Bible word study

Pneuma (Strong’s G4151): Meaning in the Bible

Pneuma (πνεῦμα) is the Greek word numbered G4151 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit. In the King James Bible it is translated ghost, life, spirit(-ual, -ually), mind..

• Original wordπνεῦμα
• Transliterationpneûma
• Pronunciationpnyoo'-mah
• Strong’s numberG4151
• LanguageGreek

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. from G4154;

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Pneuma appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Pneuma (G4151) stands behind 441 English renderings in 350 verses across 25 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Acts (85), Luke (48), 1 Corinthians (41).

How the King James Bible renders Pneuma, by count

• spirit233 of 441 (53 percent)
• ghost90 of 441 (20 percent)
• the48 of 441 (11 percent)
• spirits31 of 441 (7 percent)
• the spirit18 of 441 (4 percent)
• in3 of 441 (1 percent)

Three places to read Pneuma

• Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
• Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
• 2 Corinthians 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

And Christ

The same word means spirit, breath, and wind. Christians know the Holy Spirit as the breath of God poured out through Jesus, giving new life to those who once were dead in spirit.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

Related words