Lexical Summary
neshamah: Breath, spirit, soul
Original Word:נְשָׁמָה
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:nshamah
Pronunciation:neh-shaw-maw'
Phonetic Spelling:(nesh-aw-maw')
KJV: blast, (that) breath(-eth), inspiration, soul, spirit
NASB:breath, who breathed, blast, spirit, breathes, life, persons alive
Word Origin:[fromH5395 (נָשַׁם - gasp)]
1. a puff, i.e. wind, angry or vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect. or (concretely) an animal
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
blast, that breaths, inspiration, soul, spirit
Fromnasham; a puff, i.e. Wind, angry or vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect. Or (concretely) an animal -- blast, (that) breath(-eth), inspiration, soul, spirit.
see HEBREWnasham
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
nashamDefinitionbreath
NASB Translationblast (2), breath (15), breathes (1), life (1), persons alive (1), spirit (2), who breathed (3).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
; —
Deuteronomy 20:16 9t.; construct (compare Lag
BN 82)
Genesis 2:7 10t.; suffix
Job 27:3;
Job 34:14; plural
Isaiah 57:16; —
breath of God as hot wind kindling a flameIsaiah 30:33; as destroying wind2 Samuel 22:16 =Psalm 18:16;Job 4:9; as cold wind producing iceJob 32:8;Job 33:4.
breath of man1 Kings 17:17;Isaiah 42:5;Job 27:3;Daniel 10:7; breath of lifeGenesis 2:7 (J); compareGenesis 7:22 (J); as breathed in by God it is God's breath in manJob 34:14;Job 36:4; and is characteristic of manIsaiah 2:22man in whose nostrils is buta breath (late gloss).
synonymevery breathing thingDeuteronomy 20:16;Joshua 11:11,14;1 Kings 15:29;Joshua 10:14;Psalm 150:6;Isaiah 57:16.
spirit of man, "" ,Proverbs 20:27the spirit of man is a lamp of .
Topical Lexicon
Creation and Divine Bestowal of LifeGenesis 2:7 introduces נְשָׁמָה as the direct gift that transforms dust into a “living being.”Job 33:4 echoes, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life,” whileJob 32:8 adds that this same breath “gives him understanding.”Isaiah 42:5 affirms the continuing generosity of God who “gives breath to the people on it.” Together these passages teach that human existence, vitality, and rational capacity originate in God’s personal impartation of נְשָׁמָה.
Universality and Fragility of Life
Genesis 7:22 records the Flood’s devastation: “Everything on dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.”Isaiah 2:22 warns, “Put no more trust in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils.”Daniel 10:17 shows even a prophet’s weakness: “No strength remains in me, nor is any breath left in me.” Scripture therefore presents נְשָׁמָה as universal yet precarious, underscoring humanity’s utter dependence on God.
Breath, Warfare, and Covenant Obedience
In the conquest narratives נְשָׁמָה becomes the measure of total defeat.Deuteronomy 20:16 commands that in certain Canaanite cities Israel “must not leave alive anything that breathes.”Joshua 10:40; 11:11 repeat, “He left nothing that breathed,” displaying judgment on entrenched wickedness and Israel’s fidelity to divine directives.1 Kings 15:29 later uses the same idiom for dynastic purge. These texts place נְשָׁמָה within holy war theology, where the removal of breath signifies the eradication of rebellion against God.
Divine Breath as Instrument of Judgment and Providence
2 Samuel 22:16 andPsalm 18:15 attribute cosmic upheaval to “the blast of the breath of His nostrils.”Job 4:9 declares, “By the breath of God they perish,” whileJob 37:10 credits frost to that same breath.Isaiah 30:33 pictures Topheth ignited by “the breath of the LORD, like a torrent of burning sulfur,” andIsaiah 57:16 assures that God will not contend forever, “for the spirit would grow faint before Me— the very breath I have made.” נְשָׁמָה thus reveals divine sovereignty in both mercy and wrath.
Breath and Human Spiritual Insight
Proverbs 20:27 proclaims, “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being.” Here נְשָׁמָה functions as God’s investigative light within the conscience.Job 32:8 links it to understanding, teaching that intellectual and moral perception stem from God’s breathed gift.
Breath in Worship and Praise
Psalm 150:6 summons, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!” Every living creature owes doxology precisely because נְשָׁמָה resides within. Worship is therefore the natural response of the breathed-into.
Breath Lost and Restored
1 Kings 17:17 tells of the Zarephath widow’s son whose “illness grew worse until he had no breath left in him.” Elijah’s intercession and the boy’s revival display God’s prerogative both to withdraw and to return נְשָׁמָה, prefiguring later resurrection hope.
Pastoral and Ministry Implications
• Sanctity of Life: Because life originates in God’s breath, every human bears inherent worth from conception onward.
• Humility and Dependence: Mortal fragility (Isaiah 2:22) calls believers to constant reliance on the Creator.
• Preaching and Evangelism: Declaring God as the giver and sustainer of breath frames the gospel—He who once breathed life can impart new life in Christ.
• Worship Leadership:Psalm 150:6 authorizes and motivates full-voiced praise by every congregation member “that has breath.”
• Comfort in Bereavement: The God who restores breath (1 Kings 17) assures believers of ultimate victory over death.
Theological Summary
נְשָׁמָה unites anthropology, theology, and doxology. It is the life-principle bestowed by God, the indicator of human mortality, the conduit of understanding, the tool of divine judgment, and the warrant for universal praise. From the first breath in Eden to the final hallelujah, Scripture presents נְשָׁמָה as a continual witness to the Creator’s presence and authority in every moment of life.
Forms and Transliterations
הַ֭נְּשָׁמָה הַנְּשָׁמָה֙ הנשמה וְ֝נִשְׁמָת֗וֹ וְנִשְׁמַ֖ת וְנִשְׁמַת־ וּנְשָׁמ֖וֹת וּנְשָׁמָ֖ה ונשמה ונשמות ונשמת ונשמת־ ונשמתו מִ֝נִּשְׁמַ֗ת מִנִּשְׁמַ֖ת מִנִּשְׁמַ֣ת מִנִּשְׁמַת־ מנשמת מנשמת־ נְשָׁמָ֑ה נְשָׁמָ֖ה נְשָׁמָ֛ה נְשָׁמָֽה׃ נְשָׁמָה֙ נִשְׁמַ֣ת נִשְׁמַ֤ת נִשְׁמַת־ נִשְׁמָתִ֣י נשמה נשמה׃ נשמת נשמת־ נשמתי han·nə·šā·māh hannəšāmāh hanneshaMah min·niš·maṯ min·niš·maṯ- minnishMat minnišmaṯ minnišmaṯ- nə·šā·māh nəšāmāh neshaMah niš·mā·ṯî niš·maṯ niš·maṯ- nishMat nishmaTi nišmaṯ nišmaṯ- nišmāṯî ū·nə·šā·māh ū·nə·šā·mō·wṯ ūnəšāmāh ūnəšāmōwṯ uneshaMah uneshaMot venishmat venishmaTo wə·niš·mā·ṯōw wə·niš·maṯ wə·niš·maṯ- wənišmaṯ wənišmaṯ- wənišmāṯōw
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