[soc.religion.christian] Biblical usages of "spirit"

ph600fev@sdcc14.ucsd.edu (Robert O'Barr) (04/01/91)

Prompted from what I have often heard from people from certain
christian organizations, that the word "spirit" in the Bible really
should be translated breath or at least that the greek word used can
be equally apply to both spirit and breath, I would like for those
who consider themselves experts in Greek to explain this point to
me.  In these scriptures below, "spirit" appearantly is used in several
different ways.

Luke 1:46-47  And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my
spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Luke 8:54-55  And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and
called, saying, Maid, arise.  And her spirit came again, and she
arose straightway: and he comanded to give her meat.

Luke 9:39 And lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out;
and it teareth him...

Luke 10:21 (VRV) In that very hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit
and said, I praise thee oh Father, Lord of the heavens and the
earth ...

Luke 23:46  And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said,
Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus,
he gave up the ghost.

Luke 24:39  Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle
me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me
have.

These are in no way all of the usages of spirit but they seem to be
more or less representative.  Does the greek use the same word for
"spirit" in each of the above scriptures?  Is it true that the greek
word for "spirit" can equally mean a personage of spirit or breath?

Also assuming this to be the case, would Luke 23:46 sound as awkward
in Greek as it does in English if spirit is replaced by breath.
(i.e. in to thy hands I commend my breath)?  As someone once told me
it should be translated!?

Sincerely, 

Robert

[Yes, all of those passages use pneuma, which means wind, breath,
spirit, or the force of life.  Giving up one's spirit is an idiom in
both the OT (the Hebrew equivalent has the same wide range of
meanings) and in the LXX (the Greek translation of the OT), as it is
in English ("giving up the ghost" is a literal translation).  The
background is that the life-giving spirit that makes us living beings
is a gift from God, sometimes called the "breath of God".  See Gen
2:7.  It's hard to know how much to translate.  All of these images
would be in the minds of the 1st Cent. reader, particularly one versed
in Judaism.  But to use a translation that explicitly evokes all of
the images may be "overtranslation".  A translation that simply has
Jesus returning his spirit to God is a reasonable compromise.  I would
be tempted to translating pneuma as "life" in this context, saying
"into your hands I commit my life", but I'm not a Greek expert, so
you're probably better off with the standard translation.  --clh]

sl87m@cc.usu.edu (The Barking Pumpkin Digital Gratification Ensemble) (04/04/91)

[Robert O'Barr asking about the word translated "spirit" in the Bible.
He had heard that the same word is used for spirit and breath, and
that in Luke 23:46, a correct translation would be "into thy hands
I comment my breath".  I responded with a list of meanings for
the Greek pneuma, which does indeed mean spirit and breath, among
other things, and some comments on the passage he asked about. --clh]

The word "pneuma" has various meanings from context as do many words in various
languages. Consider "fire" in English.  I light a fire. (fire, flame) I'll fire
you. (terminate employment)  Fire!  (Cry of warning)  Fire! (bang bang bang)
Fire up the machine. (Turn it on)  etc. etc. etc. Thus, there are times when
"breath" would be correct. Other times, such as in your cited passages,
"breath" would be incorrect.  Translating "I'll fire you" as "I'll light or
burn you" or "I'll shoot you" is rediculous. 

Using "breath" in these passages is not a _translation_, but a
_translitteration_. Translitteration is looking something up in a dictionary,
and using the word that was found. The person who said that "breath" is the
propper word is translitterating, which leads to really embarassing results if
you try to pass it off as a translation. Translation is expressing the 
original idea in another language. When translating, it can be difficult 
discerning what the author meant unless you could confidently step into the
author's world and live a life in that culture. As I've never been to Brazil, 
my Portuguese is rather shallow. I don't always understand what was said, even
though I understood each word individually. However, I have a true feeling for 
modern Greek and its nuances having learned the language from those wonderful 
people.

Death is the separation of one's spirit from the body. The spirit is a living,
thinking entity. Joined with one's body, they act as one. Then the spirit can
experience life as we know it. 

---
TZMattareyay