Semantic Range: רוּחַ, πνεῦμα

Semantic Range, Lexicography, and other approaches to word meaning - in general, or for particular words.
Barry Hofstetter
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Re: Semantic Range: רוּחַ, πνεῦμα

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Stephen Carlson wrote: January 20th, 2022, 8:51 am I suppose that the ordinary word for wind is ἄνεμος and that the use of rarer terms for it, like πνεῦμα, would be marked in a way that רוח is not.
Perhaps John 3:8,

τὸ πνεῦμα ὅπου θέλει πνεῖ καὶ τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ ἀκούεις, ἀλλʼ οὐκ οἶδας πόθεν ἔρχεται καὶ ποῦ ὑπάγει· οὕτως ἐστὶν πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος.

I see this almost as a pun, John playing with the two senses better to make his point. Or perhaps he is simply thinking in terms of the standard usage in the biblical literature as "spirit" and doing a metaphor thing.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
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Jonathan Robie
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Re: Semantic Range: רוּחַ, πνεῦμα

Post by Jonathan Robie »

Barry Hofstetter wrote: January 20th, 2022, 11:23 am
Stephen Carlson wrote: January 20th, 2022, 8:51 am I suppose that the ordinary word for wind is ἄνεμος and that the use of rarer terms for it, like πνεῦμα, would be marked in a way that רוח is not.
Perhaps John 3:8,

τὸ πνεῦμα ὅπου θέλει πνεῖ καὶ τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ ἀκούεις, ἀλλʼ οὐκ οἶδας πόθεν ἔρχεται καὶ ποῦ ὑπάγει· οὕτως ἐστὶν πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος.

I see this almost as a pun, John playing with the two senses better to make his point. Or perhaps he is simply thinking in terms of the standard usage in the biblical literature as "spirit" and doing a metaphor thing.
Yes, in my glosses:
  • "Wind" translates ἄνεμος 15 times, but translates πνεῦμα only in John 3:8.
  • "Spirit" translates πνεῦμα 66 times, the only Greek word that it translates.
  • "Breath" translates πνοή in Acts.17.25, it translates πνεῦμα in 2Thess.2.8 and Rev.13.15
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
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Stephen Carlson
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Re: Semantic Range: רוּחַ, πνεῦμα

Post by Stephen Carlson »

Barry Hofstetter wrote: January 20th, 2022, 11:23 am I see this almost as a pun, John playing with the two senses better to make his point. Or perhaps he is simply thinking in terms of the standard usage in the biblical literature as "spirit" and doing a metaphor thing.
Yeah, BDAG even states “in wordplay” for this and gives a bunch of extra-canonical cites to chase down.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
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Jonathan Robie
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Re: Semantic Range: רוּחַ, πνεῦμα

Post by Jonathan Robie »

But the LSJ definition does not focus on spirit, these other meanings seem common, and the definition points out the relationship between this word and πνέω, to blow.

https://logeion.uchicago.edu/%CF%80%CE% ... E%BC%CE%B1

BrillDAG also seems to stress these other meanings for classical Greek:
πνεῦμα -ατος, τό [πνέω] breath, puff (of wind): πνεύματα ἀνέμων breath of wind AESCHL. Pr. 1086 HDT. 7.16 α1; ἄνθρωπός ἐστι π. καὶ σκιὰ μόνον man is only breath and shadow SOPH. fr. 13, cf. PLAT. Phaed. 70a ‖ wind AESCHL. Pers. 101 SOPH. Ai. 558, 674 EUR. Cycl. 278 ARISTOPH. Eq. 441, Ran. 1003 THUC. 2.97.1, al. XEN. Hel. 6.2.27 PLAT. Cr. 410b etc.; κατὰ πνεῦμα under the wind, following the direction of the wind ARISTOT. H.A. 535a 19; κατὰ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἄρρενος according to the breath of the male ARISTOT. H.A. 560b 14; δεξιοῖς πνεύμασι (sailing) with favorable winds ALCIPHR. 4.19.8 ‖ air (as element) CH 1.9.16 PLOT. 2.2.2 etc. ‖ fig. breeze, breath, wind: λύσσης of anger AESCHL. Pr. 884; συμφορᾶς of misfortune EUR. I.T. 1317; θεοῦ of the god AESCHL. Sept. 708 EUR. H.F. 216; π. ταὐτὸν οὔποτʼ οὔτʼ ἐν ἀνδράσιν φίλοις βέβηκεν οὔτε πρὸς πόλιν πόλει the same wind does not always blow either between friendly men nor between cities SOPH. O.C. 612 ‖ breath, sound (of a wind instrument): λωτοῦ of a aulos EUR. Ph. 787; αὐλῶν of auloi EUR. Bac. 128 ‖ exhalation, odor EUR. Hip. 1391 (of perfume) THPHR. Sens. 25 PLUT. QConv. 647b (of a tree) ‖ air emitted from the stomach, flatulence EUB. 106.9 ARISTOT. Pr. 948b 25 DIOSC.2 2.112 DIOG. 6.94 GEOP. 12.22.11 ‖ breath AESCHL. Eum. 568 PLAT. Tim. 91c THPHR. Sud. 25, al. PLUT. QConv. 642c, Praec. 804b; π. ἀθροῖσαι to muster the breath EUR. Ph. 851; π. ἀφιέναι to let out the breath EUR. Hec. 571 THUC. 2.49.2 = π. ἀνεῖναι EUR. Or. 277 = π. μεθεῖναι EUR. Tr. 785 ‖ medic. air breathed in, pneuma HP. Acut. (Sp.) 7 ERASISTR. fr. 230.23 GAL. U.P. 8.6 (1.465.11), al. etc. | extens. respiration, respiratory movement HP. Acut. 16, Aph. 4.68, Epid. 2.3.1, al.; τὸ π. ἔχειν ἄνω to be breathless, pant MEN. fr. 25.5, cf. SOSICR. 1.3 (with γίγνεσθαι) ‖ fig. respiration, life PLUT. Per. 13.5 = π. ζωῆς VT Gen. 6:17, al.; π. λιπεῖν to leave one’s life EUR. Suppl. 554 = π. ἀπολέσαι AESCHL. Sept. 982; τὸ π. ἔχειν to breathe, live, preserve life POL. 31.10.4 ‖ gramm. breathing: δασύ soft (spiritus lenis) AP.7 Pron. 78.6; ψιλόν rough (spiritus asper) AP.7 Adv. 148.9 ‖ animosity, wrath, anger PLUT. Pyr. 16.13 (with θυμός) ‖ rhet. inspiration, vigor (of intelligence) DION. Thuc. 23.6, al. AN. Subl. 9.13 ‖ breath, divine inspiration PLAT. Ax. 370c DIOSC. AP 6.220.4 PLUT. Def. orac. 438b ‖ spiritual element, holy spirit: π. θεῖον divine spirit MEN. fr. 372.3 (of τύχη) VT Gen. 1:2 etc.; π. ἅγιον holy spirit NT Matt. 1:18, al. etc. ‖ spiritual creature, angel NT Heb. 1:14 | evil angel, malign spirit VT 1 Kgs. 22:21 NT Matt. 8:16, Acts 5:16, al. etc. ‖ spirit, spiritual element (of man) NT 1 Cor. 5:3 (opp. to σῶμα body), Thess. 5.23 (distinct from ψυχή soul).

Montanari, F. (2015). In M. Goh & C. Schroeder (Eds.), The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek. Brill.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
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