“The Spirit of God is the vital power which belongs to the Divine Being, and is seen to be operative in the world and in men. It is the Divine Energy which is the origin of all created life, especially of human existence and the faculties of human nature. […] The Spirit of God is represented as the cosmic force which operated upon the primaeval chaos. […] The Divine Energy, of which the Old Testament spoke as the Spirit of God.”
—Henry Barclay Swete, The Holy Spirit in the New Testament, Macmillan & Co. 1909, pp. 2, 26, 359.
“There is apparent a development in the direction of hypostatization of the Spirit, not in the sense that it is conceived as a person but as a substantial source of force and activity. It is the creative force of Yahweh (Gn. 1:2; Jb 33:5).”
—John L. Mckenzie, Dictionary of the Bible, Simon and Schuster 1995/11965), p. 841.“The Spirit brooding over the primeval waters (Gn. 1:2) and creating man (Gn. 2:7), the Spirit who garnishes the heavens (Jb 26:13), sustains animal life and renews the face of the earth (Ps. 54:30), is the ruah (‘breath,’ ‘wind’) of God, the outgoing divine energy and power.”
—James Dixon Douglas, The New Bible Dictionary, Inter-varsity Fellowship 1962, p. 531.“The phrase describes not chaos but the creative power of God in action. Wind, a symbol of power, is used theologically in the Old Testament to refer to the dynamic activity and presence of God in the world—his Spirit.”
—Robert Davidson, The Cambridge Bible Commentary: Genesis 1-11, Cambridge University Press 1973, p. 16.“Characteristically, OT thought can on the one hand observe the wind in its real physical manifestations, but on the other hand it can relate it, to a greater or lesser degree, to Yahweh. The mysterious power at work in the wind and its unknown origin are particularly suggestive of God's activity in it and its effects.”
—Ernst Jenni & Claus Westerman, Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, Hendrickson Publishers 2004, vol. 3, p. 1205.
“God's Wind. a Survey: The wind is often viewed as an instrument of God's action; only once (Am. 4:13) is it stated expressly that Yahweh “creates the wind.” The creation texts themselves never mention the creation of the wind. According to Gen. 1:2, the rûaḥ of creation is preexistent (either as an element of chaos or, more likely, as God's creative energy). In the other texts, the wind is always taken into Yahweh's service. […] In the vast majority of instances, therefore, rûaḥ in the sense of “wind” is associated directly with God’s active intervention. […] In Gen. 1:2 a translation such a “mighty wind” might be possible, but would represent a departure from all other instances.”
—G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren & Heinz-Josef Fabry, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing 1974, vol. 13, pp. 381, 382.
The Holy Bible: Old Testament,
Athens: Christos Giovanis Publ. 1993, vol. 1.
Genesis 1:1-14.
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Quotes on the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit:
“The Jews never regarded the spirit as a person; nor is there any solid evidence that any Old Testament writer held this view ...The Holy Spirit is usually presented in the Synoptic gospels (Matt., Mark, Luke) and in Acts as a divine force or power.” (Edmund Fortman, The Triune God, pp. 6, 15)
“The Spirit of God is the divine principle of activity everywhere at work in the world, executing the will of God.” (The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, by John D. Davis. Rev. by Gehman, p. 253. ©1944)
“Nowhere in the Old Testament do we find any clear indication of a Third Person.” (The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1912, Vol. 15, p. 49)
Catholic Biblical Encyclopedia: “The doctrine of the Blessed Trinity was not clearly and directly revealed in the O.T. There is no reference to the Holy Spirit as a Person really distinct from the Father and the Son.” (1959, New York)
“Although this spirit is often described in personal terms, it seems quite clear that the sacred writers [of the Old Testament] never conceived or presented this spirit as a distinct person.”(Edmund Fortman, The Triune God, p. 9)
“The Holy Spirit in Judaism generally refers to the divine aspect of prophecy and wisdom. It also refers to the divine force, quality, and influence of the Most High God, over the universe or over his creatures, in given contexts. [Alan Unterman and Rivka Horowitz, Ruah ha-Kodesh, Encyclopedia Judaica (CD-ROM Edition, Jerusalem: Judaica Multimedia/Keter, 1997)] It is not considered a separate person of God, but rather God's divine wisdom, breath, or moving power.” (Wikipedia, Nontrinitarianism, under Judaism.)
“The Old Testament clearly does not envisage God’s spirit as a person...God’s spirit is simply God’s power. If it is sometimes represented as being distinct from God, it is because the breath of Yahweh acts exteriorly... The majority of New Testament texts reveal God’s spirit as something , not someone; this is especially seen in the parallelism between the spirit and the power of God.” (New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, Vol. 13, pp. 574, 575)
“The word ‘spirit’ (Hebrew ruah, Greek pneuma) is the word used from ancient times to describe and explain the experience of divine power working in, upon, and around men, and understood by them as the power of God.” (Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol 1. Page 986. Edited by Walter A. Elwell)
“On the whole the New Testament, like the Old, speaks of the spirit as a divine energy or power.”(W.E. Addis and Thomas Arnold, A Catholic Dictionary, 1960, p. 810)
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