Bible word study

Ruach (Strong’s H7307): Meaning in the Bible

Ruach (רוּחַ) is the Hebrew word numbered H7307 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions). In the King James Bible it is translated air, anger, blast, breath, courage.

• Original wordרוּחַ
• Transliterationrûwach
• Pronunciationroo'-akh
• Part of speechnoun (feminine) (n-f)
• Strong’s numberH7307
• LanguageHebrew

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. from H7306;

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Ruach appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Ruach (H7307) stands behind 377 English renderings in 347 verses across 32 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Ezekiel (52), Isaiah (51), Psalms (39).

How the King James Bible renders Ruach, by count

• spirit227 of 377 (60 percent)
• wind81 of 377 (21 percent)
• breath27 of 377 (7 percent)
• winds11 of 377 (3 percent)
• mind5 of 377 (1 percent)
• side5 of 377 (1 percent)

Three places to read Ruach

• Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
• Job 26:13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
• Isaiah 41:16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

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

One word means spirit, breath, and wind. It hovers over creation in Genesis and gives life to every creature; Christians know it as the breath of God, poured out afresh through Christ.

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.

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