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The Holy Spirit in the OT

The Holy Spirit in the OT. The Holy Spirit in the OT. Holy Spirit or Spirit of GOD Description of God in action, God in motion

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The Holy Spirit in the OT

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  1. The Holy Spirit in the OT

  2. The Holy Spirit in the OT • Holy Spirit or Spirit of GOD • Description of God in action, God in motion • The word “spirit” (Hebrew, ruach; Greek, pneuma) is the word used from ancient times to describe and explain the experience of divine power working in, upon, and around people

  3. The Holy Spirit in the OT • Meaning of the Term • In the OT rûaḥ occurs 378 times in Hebrew texts and 11 times in Aramaic passages. Its basic meaning is “wind, moving air,” and “breath.” • rûaḥ may be an onomatopoeic connoting the power of wind to move objects

  4. The Holy Spirit in the OT • Meaning of the Term • Beyond this essentially physical meaning, rûaḥ is used to refer to qualities of human beings, God, and—less frequently—animals and supernatural spirits. Anthropologically it denotes breath (Jer 2:24; Job 8:2) and psychic states (Ps 76:13; Ezek 3:14). In this context, rûaḥ often overlaps lēb, “heart, mind” (Josh 2:11; Ezek 21:12).

  5. The Holy Spirit in the OT • Meaning of the Term • As intimated in Ezekiel 37 and Isa 57:14–21 the gift of the spirit is understood as analogous to creation. Thus rûaḥ came to be understood as a term for life itself • The Hebrew Bible rarely employs the designation “Holy Spirit” as such (only in Ps. 51:11; Isa. 63:10–11), but equivalent expressions like “Spirit of God” or “Spirit of the Lord” are common.

  6. The Holy Spirit in the OT • Meaning of the Term • Common connotations include ‘energy’ and ‘invisibility’; hence the metaphoric extension of rûaḥto denote, e. God’s activity, or the extension of his vitality, in creation and among humankind (like the ‘arm/hand of the Lord’).

  7. The Holy Spirit in the OT • History of the Concept • References to the power of the spirit of God in the OT period occur first with the charismatic judges and ecstatic prophets. Here we seem to be dealing with a temporally limited gift of the spirit for the purpose of executing an extraordinary task. • God’s spirit touches the charismatic person without human intervention (e.g., a Judge) and he/she in turn inspires a small group of people opposing a large inimical power (Judg 3:10; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 9; 15:14; 1 Sam 11:6).

  8. The Holy Spirit in the OT • History of the Concept • In parallel fashion, early ecstatic prophecy likewise seems to have led to conferral of the spirit to a group (1 Sam 10:10; 19:23). In this context, the reference to the rûaḥʾĕlōhı̂m, “spirit of God,” points to Canaanite origins of ecstatic prophecy

  9. The Holy Spirit in the OT • History of the Concept • Ecstasy can be induced (1 Sam 10:5–6 mentions music). As far as the oldest strata of tradition indicate, the spirit does not facilitate words or actions, nor is it related to history. The emphasis, rather, is on ecstasy as manifestation of religious inspiration

  10. The Holy Spirit in the OT • History of the Concept • The transition from charismatic leadership to kingship changes the perception of the spirit of God. The dynamic aspect gives way to a static understanding of spirit as related to office. The spirit of Yahweh is bestowed (Num 11:25, 29) and rests on the blessed one (2 Kgs 2:15), who is thus filled with the spirit (Deut 34:9). The rite of anointing (1 Sam 16:13, 14) as well as the laying on of hands (Deut 34:1) symbolizes this change of perception.

  11. The Holy Spirit in the OT • History of the Concept • The gift of spirit and blessing become related concepts. The narrative of 1-2 Kings consistently refers to the “spirit of God” only in the context of royal accession or rule, never as an indication of special deeds or words. Though it cannot always be determined with certainty whether this static understanding of spirit has been introduced retroactively from a later time, the notion is clearly present in the expectation of the Messiah king. His actions derive solely from the spirit bestowed on him (Isa 11:2; 42:1; 61:1

  12. The Holy Spirit in the OT • History of the Concept • Alongside the gift of the spirit to the Messiah, we find in the exilic and postexilic writings the announcement of the gift of the spirit to the whole people—chiefly in the form of a word of Yahweh. Here, too, the spirit appears as a permanent gift.

  13. The Holy Spirit in the OT • History of the Concept • The verbs employed indicate this by suggesting a substance in liquid form (“pour out” [Ezek 39:29; Joel 3:1, 2]; “be emptied out” [Isa 44:3; 32:15]). According to Ezekiel, the gift of the spirit enables the people to live according to the commandments (36:27); it creates new life (37:5, 14; cf. Gen 2:7; Eccl 12:7). In addition, there is reference to the “gift of prophecy” (Joel 3:1–5), the end of social inequalities (Joel 3:2 and Jer 31:34), understanding and learning (Isa 29:24), growth in nature (Isa 32:15), peace and community (Isa 32:17), and immediate relation to God (Ezek 39:29).

  14. The Holy Spirit in the OT • He was a wind from God - as God’s power in the creation of the cosmos • It was a wind from God (the same Hebrew word translated “Spirit” in Gn 1:2) that caused the waters of the Flood to subside (8:1). • A wind from God blew locusts over Egypt (Ex 10:13) and quail over the camp of Israel. The blast of his nostrils separated the waters of the Red Sea at the exodus (14:21).

  15. The Holy Spirit in the OT • He was the breath of life - as God’s sustaining power immanent in all life • It was the breath of God that made man a living being (Gn 2:7). It is one of the earliest perceptions of Hebrew faith that humans live only because of the stirring of the divine breath or spirit within them (Gn 6:3; Jb 33:4; 34:14–15; Ps 104:29–30)

  16. The Holy Spirit in the OT • He was the breath of life - as God’s sustaining power immanent in all life • Later, a clearer distinction was drawn between divine Spirit and human spirit, and between spirit and soul, but at the earliest stage these were all more or less perceived to be synonymous manifestations of the same divine power, the source of all life (Gn 7:15, 22; see Eccl 3:19–21).

  17. The Holy Spirit in the OT • He was a spirit of ecstasy - as the invisible activity of God in power through and amongst his covenant people, whether in dramatic irruptions or more sustained endowments; and as his presence in many types of revelation, charismatic wisdom and invasive speech. In the majority of OT incidents involving the Spirit, the Spirit acts as the channel of communication between God and a human person.

  18. The Holy Spirit in the OT • In this role, the Spirit was understood in Judaism to be the ‘Spirit of prophecy’. That is, the Spirit was considered to make God’s will and wisdom known to his people, especially through the phenomenon of oracular speech called ‘prophecy’, in which a message of the Lord was granted by the Spirit in a dream, vision or word.

  19. The Holy Spirit in the OT • There were occasions when this divine power seemed to overtake and possess an individual fully, so that his or her words or actions far transcended those of normal behavior. Such a person was clearly marked as an agent of God’s purpose and given respect. This was apparently how leaders were recognized in the premonarchy period—Othniel (Jgs 3:10), Gideon (6:34), Jephthah (11:29), and the first king, Saul (1 Sm 11:6), as well. So, too, the earliest prophets were those whose inspiration came in ecstasy (1 Sm 19:20–24).

  20. The Holy Spirit in the OT • Empowering individuals for service. The special work of the Spirit focuses on equipping and energizing various individuals for special service or tasks. It empowers artisans like Bezalel for the building of the tabernacle (Exod. 31:3; 35:31). Most often the Spirit is said to prepare and endow individuals for leadership: filling Joshua with “the spirit of wisdom” (Deut. 34:9; cf. Num. 27:18); preparing judges for Israel (e.g., Judg. 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25); giving Samson extraordinary physical powers (14:6, 19; 15:14); and guiding kings (1 Sam. 11:6; 16:13; 10:6, 10).

  21. The Holy Spirit in the OT • A special aspect of the Spirit’s empowering of individuals is the inspiring of prophets for the communication of God’s word. Generally, the Spirit is said to instruct Israel (Neh. 9:20) and give warnings through the prophets (v. 30). The Spirit indwells Joseph (Gen. 41:38); the Spirit possessed by Moses is apportioned among the elders (Num. 11:17, 25–26, 29); and Balaam (24:2), Saul and his messengers (1 Sam. 10:6, 10; 19:20, 23), David (2 Sam. 23:2), and others (1 Chr. 12:18; 2 Chr. 20:14; 24:20) are its instruments for prophecy.

  22. The Holy Spirit in the OT • For Isaiah, the spirit was that which characterized God and distinguished him and his actions from human affairs (Is 31:3). Later, the adjective “holy” appeared as that which distinguished the Spirit of God from any other spirit, human or divine (Is 63:10–11). • The problem of false prophecy emphasized the danger of assuming that every message delivered in ecstasy was the word of the Lord. Thus, tests of prophecy evaluated the content of the message delivered or the character of the prophet’s life, not the degree or quality of inspiration (see Dt 13:1–5; 18:22; Jer 23:14; Mi 3:5).

  23. The Holy Spirit in the OT • In exilic and postexilic literature, the role of the Spirit is narrowed to two major functions: that of the prophetic Spirit and that of the Spirit of the age to come. • The later prophets again spoke of the Spirit in explicit terms as the inspirer of prophecy (see Ez 3:1–4, 22–24; Hg 2:5; Zec 4:6). As they looked back to the preexilic period, these prophets freely attributed the inspiration of “the former prophets” to the Spirit as well (Zec 7:12).

  24. The Holy Spirit in the OT • The Spirit addresses and transports Ezekiel in vision (e.g., Ezek. 2:2; 3:12; 11:1, 5). Through Joel God promises a universal outpouring of this same Spirit (Joel 2:28). • This tendency to exalt the Spirit’s role as the inspirer of prophecy became steadily stronger in the period between the OT and NT, until in rabbinic Judaism the Spirit was almost exclusively the inspirer of the prophetic writings now regarded as Scripture.

  25. The Holy Spirit in the OT • The other understanding of the Spirit’s role during exilic and postexilic times was that the Spirit would be the manifestation of the power of God in the age to come. That eschatological hope of divine power effecting a final cleansing and a renewed creation is rooted principally in Isaiah’s prophecies (Is 4:4; 32:15; 44:3–4). • Isaiah speaks of one anointed by the Spirit to accomplish complete and final salvation (11:2; 42:1; 61:1). Elsewhere, the same longing is expressed in terms of the Spirit being freely dispensed to all Israel (Ez 39:29; Jl 2:28–29; Zec 12:10) in the new covenant (Jer 31:31–34; Ez 36:26–27).

  26. The Holy Spirit in the OT • In the period prior to Jesus, the understanding of the Spirit as the Spirit of prophecy and as the Spirit of the age to come had developed into the widespread dogma that the Spirit was no longer to be experienced in the present. The Spirit had been known in the past as the inspirer of prophetic writings, but after Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the Spirit had withdrawn (Ps 74:9; Zec 13:2–6).

  27. The Holy Spirit in the OT • The Spirit would be known again in the age of the Messiah, but in the interim the Spirit was absent from Israel. Even the great Hillel (learned Jewish leader and teacher, 60? bc–ad 20?), a near contemporary of Jesus, had not received the Spirit—though if anyone was worthy of the Spirit, it was he. • There is a tradition that at a meeting of Hillel and other wise men, a voice from heaven said, “Among those here present is one who would have deserved the Holy Spirit to rest upon him, if his time had been worthy of it.” The wise men all looked at Hillel.

  28. The Holy Spirit in the OT • The consequence of this accepted dearth of the Spirit was that the Spirit in effect became subordinated to the law. The Spirit was the inspirer of the law, but since the Spirit could no longer be experienced directly, the law became the sole voice of the Spirit. It was this increasing dominance of the law and its authoritative interpreters that provided the background for the mission of Jesus and the initial spread of Christianity.

  29. The Holy Spirit in the OT • In contrast to the past, when Spirit-endowment appeared to be restricted to leaders and prophets, a future is awaited in which all Israel will share in the Spirit of prophecy (Joel 2:28; cf. Num. 11:29). At the heart of the hoped-for new covenant lies universal and immediate knowledge of God; each will ‘know the Lord’ for himself or herself (Jer. 31:34). Israel thus awaits a epoch of ‘new Exodus’ salvation characterized by the lavish outpouring of God’s Spirit (as in Is. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 39:29) and by the revelation of his glory and power (Hab 2:14).

  30. The Holy Spirit in the OT • As the self-manifesting, transforming presence of God amongst his people, the Spirit is expected to accomplish deep existential renewal that recreates the very heart of humankind in obedience (Jer. 31:31–40; Ezek. 36:24–29; cf. Ps. 51:10–14; Is. 44:3–5).

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