Hey All,
I saw this topic being discussed, and it triggered an old question of mine I have never been able to satisfactorily resolve. So I am asking it again:
What does "breath into his nostrils" mean in Genesis 2:7?
breathed” (Strong’s 5301, “naphach”- to inflate or blow hard)
“breath” (Srong’s 5397, nahamah - divine inspiration, soul or spirit)
So these two slightly different words describe a forceful blowing into Adam’s body, which was a molded but lifeless form, and specifically into his nostrils, at which point the body came to life.
The question why has to be asked.
Why did God breathe into Adam's nostrils?
The Bible doesn't say God breathed carbon dioxide into the the flora and the plants became living vegetation. God could have just said breathe. But God performed a different specific physical action. It has to mean something.
It is said that the sense of smell is supposed to be a gateway to our minds. Google the search, “Is the idea that the sense of smell the gateway to the mind?" It has an interesting article about how the ofactory glands actually bypass the brain in the Harvard Gazette, “What the Nose Knows” (How scent, emotion, and memory are intertwined — and exploited) It is well known, for example, that the scent of vanilla or lavender has a calming effect on the body.
Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (chay = life); and the man became a living (chay = life) person (nephesh = soul). [NASB] (Parentheses added for clarity from Hebrew words.)
man formed from dust + breath of life = living being/soul
The breath of life, whatever that is, is something that, apparently, all mankind shares with living creatures that breathe air. For instance:
Gen 1:30 - all the creatures created on the sixth day receive the breath of life
Gen 6:17 - all the creatures destroyed by the flood had the breath of life taken away
Gen 7:22, 15 - all the animals on Noah's ark were allowed to keep the breath of life
Num 16:22, 27:16 - breath of life exists in all mankind
Josh 10:40 - Joshua destroyed all the animals that had the breath of life
Eccl 3:19 - all men and beasts have the same breath of life
Eccl 11:5 - we do not fully comprehend the breath of life (Amen to that one)
Now, according to Gen 2:7, God gives the breath of life to initiate a living being/soul. However, at death, the breath of life returns to God who gave it, Job 34:14, Eccl 12:7.
Job 34:14-15 If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
So the first breath comes from God. The last breath returns to God.
And that's probably more about breathing than you care to know.
But there are a couple more examples.
Stephen:
Stephen's prayer to Jesus to receive his breath at death, Acts 7:59, which essentially quotes Ps 31:5.
Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Psalms 31:5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.
One last verse:
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Don't you believe this passage is related to the Genesis 2:7 breath?
CONCLUSION
We, as humans, cannot give life. We can do the biological. But we cannot make a baby breathe. The "breath of life" appears to be the difference between a dead body and a living person/soul: And that breath, that first breath, comes from outside into the body. The air we take in oxygenates the blood, purifying it, and pulls toxins from the blood, and is expelled as carbon dioxide. The last breath we breathe, is air transformed into carbon dioxide. It leaves the body different than what it was. Beyond that we cannot go because the Bible has no further information. But it has to mean something.
Why did Jesus breathe upon his disciples before He said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost:"
My gut tells me there has to be a connection with John 20:22, and Genesis 2:7.
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
This has to mean something.
There is a connection.
I know it is there, stareing right back at me.
But I cannot see it.
What am I missing?
How am I missing it?
Any ideas?
(I know. I ask such easy questions.)
Keep walking everybody.
May God bless,
Taz
I saw this topic being discussed, and it triggered an old question of mine I have never been able to satisfactorily resolve. So I am asking it again:
What does "breath into his nostrils" mean in Genesis 2:7?
breathed” (Strong’s 5301, “naphach”- to inflate or blow hard)
“breath” (Srong’s 5397, nahamah - divine inspiration, soul or spirit)
So these two slightly different words describe a forceful blowing into Adam’s body, which was a molded but lifeless form, and specifically into his nostrils, at which point the body came to life.
The question why has to be asked.
Why did God breathe into Adam's nostrils?
The Bible doesn't say God breathed carbon dioxide into the the flora and the plants became living vegetation. God could have just said breathe. But God performed a different specific physical action. It has to mean something.
It is said that the sense of smell is supposed to be a gateway to our minds. Google the search, “Is the idea that the sense of smell the gateway to the mind?" It has an interesting article about how the ofactory glands actually bypass the brain in the Harvard Gazette, “What the Nose Knows” (How scent, emotion, and memory are intertwined — and exploited) It is well known, for example, that the scent of vanilla or lavender has a calming effect on the body.
Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (chay = life); and the man became a living (chay = life) person (nephesh = soul). [NASB] (Parentheses added for clarity from Hebrew words.)
man formed from dust + breath of life = living being/soul
The breath of life, whatever that is, is something that, apparently, all mankind shares with living creatures that breathe air. For instance:
Gen 1:30 - all the creatures created on the sixth day receive the breath of life
Gen 6:17 - all the creatures destroyed by the flood had the breath of life taken away
Gen 7:22, 15 - all the animals on Noah's ark were allowed to keep the breath of life
Num 16:22, 27:16 - breath of life exists in all mankind
Josh 10:40 - Joshua destroyed all the animals that had the breath of life
Eccl 3:19 - all men and beasts have the same breath of life
Eccl 11:5 - we do not fully comprehend the breath of life (Amen to that one)
Now, according to Gen 2:7, God gives the breath of life to initiate a living being/soul. However, at death, the breath of life returns to God who gave it, Job 34:14, Eccl 12:7.
Job 34:14-15 If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
So the first breath comes from God. The last breath returns to God.
And that's probably more about breathing than you care to know.
But there are a couple more examples.
Stephen:
Stephen's prayer to Jesus to receive his breath at death, Acts 7:59, which essentially quotes Ps 31:5.
Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Psalms 31:5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.
One last verse:
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Don't you believe this passage is related to the Genesis 2:7 breath?
CONCLUSION
We, as humans, cannot give life. We can do the biological. But we cannot make a baby breathe. The "breath of life" appears to be the difference between a dead body and a living person/soul: And that breath, that first breath, comes from outside into the body. The air we take in oxygenates the blood, purifying it, and pulls toxins from the blood, and is expelled as carbon dioxide. The last breath we breathe, is air transformed into carbon dioxide. It leaves the body different than what it was. Beyond that we cannot go because the Bible has no further information. But it has to mean something.
Why did Jesus breathe upon his disciples before He said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost:"
My gut tells me there has to be a connection with John 20:22, and Genesis 2:7.
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
This has to mean something.
There is a connection.
I know it is there, stareing right back at me.
But I cannot see it.
What am I missing?
How am I missing it?
Any ideas?
(I know. I ask such easy questions.)
Keep walking everybody.
May God bless,
Taz