of God. This compliance meant obedience to the Torah, the revelation of Yahweh’s will for Israel.”

A few chapters later we see Ezekiel repeating these words, "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” [Ezek 36:26]. Ezekiel wrote from the plains of Babylon as a member of the diaspora. He is giving hope to his flock saying in the future they would be taken back home to be revived, "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances” [Ezek 36:27].

Dispensationalists say this prophecy was strictly looking forward to Pentecost in the New Testament. But Lasor, Hubbard, and Bush say this passage reflected “the divine gift of “a heart of flesh” that would be responsive to Yahweh’s will [Eze 11:19]. After the exile period we see a revival type of conversion of the people back to the will and word of God. We see evidence of a powerful revival as Ezra read aloud from the book of the Law of Moses from dawn until midday standing on a wooden pulpit [Neh. 7:73-10:39]. At the same time we see the Levites reading and explaining the Law so the people could understand. After this we see the people themselves being genuinely grieved over their sins. The people observed the festival of Booths for 8 days. On the 24th day we see a solemn fast and worship [Neh 9:1-5]. Old Testament scholars say this revival was sufficient to turn God’s people away from pluralism. This inward change is impossible without a work of the Holy Spirit. The evidence of that inward experience can not be explained by dispensationalists.

Leslie Allen’s translation reads, “I will give you new hearts, putting a new spirit within you. I will remove the stony hearts from your bodies, giving you hearts soft as flesh. 27I will put my own spirit within you and ensure that you follow my rulings and maintain my standards by putting them into effect.” Allen comments, “This fresh start, wonderful as it was, was not enough. How could Israel hope to maintain Yahweh’s covenant standards, after their signal failure in pre-exilic times? The promise of 11:19–20 is echoed (cf. Hossfeld, Untersuchungen 336). The two statements of v 26a are unpacked in v 26b and v 27. Yahweh would creatively endow Israel with new wills that were to be sensitive rather than stony and hard in their reactions to Yahweh’s will. Thanks to him, their lives would be governed by a new impulse that was to be an expression of Yahweh’s own spirit. He would re-make their human natures, so that they marched to the music of the covenant terms that expressed Yahweh’s nature and will.”

JEREMIAH

"Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. They shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me” [Jer 32:37﷓40].

“It is described elsewhere as circumcision of the heart (Deut 30:6), giving a heart (Jer 24:7), writing the law upon it (Jer 31:33), and replacing the heart of stone with one of flesh (Ezek 36:26), with the result that Israel will love, fear, know, or obey God.”

"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” [Jer 31:33].

Dispensationalists say this experience should be understood as strictly a future one pointing to Pentecost in Acts 2. But Jeremiah understood that God’s people would be exiled for 70 years [Jer 25:12]. Lasor, Hubbard and Bush say Jeremiah was speaking of the experience just 70 years later when “Yahweh will bring his people back to the land from exile and restore” them with “a new act of Yahweh himself, the gift of a new covenant” which would “overcome the people’s stubborness by being written in their heart.”

Word Biblical Commentary scholars say this passage promises to unite both north and south kingdoms back into one offering hope for the diaspora. The authors say “the Israelites who will receive these promises are the descendants of the implied audience.” They continue, “at the center of v 33 and at the heart of the oracle is the announcement of the new thing God will do. After the heading “this is the covenant,” one expects a statement of its substance, as in the covenant formula just discussed, but the promise at the center is more like the “provision for deposit and reading” in the treaty form (Hillers, Covenant, 29). The first covenant document was written by God on two stone tablets and given to Moses for conveyance to the people (Exod 31:18; Deut 4:13; 5:22; 10:1–4).” “Deut 31 is essential background for Jer 31:31–34 within the final form of the OT. When God writes the torah (“law, instruction”) on the people’s heart, mediators are bypassed and the limitations of written documents are superseded.” “The metaphor of the heart also shows how the internal impediment to the perfection of the covenant relationship will be overcome. The conviction that having the LORD’s word in or on one’s heart prevents sin and fosters obedience is found in various places in the OT (e.g., Pss 40:9[Eng. 8]; 119:11; Deut 11:18). The heart stands for the mind, the organ of memory (Jer 3:16), of understanding (Deut 29:3 [Eng. 4] ), of ideas (Jer 23:16), and, especially, of conscious decisions of the will (Jer 3:10; 29:13). Only God is able to discern what is in an individual’s heart (Jer 17:9–10). The metaphor of writing on the heart is found one other place in Jeremiah, in 17:1.”

While Jeremiah does not clearly use the words Holy Spirit in this passage, the Word Commentary scholars do make that connection linking it to Ezekiel. The works described in this passage are works normally associated with the Holy Spirit. Here we see God’s people in the Old Testament experiencing a new work being done inwardly. This kind of experience does not meet the Dispensational description of the working of the Holy Spirit.

JOEL

“It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions” [Joel 2:28].

Lasor, Hubbard, and Bush say of this passage, “Joel’s picture of Israel’s hopeful future contains an element of responsibility as well as privilege. The outpouring of the God’s spirit upon the people will lay upon the redeemed remnant the weighty obligations of the prophetic office. None will be exempt, young or old, slave or free, male or female.” They see three fulfillments associated with this passage. First is to fulfill Moses prophecy [Num 11:29] that all of God’s people would be prophets. Second, “the Israelites are to pledge themselves to the covenant in an unswerving obedience [cf. Jer. 31:31-34 and Ezek 36:27] and to embody and proclaim God’s sovereign love [cf. Isa. 61:1]. This second fulfillment was experienced at the revival following the return of God’s people after the exile. Third, they write, “under the inspiration of the Spirit, Peter found in the miracle of Pentecost God’s announcement that what Joel had forseen was coming to pass in the infant church [Acts 2:17-21]. The messianic age discerned by Joel and others was at hand. The Church has been recruited to carry on the prophetic ministry and longs for the restoration of Jews to that service [see Rom. 11:24].

Charles Feinberg says we must not think that this is the first mention of an outpouring of the Spirit of God upon Israel in the Old Testament prophetic books [Isa. 32:15, 44:3, Eze. 36:27-28, 37:14, 38:29, Zech 12:10].” Feinberg says that while Peter did quote this passage in Joel he did not mean to indicate it was fully being fulfilled but “prefilled” in Acts 2. In an age when women were not allowed to associate formally in the works of the temple in Israel this next verse of Joel’s sounds encouraging "Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days” [Joel 2:29].

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE WISDOM BOOKS

“Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me” [Ps 51:11].

Marvin Tate comments, “Yahweh is asked to hide his face from sin and blot out the guilt of waywardness. The hiding of the divine face (in the sense of turning it away?) is a graphic metaphor for forgiving action. In some contexts, God hides his face in displeasure and withdrawal of favor (e.g., 13:2; 27:9; 102:3; 143:7), but here the speaker prays that God will turn his face away from sin.” He continues, “The spirit of a person has much the same meaning as heart, and indeed seems to be a synonym in v 12 (A. A. Anderson, I, 398; for j'Wr, see F. Baumgärtel, “Spirit in the OT,” TDNT, VI, 359–67; Wolff, 32–39). jwr refers to moving air in a meteorological sense (as in Gen 3:8; 8:1; ?Isa 7:4) and in a physical sense to breath (Gen 7:22; Job 9:18; 19:17; etc.). It is the animating factor in mankind and in animals (e.g., Gen 6:17; 17:15; Ezek 37:6; 8:10, 14). Idols lack the vital force of spirit (Hab 2:19). jwr is also the center of emotions, intellectual functions, and the will (Gen 41:8; Isa 54:6; Prov 14:24; 18:14; Deut 34:9; Dan 6:4; Ezek 28:3; etc.). Yahweh’s jwr can represent his creative power (Ps 33:6) and is the endowment which he gives to persons for special actions (Judg 3:10; 14:6; 1 Sam 10:6; 11:6; Isa 11:2; 42:1; Joel 2:28).”

The Psalmist used the full name for the Holy Spirit.This passage demonstrates how the Holy Spirit was involved inwardly in the hearts of believers in the Old Testament. He was depicted as being holy and because of that can be grieved by sin and depart from being manifest in the life of the believer. This is evidence for the personality of the Spirit.

“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; let your good Spirit lead me on level ground” [Ps 143:10]. The author of this Psalm “pleads for a manifestation of God in personal power as a guide for life’s journey, just as he had done for Israel of old (cf. Neh 9:19–20), and to preserve him from the pitfalls and obstacles he is now encountering.”

OMNIPRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?” [Ps 139:7].

Leslie Allen says, “According to W. I. Wolverton (CJT 9 [1963] 92), there is no concept of universal immanence here, but simply Yahweh’s personal presence with the individual believer, as in Psalm 23:6.” Leslie continues, “the vital power of Yahweh’s personal activity (űjwr “your spirit”) and his “face” (űynp) express the immediacy of the divine presence in the world: it takes the form of constant encounter rather than automatic immanence.” The sense the Psalmist communicates is he “did not want to escape Yahweh; and that escape would be impossible if he wished it.”

OMNIPOTENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

"You send forth your Spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground. Let the glory of the LORD endure forever; let the LORD be glad in His works" [Ps 104:30-31].

Here we see the Spirit again involved not just in creation but in all of the works of Yahweh in language that suggests eternality.

OMNISCIENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

This is evidenced by Zecharia, "not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty" [Zech. 4:6].

Paul House, in his Old Testament Theology speaks of the new spirit spoken of by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, “God protects a remnant so they can inherit the land [Ezek. 11:16-17]. The remnant will remove the idols [Ezek. 11:18]. In language clearly related to Jeremiah 31:31-34, the Lord states in Ezek. 11:19-20 how the true Israel will achieve such results. Yahwe will directly change their hearts, replacing unresponsiveness with a new compliance to the will of God. At the same time God will give the remnant a new spirit, a point not made by Jeremiah yet clearly central to Ezekiel’s theology.” House notices the source of this Spirit, “The new spirit is totally unmerited and free gift from God.” The Holy Spirit made the God of the Old Testament unique among the pagan gods. House writes concerning Ezekiel’s theology of the Spirit, “To Ezekiel, the Spirit inspires prophecy, empowers the remnant, creates the future community of faith, changes human hearts, and raises Israel from the dead. These convictions about Yahweh’s Spirit lead to Ezekiel’s teachings about God’s constant presence. God’s Spirit may be anywhere, even in Babylon, and where the Spirit is the Lord is present, whether to bless or judge.”

Edmond Jacob, in Theology of the Old Testament, devoted a chapter on the action of God to which he devotes half to the instrument of the Spirit. Jacob writes, “the goal of divine action is to maintain and to create life; to achieve this aim Yahweh chiefly avails himself of two means which we encounter in varying intensities in all the realms of his manifestation: the Spirit and the Word.”

CONCLUSION

“The correct identification of the holy spirit must fit all the scriptures that refer to that spirit. With this viewpoint, it is logical to conclude that the holy spirit is the active force of God. It is not a person but is a powerful force that God causes to emanate from himself to accomplish his holy will.” “It may be compared with radio waves that can receive a message from a person speaking into a microphone and transmit the message to persons at a distance away, in effect, speaking the message by a radio loudspeaker. God, by his spirit, transmits his messages and communicates his will to the minds and hearts of his servants on earth, who, in turn, may convey that message to yet others.” “Even as a force like electricity can be used to accomplish a tremendous variety of things, so God’s spirit is used to commission and enable persons to do a wide variety of things.”

Zechariah answers them best, “Then he said to me, This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts” [Zech 4:6]. Here Zechariah associates the Spirit with Yahweh and the Lord of Hosts which was a name associated with power over mighty armies. The evidence from Zechariah’s theology of the Spirit is that He is “My Spirit” as much as he is source for power. I examined the LDS doctrines of the Holy Spirit which claim “the Holy Ghost is a spirit man, a spirit son of God the Father.” In response to this claim, I very carefully examined every Old Testament passage dealing with the Holy Spirit and found their source for this belief comes from outside of the Biblical record. The Old Testament from the Law to the Prophets and Writings agree in saying the Holy Spirit was not a created being, but was in fact Creator God. In addition, as I consulted Old Testament theologians, I could find none who supported either the view that the Spirit was nonpersonal or that he was a created son of Yahweh.

DISPENSATIONAL VIEW OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

DOES THE OLD TESTAMENT AFFIRM?

Looking at only the Old Testament I did not see the deepness of the line separating the experience of the Holy Spirit between the Old and New Testament. Obviously there is a difference. Passages about future works of the Spirit in Jeremiah and Ezekiel can be explained by scholars by noting revivals. But when we get to the New Testament how do we treat passages like "But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet {given} because Jesus was not yet glorified" [John 7:39]. Millard Erickson describes this best, “the Old Testament witness to the Spirit anticipates a coming time when the ministry of the Spirit is to be more complete.”

JOHN DARBY

GLOSSOLALIA

1. Babel was a case where a difference in tongue caused a planned division.

2. As I examined Saul’s experience with tongues, and then examined the way his life was improved or deepened spiritually I found little evidence of a positive result. He did not become a better king. In fact, the evidence suggests Saul was rejected as Israel’s king by God.

3. As I examine the way Pentecostals use Isa 28:11 and Joel 2 with Acts 2, I am not compelled to see any connection that would support the promotion of glossolalia today.

COMPARING FRUIT

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(ho'-li spir'-it):
------------------- I. OLD TESTAMENT TEACHINGS AS TO THE SPIRIT
.. 1. Meaning of the Word
.. 2. The Spirit in Relation to the Godhead
.. 3. In External Nature
.. 4. In Man
.. 5. Imparting Powers for Service
...... (1) Judges and Warriors
...... (2) Wisdom for Various Purposes
...... (3) In Prophecy
.. 6. Imparting Moral Character
.. 7. In the Messiah
.. 8. Predictions of Future Outpouring of the Spirit
II. THE NON-CANONICAL LITERATURE
.. 1. The Spirit in Josephus
.. 2. In the Pseudepigrapha
.. 3. In the Wisdom of Solomon
.. 4. In Philo

The expression Spirit, or Spirit of God, or Holy Spirit, is found in the great majority of the books of the Bible. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word uniformly employed for the Spirit as referring to God's Spirit is ruach meaning "breath," "wind" or "breeze." The verb form of the word is ruach, or riach used only in the Hiphil and meaning "to breathe," "to blow." A kindred verb is rawach, meaning "to breathe" "having breathing room," "to be spacious," etc. The word always used in the New Testament for the Spirit is the Greek neuter noun pneuma, with or without the article, and for Holy Spirit, pneuma hagion, or to pneuma to hagion. In the New Testament we find also the expressions, "the Spirit of God," "the Spirit of the Lord," "the Spirit of the Father," "the Spirit of Jesus," "of Christ." The word for Spirit in the Greek is from the verb pneo, "to breathe," "to blow." The corresponding word in the Latin is spiritus, meaning "spirit."

I. The Teachings as to the Spirit in the Old Testament.-- At the outset we note the significance of the term itself.

1. Meaning of the Word: From the primary meaning of the word which is "wind," as referring to Nature, arises the idea of breath in man and thence the breath, wind or Spirit of God. We have no way of tracing exactly how the minds of the Biblical writers connected the earlier literal meaning of the word with the Divine Spirit. Nearly all shades of meaning from the lowest to the highest appear in the Old Testament, and it is not difficult to conceive how the original narrower meaning was gradually expanded into the larger and wider. The following are some of the shades of Old Testament usage. From the notion of wind or breath, ruach came to signify: (1) the principle of life itself; spirit in this sense indicated the degree of vitality: "My spirit is consumed, my days are extinct" (; also ); (2) human feelings of various kinds, as anger , desire , courage ; (3) intelligence ; (4) general disposition .

No doubt the Biblical writers thought of man as made in the image of God ( f), and it was easy for them to think of God as being like man. It is remarkable that their anthropomorphism did not go farther. They preserve, however, a highly spiritual conception of God as compared with that of surrounding nations. But as the human breath was an invisible part of man, and as it represented his vitality, his life and energy, it was easy to transfer the conception to God in the effort to represent His energetic and transitive action upon man and Nature. The Spirit of God, therefore, as based upon the idea of the ruach or breath of man, originally stood for the energy or power of God (; compare A. B. Davidson, Theology of the Old Testament, 117-18), as contrasted with the weakness of the flesh.

2. The Spirit in Relation to the Godhead: We consider next the Spirit of God in relation to God Himself in the Old Testament. Here there are several points to be noted. The first is that there is no indication of a belief that the Spirit of God was a material particle or emanation from God. The point of view of Biblical writers is nearly always practical rather than speculative. They did not philosophize about the Divine nature. Nevertheless, they retained a very clear distinction between spirit and flesh or other material forms. Again we observe in the Old Testament both an identification of God and the Spirit of God, and also a clear distinction between them. The identification is seen in where the omni-presence of the Spirit is declared, and in . In a great number of passages, however, God and the Spirit of God are not thought of as identical, as in f. Of course this does not mean that God and the Spirit of God were two distinct beings in the thought of Old Testament writers, but only that the Spirit had functions of His own in distinction from God. The Spirit was God in action, particularly when the action was specific, with a view to accomplishing some particular end or purpose of God. The Spirit came upon individuals for special purposes. The Spirit was thus God immanent in man and in the world. As the angel of the Lord, or angel of the Covenant in certain passages, represents both Yahweh Himself and one sent by Yahweh, so in like manner the Spirit of Yahweh was both Yahweh within or upon man, and at the same time one sent by Yahweh to man.

Do the Old Testament teachings indicate that in the view of the writers the Spirit of Yahweh was a distinct person in the Divine nature? The passage in is scarcely conclusive. The idea and importance of personality were but slowly developed in Israelitish thought. Not until some of the later prophets did it receive great emphasis, and even then scarcely in the fully developed form. The statement in may be taken as the plural of majesty or as referring to the Divine council, and on this account is not conclusive for the Trinitarian view. Indeed, there are no Old Testament passages which compel us to understand the complete New Testament doctrine of the Trinity and the distinct personality of the Spirit in the New Testament sense. There are, however, numerous Old Testament passages which are in harmony with the Trinitarian conception and prepare the way for it, such as . The Spirit is grieved, vexed, etc., and in other ways is conceived of personally, but as He is God in action, God exerting power, this was the natural way for the Old Testament writers to think of the Spirit.

The question has been raised as to how the Biblical writers were able to hold the conception of the Spirit of God without violence to their monotheism. A suggested reply is that the idea of the Spirit came gradually and indirectly from the conception of subordinate gods which prevailed among some of the surrounding nations (I.F. Wood, The Spirit of God in Biblical Literature, 30). But the best Israelitish thought developed in opposition to, rather than in analogy with, polytheism. A more natural explanation seems to be that their simple anthropomorphism led them to conceive the Spirit of God as the breath of God parallel with the conception of man's breath as being part of man and yet going forth from him.

3. The Spirit in External Nature: We consider next the Spirit of God in external Nature. "And the Spirit of God moved (was brooding or hovering) upon the face of the waters" . The figure is that of a brooding or hovering bird (compare ). Here the Spirit brings order and beauty out of the primeval chaos and conducts the cosmic forces toward the goal of an ordered universe. Again in , God sends forth His Spirit, and visible things are called into being: "Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the ground." In the beauty of the heavens is ascribed to the Spirit: "By his Spirit the heavens are garnished." In the wilderness becomes a fruitful field as the result of the outpouring of the Spirit. The Biblical writers scarcely took into their thinking the idea of second causes, certainly not in the modern scientific sense. They regarded the phenomena of Nature as the result of God's direct action through His Spirit. At every point their conception of the Spirit saved them from pantheism on the one hand and polytheism on the other.

4. The Spirit of God in Man: The Spirit may next be considered in imparting natural powers both physical and intellectual. In God originates man's personal and intellectual life by breathing into his nostrils "the breath of life." In God is "the God of the spirits of all flesh." In , wisdom for all kinds of workmanship is declared to be the gift of God. So also physical life is due to the presence of the Spirit of God ;. and Elihu declares that the Spirit of God made him. See also and <39:29>. Thus man is regarded by the Old Testament writers, in all the parts of his being, body, mind and spirit, as the direct result of the action of the Spirit of God. In the Spirit of God "strives" with or "rules" in or is "humbled" in man in the antediluvian world. Here reference is not made to the Spirit's activity over and above, but within the moral nature of man.

5. In Imparting Powers for Service: The greater part of the Old Testament passages which refer to the Spirit of God deal with the subject from the point of view of the covenant relations between Yahweh and Israel. And the greater portion of these, in turn, have to do with gifts and powers conferred by the Spirit for service in the ongoing of the kingdom of God. We fail to grasp the full meaning of very many statements of the Old Testament unless we keep constantly in mind the fundamental assumption of all the Old Testament, namely, the covenant relations between God and Israel. Extraordinary powers exhibited by Israelites of whatever kind were usually attributed to the Spirit. These are so numerous that our limits of space forbid an exhaustive presentation. The chief points we may notice.

(1) Powers conferred upon judges and warriors.-- The children of Israel cried unto Yahweh and He raised up a savior for them, Othniel, the son of Kenaz: "And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel" . So also Gideon : "The Spirit of Yahweh came upon (literally, clothed itself with) Gideon." In "the spirit of Yahweh came upon Jephthah"; and in <13:25> "the Spirit of Yahweh began to move" Samson. In <14:6> "the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon him." In <1 Sam 16:14> we read "the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh troubled him." In all this class of passages, the Spirit imparts special endowments of power without necessary reference to the moral character of the recipient. The end in view is not personal, merely to the agent, but concerns the theocratic kingdom and implies the covenant between God and Israel. In some cases the Spirit exerts physical energy in a more direct way (<2 Kin 2:16; Ezek 2:1> f; <3:12>).

(2) Wisdom and skill bestowed for various purposes.-- Bezalel is filled with the Spirit of God in wisdom and in understanding to work in gold, and silver and brass, etc., in the building of the tabernacle ; and the Spirit of wisdom is given to others in making Aaron's garments . So also of one of the builders of Solomon's temple <1 Kin 7:14; 2 Chr 2:14>. In these cases there seems to be a combination of the thought of natural talents and skill to which is superadded a special endowment of the Spirit. Pharaoh refers to Joseph as one in whom the Spirit of God is, as fitting him for administration and government . Joshua is qualified for leadership by the Spirit . In this and in , Joshua is represented as possessing the Spirit through the laying on of the hands of Moses. This is an interesting Old Testament parallel to the bestowment of the Spirit by laying on of hands in the New Testament . Daniel is represented as having wisdom to interpret dreams through the Spirit, and afterward because of the Spirit he is exalted to a position of authority and power . The Spirit qualifies Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple . The Spirit was given to the people for instruction and strengthening during the wilderness wanderings , and to the elders along with Moses . It thus appears how very widespread were the activities of the redemptive Spirit, or the Spirit in the covenant. All these forms of the Spirit's action bore in some way upon the national life of the people, and were directed in one way or another toward theocratic ends.

(3) The Spirit in Old Testament prophecy.-- The most distinctive and important manifestation of the Spirit's activity in the Old Testament was in the sphere of prophecy. In the earlier period the prophet was called seer (ro'eh), and later he was called prophet (nabhi'). The word "prophet" (prophetes) means one who speaks for God. The prophets were very early differentiated from the masses of the people into a prophetic class or order, although Abraham himself was called a prophet, as were Moses and other leaders . The prophet was especially distinguished from others as the man who possessed the Spirit of God . The prophets ordinarily began their messages with the phrase, "thus saith Yahweh," or its equivalent. But they ascribed their messages directly also to the Spirit of God . The case of Balaam presents some difficulties . He does not seem to have been a genuine prophet, but rather a diviner, although it is declared that the Spirit of God came upon him. Balaam serves, however, to illustrate the Old Testament point of view. The chief interest was the national or theocratic or covenant ideal, not that of the individual. The Spirit was bestowed at times upon unworthy men for the achievement of these ends. Saul presents a similar example. The prophet was God's messenger speaking God's message by the Spirit. His message was not his own. It came directly from God, and at times overpowered the prophet with its urgency, as in the case of Jeremiah (14 ff).

There are quite perceptible stages in the development of the Old Testament prophecy. In the earlier period the prophet was sometimes moved, not so much to intelligible speech, as by a sort of enthusiasm or prophetic ecstasy. In <1 Sam 10> we have an example of this earlier form of prophecy, where a company with musical instruments prophesied together. To what extent this form of prophetic enthusiasm was attended by warnings and exhortations, if so attended at all, we do not know. There was more in it than in the excitement of the diviners and devotees of the surrounding nations. For the Spirit of Yahweh was its source.

In the later period we have prophecy in its highest forms in the Old Testament. The differences between earlier and later prophecy are probably due in part to the conditions. The early period required action, the later required teaching. The judges on whom the Spirit came were deliverers in a turbulent age. There was not need for, nor could the people have borne, the higher ethical and spiritual truths which came in later revelations through the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and others. See <2 Sam 23:2; Ezek 2:2; 8:3; 11:24; 13:3;. Micah 3:8; Hos 9:7>.

A difficulty arises from statements such as the following: A lying spirit was sometimes present in the prophet (<1 Kin 22:21> f); Yahweh puts a spirit in the king of Assyria and turns him back to his destruction ; because of sin, a lying prophet should serve the people ; in Micaiah's vision Yahweh sends a spirit to entice Ahab through lying prophets (<1 Kin 22:19> ff); an evil spirit from Yahweh comes upon Saul <1 Sam 16:14; 18:10; 19:9>. The following considerations may be of value in explaining these passages. Yahweh was the source of things generally in Old Testament thought. Its pronounced monotheism appears in this as in so many other ways. Besides this, Old Testament writers usually spoke phenomenally. Prophecy was a particular form of manifestation with certain outward marks and signs. Whatever presented these outward marks was called prophecy, whether the message conveyed was true or false. The standard of discrimination here was not the outward signs of the prophet, but the truth or right of the message as shown by the event. As to the evil spirit from Yahweh, it may be explained in either of two ways. First, it may have referred to the evil disposition of the man upon whom God's Spirit was acting, in which case he would resist the Spirit and his own spirit would be the evil spirit. Or the "evil spirit from Yahweh" may have referred, in the prophet's mind, to an actual spirit of evil which Yahweh sent or permitted to enter the man. The latter is the more probable explanation, in accordance with which the prophet would conceive that Yahweh's higher will was accomplished, even through the action of the evil spirit upon man's spirit. Yahweh's judicial anger against transgression would, to the prophet's mind, justify the sending of an evil spirit by Yahweh.

6. The Spirit Imparting Moral and Spiritual Character: The activity of the Spirit in the Old Testament is not limited to gifts for service. Moral and spiritual character is traced to the Spirit's operations as well. "Thy holy Spirit" ; "his holy spirit" ; "thy good Spirit" ; "Thy Spirit is good" are expressions pointing to the ethical quality of the Spirit's action. "Holy" is from the verb form (qadhash), whose root meaning is doubtful, but which probably meant "to be separated" from which it comes to mean to be exalted, and this led to the conception to be Divine. And as Yahweh is morally good, the conception of "the holy (= Divine) one" came to signify the holy one in the moral sense. Thence the word was applied to the Spirit of Yahweh. Yahweh gives His good Spirit for instruction ; the Spirit is called good because it teaches to do God's will ; the Spirit gives the fear of the Lord ; judgment and righteousness ( ff); devotion to the Lord ; hearty obedience and a new heart ( f); penitence and prayer . In there is an intense sense of guilt and sin coupled with the prayer, "Take not thy holy Spirit from me." Thus, we see that the Old Testament in numerous ways recognizes the Holy Spirit as the source of inward moral purity, although the thought is not so developed as in the New Testament.

7. The Spirit in the Messiah: In both the first and the second sections of Isaiah, there are distinct references to the Spirit in connection with the Messiah, although the Messiah is conceived as the ideal King who springs from the root of David in some instances, and in others as the Suffering Servant of Yahweh. This is not the place to discuss the Messianic import of the latter group of passages which has given rise to much difference of opinion. As in the case of the ideal Davidic King which, in the prophet's mind, passes from the lower to the higher and Messianic conception, so, under the form of the Suffering Servant, the "remnant" of Israel becomes the basis for an ideal which transcends in the Messianic sense the original nucleus of the conception derived from the historic events in the history of Israel. The prophet rises in the employment of both conceptions to the thought of the Messiah who is the "anointed" of Yahweh as endued especially with the power and wisdom of the Spirit. In a glowing picture is given of the "shoot out of the stock of Jesse." The Spirit imparts "wisdom and understanding" and endows him with manifold gifts through the exercise of which he shall bring in the kingdom of righteousness and peace. In ff, the "servant" is in like manner endowed most richly with the gifts of the Spirit by virtue of which he shall bring forth "justice to the Gentiles." In ff occur the notable words cited by Jesus in f, beginning, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me" etc. In these passages the prophet describes elaborately and minutely the Messiah's endowment with a wide range of powers, all of which are traced to the action of God's Spirit.

8. Predictions of Future Outpouring of the Spirit: In the later history of Israel, when the sufferings of the exile pressed heavily, there arose a tendency to idealize a past age as the era of the special blessing of the Spirit, coupled with a very marked optimism as to a future outpouring of the Spirit. In reference is made to the Mosaic period as the age of the Spirit, "when ye came out of Egypt, and my Spirit abode among you." In the Spirit is to be poured out on Jacob and his seed; and in a Redeemer is to come to Zion under the covenant of Yahweh, and the Spirit is to abide upon the people. The passage, however, which especially indicates the transition from Old Testament to New Testament times is that in which is cited by Peter in . In this prophecy the bestowal of the Spirit is extended to all classes, is attended by marvelous signs and is accompanied by the gift of salvation. Looking back from the later to the earlier period of Old Testament history, we observe a twofold tendency of teaching in relation to the Spirit. The first is from the outward gift of the Spirit for various uses toward a deepening sense of inner need of the Spirit for moral purity, and consequent emphasis upon the ethical energy of the Spirit. The second tendency is toward a sense of the futility of the merely human or theocratic national organization in and of itself to achieve the ends of Yahweh, along with a sense of the need for the Spirit of God upon the people generally, and a prediction of the universal diffusion of the Spirit.

II. The Spirit in Non-Canonical Jewish Literature.-- In the Palestinian and Alexandrian literature of the Jews there are comparatively few references to the Spirit of God. The two books in which the teachings as to the Spirit are most explicit and most fully developed are of Alexandrian origin, namely, The Wisdom of Solomon and the writings of Philo. In the Old Testament Apocrypha and in Josephus the references to the Spirit are nearly always merely echoes of a long-past age when the Spirit was active among men. In no particular is the contrast between the canonical and noncanonical literature more striking than in the teaching as to the Spirit of God.

1. The Spirit of Josephus: Jos has a number of references to the Holy Spirit, but nearly always they have to do with the long-past history of Israel. He refers to 22 books of the Old Testament which are of the utmost reliability. There are other books, but none "of like authority," because there has "not been an exact succession of prophets" (Josephus, Against Apion I, 8). Samuel is described as having a large place in the affairs of the kingdom because he is a prophet (Ant, VI, v, 6). God appears to Solomon in sleep and teaches him wisdom (ib, VIII, ii); Balaam prophesies through the Spirit's power (ib, IV, v, 6); and Moses was such a prophet that his words were God's words (ib, IV, viii, 49). In Josephus we have then simply a testimony to the inspiration and power of the prophets and the books written by them, in so far as we have in him teachings regarding the Spirit of God. Even here the action of the Spirit is usually implied rather than expressed.

2. The Spirit in the Pseudepigrapha: In the pseudepigraphic writings the Spirit of God is usually referred to as acting in the long-past history of Israel or in the future Messianic age. In the apocalyptic books, the past age of power, when the Spirit wrought mightily, becomes the ground of the hopes of the future. The past is glorified, and out of it arises the hope of a future kingdom of glory and power. Enoch says to Methuselah: "The word calls me and the Spirit is poured out upon me" (En 91:1). In 49:1-4 the Messiah has the Spirit of wisdom, understanding and might. Enoch is represented as describing his own translation. "He was carried aloft in the chariots of the Spirit" (En 70:2). In Jub 31:16 Isaac is represented as prophesying, and in 25:13 it is said of Rebekah that the" Holy Spirit descended into her mouth." Sometimes the action of the Spirit is closely connected with the moral life, although this is rare. "The Spirit of God rests" on the man of pure and loving heart (XII P, Benj. 8). In Simeon 4 it is declared that Joseph was a good man and that the Spirit of God rested on him. There appears at times a lament for the departed age of prophecy (1 Macc 9:27; 14:41). The future is depicted in glowing colors. The Spirit is to come in a future judgment (XII P, Levi 18); and the spirit of holiness shall rest upon the redeemed in Paradise (Levi 18); and in Levi 2 the spirit of insight is given, and the vision of the sinful world and its salvation follows. Generally speaking, this literature is far below that of the Old Testament, both in moral tone and religious insight. Much of it seems childish, although at times we encounter noble passages. There is lacking in it the prevailing Old Testament mood which is best described as prophetic, in which the writer feels constrained by the power of God's Spirit to speak or write. The Old Testament literature thus possesses a vitality and power which accounts for the strength of its appeal to our religious consciousness.

3. The Spirit in the Wisdom of S