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Psalm 33 · a question people ask

"All their army by the breath of his mouth" (33:6). Is breath here the Holy Spirit?

In the text

The psalm doesn't say. Breath is ruach (tap breath), which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "breath, wind, spirit", listing "breath of mouth or nostrils" among its senses. The verse sets it beside the LORD's word: "By the LORD’s word, the heavens were made: all their army by the breath of his mouth" (33:6). The same Hebrew word is "God’s Spirit" over the waters in Genesis (Genesis 1:2), and "the blast of your nostrils" at the sea (Exodus 15:8). In Job, Elihu says, "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life" (Job 33:4), where Spirit is ruach. Psalm 33 says no more than its verse, and these notes don't choose how to read it.

The verses

“By the LORD’s word, the heavens were made: all their army by the breath of his mouth.”
Psalm 33:6 · World English Bible
“The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
Genesis 1:2 · World English Bible
“With the blast of your nostrils, the waters were piled up. The floods stood upright as a heap. The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.”
Exodus 15:8 · World English Bible
“Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered, “I am young, and you are very old. Therefore I held back, and didn’t dare show you my opinion.”
Job 32:6 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 33

Psalm 33: By the LORD's word

"For he spoke, and it was done" (33:9) has the two Hebrew verbs of Genesis 1:3's "God said" and "there was light", and 33:6's "all their army" is the Hebrew of Genesis 2:1's "all their vast array". And the verb of the world that "stood firm" (33:9) is the verb of the LORD's counsel that "stands fast forever" (33:11).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions