נְשָׁמָה
A puff , i.e. wind , angry or vital breath , divine inspiration , intellect . or (concretely) an animal
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What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
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Canonical witness: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
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What does נְשָׁמָה (neshāmāh) mean in the Bible?
נְשָׁמָה (neshāmāh) is a Hebrew word meaning "a puff , i.e. wind , angry or vital breath , divine inspiration , intellect . or (concretely) an animal". a puff, i. The reminder that human breath is temporary undercuts misplaced confidence in mortal leaders and highlights dependence on God. This term runs through the canonical themes of Spirit.
Full entry for נְשָׁמָה (H5397) · Browse the biblical lexicon
Meaning
Animating breath linking physical life, divine inspiration, and human intellect within single semantic field.
a puff, i.e. wind, angry or vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect. or (concretely) an animal BDB: breath Usage: blast, (that) breath(-eth), inspiration, soul, spirit.
Why This Word Matters
The reminder that human breath is temporary undercuts misplaced confidence in mortal leaders and highlights dependence on God. Isaiah 2:10-22
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Canonical Themes
Biblical Occurrences
Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.
Old Testament Witnesses
Showing 8 of 24 occurrences in the biblical text.
Appears In
Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.