I. Name

There are references to ‘an evil spirit’ (rûaḥ rāʿâ) sent by God in Judg. 9.23 and 1 Sam. 16.23. In the latter case, the spirit which afflicts Saul is also called rûaḥ ʾĕlōhîm rāʿâ, ‘an evil spirit of God’ or ‘evil divine spirit’ (1 Sam. 16.15, 1 Sam. 16; 1 Sam. 18.10), rûaḥ YHWH rāʿâ, ‘an evil spirit of Yahweh’ (1 Sam. 19.9), and, in its first occurrence, rûaḥ rāʿâ mēʾēt YHWH, ‘an evil spirit from Yahweh’ (1 Sam. 16.14).

Rûaḥ, the Hebrew word commonly translated ‘spirit’, has pri…