ANEMOS/PNEUMA

Denny A Diehl dd-1 at juno.com
Thu Jul 4 13:50:33 EDT 2002


Denny Diehl to Noel Fitzpatrick,

> Is there an area of meaning overlap between ANEMOS (wind) and 
> PNEUMA (spirit) in New Testament Greek?  Or are they separate 
> words with different meaning?

> It seems to me that in the NT ANEMOS is used for literal 
> wind/storm only, with the exception of Eph 4:14  (PANTI ANEMW 
> THS DIDASKALIAS), while PNEUMA is never used for wind, with 
> the possible exception, depending on the translation (eg AV and 
> NRSV) of Hb 1:7 (hO POIWN TOUS AGGELOUS AUTOU 
> PNEUMATA), which is based on Psalm 103(104):4.

Because Heb 1:7 is a quote from the Psalms, as you note, it
would carry to meaning of PNEUMA from it's original source.
Another use of PNEUMA translated wind is in Jn 3:8

	TO PNEUMA hOPOU QELEI PNEI...

which is translated

	The wind blows where it wishes... -NASB

however, before the Reformation it is translated

	The spirit brethith where he wole... -Wycliffe

If, indeed, the pre-Reformation translation of PNEUMA is
correct, "spirit", then Heb 1:7 would be the only place where
PNEUMA is translated "wind" and that with the force of the
quotation from LXX.

I'd be interested to know if later writers, e.g., the patristics,
used PNEUMA to mean "wind", and if so, is it a prevalent 
use, or quite rare?  It seems PNEUMA is a word in transition,
which became used to mean "spirit/breath" rather than "wind"
by the time of the New Testament.  

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