neshamah: the breath that makes a body alive

What the lexicon says. נְשָׁמָה (neshamah) is glossed simply "breath, spirit", with the senses "breath (of God)", "breath (of man)", "every breathing thing", "spirit (of man)". Strong's calls it "A puff, i.e. wind, angry or vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect."

What the text does with it. "and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Genesis 2:7, ASV), the tagged word is H5397. It is paired with ruach for effect in Job: "The Spirit of God hath made me, And the breath of the Almighty giveth me life" (Job 33:4, ASV), where the first line is ruach and the second is neshamah. It appears in 24 verses, which makes it one of the rarest words in this file and one of the most load-bearing.

Sources: Genesis 2:7; Job 33:4; TBESH entry H5397; Strong's Hebrew Dictionary (1890), entry H5397.

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Genesis 2:7bsb
Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
Job 33:4bsb
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

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