I. Name

The expression ‘holy spirit’ occurs only three times in the OT (Ps. 51.13; Isa. 63.10, Isa. 11) but is part of a large semantic field in which rûaḥ, referring to some form of divine action, is the central component (about 250 times in the OT). In the NT the expression occurs 84 times whereas pneuma, referring to the divine spirit (with or without attributes), occurs about 350 times. Within the Bible neither rûaḥ nor pneuma are used as a divine name. They are not worshipped as divine beings. Th…