Wind
Wind
(, rzach; Sept. , ; Vulg. spiritus, ventus). This Hebrew word signifies air in motion generally, as breath, wind, etc. Both the Septuagint words occur in the following definition of wind by Aristotle (De Mundo, c. 4): “Wind () is nothing else but a large quantity of air flowing, which is called .” So also Plato has for a high wind (Phcedon, 24, edit. Forster). Josephus also uses for a violent wind (Ant. 14:2, 2), as Lucian also does, (Ver. Hist. I, 1:714). The Vulgate word spiritus, from spiro, “to breathe,” “blow,” is applied in like manner in Latin, as by Virgil (AEneid, 12:365): “Boreae cum spiritus alto Insonat AEgeo,” “When the northern blast roars in the AEgean.”
1. The wind as a natural phenomenon (Gen 3:8; Job 21:18; Job 30:15; Job 30:22; Job 37:21; Psa 1:4; Psa 103:16; Pro 30:4; Ecc 1:6; Ecc 11:4; Isa 7:2; Isa 17:13; Isa 40:7; Jer 10:13; Jer 51:16; Amos 14:13). It is poetically ascribed to the immediate agency of God (Psa 135:7; Psa 147:18; comp. Bar 6:61). In the New Test. it occurs in Mat 11:7; Mat 14:24; Mar 4:39; Joh 3:8; Act 27:4; Eph 4:14; Jam 1:6; Rev 6:13; Rev 7:1). Throughout the New Test. the word is , except in our Lord’s illustration, Joh 3:8. In the Apocrypha occurs in Wis 5:14; Wis 13:2, etc.; but in Wis 17:18; Sir 5:9; Sir 22:18; Song of the Children, 26:42). We might perhaps attribute the exclusion of the word , for ” the wind,” from the New Test., to its having become almost entirely appropriated to “heavenly things.” In Act 2:2, we have , translated ‘”wind;” Vulg. spiritus. It means the same in Homer (Iliad, 5:697), for , “the breath or blast of Boreas;” comp. Job 37:10, Sept. In Gen 3:8, “the cool of the day,” or rather “wind of the day,” indicates the evening, since in the East a refreshing breeze arises some hours before sunset; Vulg. ad auram post meridiem. Comp. Son 2:17; Son 4:6; where the words “until the day break and the shadows flee away” should be rendered “until the day breathe or blow” (i.e., till evening); Heb. ; Sept. ; Vulg. aspiret. The evening breeze is still called, among the Persians, “the breeze of the day ” (Chardin, Voyage, 4:48).
In Amo 4:13, God is said to “create the wind.” Although this idea is very conformable to the Hebrew theory of causation, which does not recognize second causes, but attributes every natural phenomenon immediately to the divine agency, yet the passage may perhaps be directed against the worship of the winds, which was common among ancient nations. Comp. Wis 13:2. Herodotus relates the same of the Persians (1:131). The words of our Savior “a reed shaken with the wind” (Mat 11:7), are taken by some in the natural, and by others in a metaphorical sense. The former view is adopted by Grotius, Beza, Campbell, Rosenmuller, Schleusner, and Wetstein; and is confirmed, as Rosenmuller observes, by the antithesis of the rich man, whose magnificence all gladly survey. The comparison is adopted to reprove the fickleness of the multitude (comp. Mat 11:15, and Eph 4:14).
2. The wind occurs as the medium of the divine interposition, or agency (Gen 1:2; Gen 8:1, Exo 15:10; Num 11:31; 1Ki 18:45; 1Ki 19:11; Job 1:19, Isa 11:5; Jon 1:4). In the New Test., the wind was supernaturally employed at the day of Pentecost, like the sound ” and fire” (Act 2:3). Indeed, our Lord’s illustration (Joh 3:8), and the identity of the Hebrew and Greek words signifying breath, wind, and spirit, lead to the inference that the air in motion bears the nearest resemblance of any created object to divine influence, and is therefore the most appropriate medium of it. SEE SPIRIT. To this class of instances we refer Gen 1:2, “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Along with Patrick and Rosenmuller, we construe the phrase, “a wind of God,” a wind employed as the medium of divine agency. Rosenmuller compares Psa 104:30; Psa 147:8; Isa 40:7. Dr. Lee refers to 1Ki 18:12; 2Ki 2:16, and Psa 33:6; Isa 11:4. In the two latter passages, he observes that the word is equivalent to power, etc. The commotions of the elements, etc., through means of which the petulance of Elijah was reproved (1Ki 19:11), are best understood as having occurred in vision (camp. Dan 2:35; Zec 5:9).
3. The wind is used metaphorically in the following instances: “The wings of the wind” denote the most rapid motion (2Sa 22:11), where the phrase may be a poetical representation also of the incident recorded (2Sa 5:24; Psa 104:3). The onomatopoeia in the two former passages, in Hebrew, is remarkable. Anything light or trifling is called wind (Job 7:7; Isa 41:29; Psa 78:39; comp. Eph 4:14; Sir 5:9). Violent yet empty speech is called “a strong wind,” or a mere tempest of words (Job 8:2). “Vain knowledge” is called , knowledge of wind (Job 15:2); “vain words,” words of wind (Job 16:3). Many expressive phrases are formed with this word. “To inherit the wind,” denotes extreme disappointment (Pro 11:29); “to hide the wind,” impossibility (Pro 27:16); to “labor for the wind,” to labor in vain (Ecc 5:16); “to bring forth wind,” great patience and pains for no purpose (Isa 26:18; comp. Hos 8:7; Hos 12:1); “to become wind,” to result in nothingness (Jer 5:13). “The four winds” denote the four quarters of the globe (Eze 37:9); “to scatter to all winds,” to disperse completely (Eze 5:10; Eze 12:11; Eze 17:21); “to cause to come from all winds,” to restore completely (Eze 37:9). “The wind hath bound her upon her wings,” means deportation into a far country (Hos 4:19); “to sow the wind and reap the whirlwind,” unwise labor and a fruitless result (Hos 8:7); “to feed on the wind,” to pursue delusory schemes (Hos 12:1); “to walk in wind,” to live and act in vain (Mic 2:11); “to observe the wind,” to be over-cautious (Ecc 11:4); to “winnow with every wind,” to be credulous, apt to receive impressions (5:9).
Comparisons. Disappointment, after high promise or pretension, is “as wind without rain” (Pro 25:14); the desperate speeches of an afflicted person are compared to wind (Job 6:26).
Symbolically. Empires are represented as having wings, and “the wind in their wings” denotes the rapidity of their conquests (Zec 5:9). The wind is often used as the symbol or emblem of calamities (Isa 32:2; Isa 41:16; Isa 57:13; Isa 64:6); destruction by the Chaldaean army (Jer 4:11-12; comp. Wis 4:4; Wis 5:23; Wis 11:20). “The windy storm” (Psa 55:8) denotes Absalom and his party. The wind is the frequent emblem of the divine chastisements (Isa 27:8; Jer 22:22; Jer 51:1, etc.
Beautiful expressions occur, as in Isa 27:2, “He stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind;”‘ that is, God doth not aggravate the misfortunes of mankind by his chastisements; to “make a weight for the winds ” (Job 28:25).
Mistranslations. In Psa 78:39, “He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passeth away and cometh not again,” should probably be rendered, “a spirit going away and not returning.” All the versions make the words relate to the soul of man. Homer has a very similar description of death (Iliad, 9:408). In Ecc 1:5-6, the translation is faulty, and the sense further obscured by a wrong division of verses. The passage should be read: “The sun also ariseth and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he ariseth, going to the south and circulating to the north. The wind is continually whirling about, and the wind returneth upon its whirlings.” All the versions give this rendering; our version alone mistakes the meaning. The phrase “brought forth wind,” is understood, by Michaelis as an allusion to the female disorder called. empneumatosis, or windy inflation of the womb (Syrutagma, Comment. 2:165). The Syriac translator also understood the passage in this way: “Enixi sumus ut illae quae ventos pariunt.”
4. The east wind (, , , ventus urens. spiritus vehemens, ventus auster. , , ardor, aestus, ventus urens). Both forms denote the natural phenomenon (Gen 41:6; Gen 41:23; Job 38:24; Psa 48:7; Psa 78:26; Jon 4:8). Considerable indefiniteness attends the use of these words. Dr. Shaw remarks that every wind is called by the Orientals , an east wind, which blows from any point of the compass between the east and north, and betwveen the east and south (Travels, page 285). Accordingly, the Sept. often understands this word to mean the south, as in Exo 10:13; Exo 14:21 (see Bochart, Hierozoicon, II, 1:15). If the east wind happens to blow a few days in Palestine during the months of May, June, July, and August, it occasions great destruction to the vines and harvests on the land, and also to the vessels at sea on the Mediterranean (Hos 13:15 : Jon 4:8; Job 14:2; Job 15:2; Isa 40:7; Gen 41:6; Gen 41:23; Eze 17:10; Eze 19:12; Eze 27:26; Psa 48:7; Psa 103:5). In Jon 4:8, the phrase occurs, , a still or sultry east wind. For testimonies to the destructiveness of this wind in Egypt and Arabia, see Niebuhr, Beschrieb. von Arabien, page 8; Thevenot, Voyages, I, 2:34; Hackett, Illustrations of Scripture, page 135.
The east wind crosses the sandy wastes of Arabia Desert before reaching Palestine, and was hence termed “the wind of the wilderness” (Job 1:19; Jer 13:24). It is remarkably dry and penetrating, and has all the effects of the sirocco on vegetation (Eze 17:10; Eze 19:12; Hos 13:15; Jon 4:8). It also blows with violence, and is hence supposed to be used generally for any violent wind (Job 27:21; Job 38:24; Psa 48:7; Isa 27:8; Eze 27:26). It is probably in this sense that it is used in Exo 14:21, though the east, or at all events the north-east, wind would be the one adapted to effect the phenomenon described, viz. the partition of the waters towards the north and south, so that they stood as a wall on the right hand and on the left (Robinson, Researches, 1:57). In this, as in many other passages, the Sept. gives the “south” wind () as the equivalent for the Greek kadim. Nor is this wholly incorrect, for in Egypt, where the Sept. was composed, the south wind has the same characteristics that the east has in Palestine. The Greek translators appear to have felt the difficulty of rendering kadim in Gen 41:6; Gen 41:23; Gen 41:27, because the parching effects of the east wind, with which the inhabitants of Palestine are familiar, are not attributable to that wind in Egypt, but either to the south wind, called in that country the khamsin, or to that known as the samum, which comes from the south-east or south-south-east (Lane’s Modern Egypt, 1:22, 23). It is certainly possible that in Lower Egypt the east wind may be more parching than elsewhere in that country, but there is no more difficulty in assigning to the term kadim the secondary sense of parching, in this passage, than that of violent in the others before quoted. As such, at all events, the Sept. treated the term both here and in several other passages, where it is rendered kaus6n (, lit. the burner). In Jam 1:11, the A.V. erroneously understands this expression of the burning heat of the sun. In Palestine the east wind prevails from February to June (Raumer, page 79).
It is used metaphorically for pernicious speech, a storm of words (Job 15:2); calamities, especially by war (Isa 27:8; Jer 18:17; Eze 17:10; Eze 19:12; Eze 27:26; Hos 13:15). In this latter passage the east wind denotes Shalmaneser, king of Assyria; in Eze 27:26, it denotes the Chaldseans. Tyre is there represented under the beautiful allegory of a ship towed into deep waters, and then destroyed by an east wind. A very similar representation is given by Horace (Carm. 1:14). The east wind denotes divine judgment (Job 27:21). “To follow the east wind,” is to pursue a delusory and fatal course (Hos 12:1).
5. West wind ( , , ventus ab occidente). The west and south-west winds reach Palestine loaded with moisture gathered from the Mediterranean (Robinson, 1:429), and are hence expressively termed by the Arabs “the fathers of the rain” (Raumer, page 79). The little cloud “like a man’s hand” that rose out of the west, was recognised by Elijah as a presage of the coming downfall (1Ki 18:44), and the same token is adduced by our Lord as’ one of the ordinary signs of the weather (Luk 12:54). Westerly winds prevail in Palestine from November to February. See WEST.
6. North wind ( , Pro 25:23, , ventus Aquilo).The north wind, or, as it was usually called, ” the north,” was naturally the coldest of the four (Sir 43:20), and its presence is hence invoked as favorable to vegetation, in Son 4:16. It is further described in Pro 25:23, as bringing (A.V. “driveth away” in text; “bringeth forth” in marg.) rain; in this case we must understand the north-west wind, which may bring rain, but was certainly not regarded as decidedly rainy. The difficulty connected with this passage has led to the proposal of a wholly different sense for the term taphon, viz. hidden place. The north-west wind prevails from the autumnal equinox to the beginning of November, and the north wind from June to the equinox (Raumer, Palest. page 79). SEE NORTH.
7. South wind ( , Job 37:17; , Psa 78:26; , ventus Africus, Luk 12:55; [Sirocco], Act 27:13). The south wind, which traverses the Arabian peninsula before reaching Palestine, must necessarily be extremely hot (Job 37:17; Luk 12:55); but the rarity of the notices leads to the inference that it seldom blew from that quarter (Psa 78:26; Son 4:16; Sir 43:16); and even when it does blow, it does not carry the samurm into Palestine itself, although Robinson experienced the effects of this scourge not far south of Beersheba (Researches, 1:196). In Egypt the south wind (khamsin) prevails in the spring, a portion of which, in the months of April and May, is termed el-khamsin from that circumstance (Lane, 1:22). SEE SOUTH.
8. The four winds ( , , , quatuor venti). The Hebrews speak only of four winds; and so Josephus (Ant. 8:3, 5). This phrase is equivalent to the four quarters of the world (Eze 37:9; 2Es 13:5), the several points of the compass, as we should say (Dan 8:8). See Tristram, Nat. Hist. of the Bible, page 33. Phrases. “Striving of the four winds” is great political commotions (Dan 7:2; comp. Jer 4:11-12; Jer 51:1); to “hold the four winds” is by contrary to secure peace (Rev 7:1); “to be divided to the four winds” implies utter dispersion (Dan 11:4; Jer 49:32; Eze 5:10; Eze 5:12; Eze 17:2). So also the phrase (Mat 24:31) means from all parts of the world (Mar 13:27).
9. The Hebrews, like other ancient nations, had but few nanes of winds. Homer mentions only , , , and . Aul. Gellius, indeed, complains of the infrequency of names of winds in ancient writers (Noct. Att. 2:22). The same indefiniteness appears in Herodotus (see Larcher’s notes on, 1:188). In the course of time the Greeks and Romans added eight other winds to the original four, but that appearing too minute a. division, they reduced the additional ones to four, thus making only eight in all. The names of these may be seen in Larcher (ut supra), or Pliny (Hist. Nat. 18:34). Further information may be found in Coray’s Translation of Hippocrates, De AEribus, Aquis et Locis (Paris, 1800); Discours Preliminaire, and see index. For a comparative table of the English, Latin, and Greek divisions of the winds, and their names, amounting to more than thirty, see Beloe’s Herodotus (Polymnnia, notes, 3:293, Lond. 1791).
One Greek name of a wind occurs in Act 27:14, , Euroclydon, a tempestuous wind in the Mediterranean, now called a Levanter. The Alexandrian MS. has ; Vulg. Euroaquilo; Syriac, . The common reading, , seems derived from , Eurus, “east wind,” and , a wave,” quasi an eastern tempest. Other MSS. read , Euryclydon, from , “broad,” and ; a wave,” or rough wavy sea; and then the word would mean the wind which peculiarly excites the waves. Shaw defends the common reading, and describes the wind as blowing in all directions from the north-east round by the north to. the south-east (Travels, page 330, 4to; see Bower’s conjectures, and Doddridge, in loc.).
The Hebrews had no single terms indicating the rrelative velocity of the air in motion, like our words breeze, gale, etc. Such gradations they expressed by some additional word, as “great,” , “a great wind” (Jon 1:4), “rough,” , etc. Nor have we any single word indicating the destructive effects of the wind, like their verbs and as (Zec 7:14, etc.), and answering to the Greek word (see Sept. of Gen 41:6; Gen 41:23). Our metephorical use of the word storm comes nearest. The term zilaphdh ( ), in Psa 11:6 (A.V. “horrible”), has been occasionally understood as referring to the samunzm (Olshausen, in loc.; Gesen, Thesaur. page 418); but it may equally well be rendered “wrathful,” or “avenging” (Hengstenberg, in loc.). The phrase , “stormy wind,” , spiritus procellae, occurs in Psa 107:25; Psa 148:8. It is metaphorically used for the divine judgments (Eze 13:11; Eze 13:13). The word is usually translated “whirlwind;” it means, however, more properly a storm (2Ki 2:1; 2Ki 2:11; Job 38:1; Job 40:6; Zec 9:14; Sept. , , ; Vulg. turbo; Sir 43:17; , Sir 48:9; ;). We have notice in the Bible of the ilocal squalls ( Mar 4:37; Luk 8:23), to which the sea of Gennesareth was liable in consequence of its proximity to high ground, and which were sufficiently violent to endanger boats (Mat 8:24; Joh 6:18).
The Hebrew word is used metaphorically for the divine judgments (Isa 40:24; Isa 41:16); and to describe them as sudden and irresistible (Jer 23:19; Jer 25:32; Jer 30:23). “A whirlwind out of the north ” (Eze 1:4) denotes the invasion from Babylon. Another word, , is also translated “whirlwind,” and properly so.
It occurs in Job 37:9, Isa 21:1. It is used as a simile for complete and sudden destruction (Pro 1:27); and for the most rapid motion, “wheels of warchariots like a whirlwind ” (Isa 5:28; Jer 4:13). Total defeat is often compared to “chaff scattered by a whirlwind” (Isa 17:13). It denotes the rapidity and irresistibleness of the divine judgments (Isa 66:5).
The phrase “to reap the whirlwind” denotes useless labor (Hos 8:7); “the day of the whirlwind,” destruction by war (Amo 1:14). The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind,” is probably an allusion to Sinai (Nah 1:3). A beautiful comparison occurs in Pro 10:25 : As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.” SEE WHIRLWIND.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Wind
WIND (; only in Joh 3:8).The four winds (Mat 24:31, Mar 13:27) is an expression standing for north, south, east, and west, the winds in Palestine coming mainly from these directions. These winds retain their character, varied only in degree, throughout the year. The north wind is cold; the west, from the sea, moist; the south, warm; and the east, from the desert, dry. This last is very pleasant in the winter months; but in spring and autumn, when it is prevalent, it is exceedingly oppressive, a few hours often causing every living thing to droop. The popular belief that the most violent winds are from the east is not confirmed by the writers experience of over five years in Galilce. The most memorable storm in that period was from the west. See, further, Sea Of Galilee, p. 591.
W. Ewing.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Wind
WIND.The winds in Heb. are designated by the four cardinal points of the compass. South wind, e.g., may be either S., S.W., or S.E.; and so with the others. Cool winds come from the N., moist winds from the western sea, warm winds from the S., and dry winds, often laden with fine sand, from the eastern deserts. Warmth and moisture, therefore, depend much upon the direction of the winds. During the dry season, from May till October, the prevailing winds are from the N. and N.W.; they do much to temper the heat of summer (Son 4:16, Job 37:9). In Sept. and Oct., E. and S.E. winds are frequent; blowing from the deserts, their dry heat causes the furniture to crack, and makes life a burden (Hos 13:15). Later, the winds from the S. prolong the warmth of summer (Luk 12:55); then the W. and S.W. winds bring the rain (1Ki 18:44, Luk 12:54). East winds earlier in the year often work great destruction on vegetation (Eze 17:10). Under their influence strong plants droop, and flowers quickly wither (Psa 103:19).
Of the greatest value for all living things is the perpetual interchange of land and sea breezes. At sunrise a gentle air stirs from the sea, crosses the plain, and creeps up the mountains. At sunset the cooling air begins to slip down seaward again, while the upper strata move landward from the sea. The moisture thus carried ashore is precipitated in refreshing dew.
The tempestuous wind (Act 27:14), called Euroclydon or Euraquilo (wh. see), was the E.N.E. wind so prevalent in the eastern Mediterranean, called by sailors to-day the Levanter.
W. Ewing.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Wind
wind (, ruah; , anemos):
1. Causes:
Unequal distribution of heat in the atmosphere causes currents of air or wind. The heated air rises and the air from around rushes in. The direction from which a current comes determines its name, as west wind coming from the West but blowing toward the East. When two currents of air of different directions meet, a spiral motion sometimes results. See WHIRLWIND.
2. West Wind:
In Palestine the west wind is the most common. It comes from the sea and carries the moisture which condenses to form clouds, as it is turned upward by the mountains, to the cooler layers of the atmosphere. If the temperature reached is cool enough the cloud condenses and rain falls. Elijah looked toward the West for the small cloud, and soon the heavens grew black with clouds and wind (1Ki 18:44 f). When ye see a cloud rising in the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it cometh to pass (Luk 12:54).
3. South Wind:
The south wind is frequent in Palestine. If it is slightly Southwest, it may bring rain, but if it is due South or Southeast, there is no rain. It is a warm wind bringing good weather. When ye see a south wind blowing, ye say, There will be a scorching heat; and it cometh to pass (Luk 12:55). In the cooler months it is a gentle, balmy wind, so that the earth is still by reason of the south wind (Job 37:17; compare Son 4:16).
4. North Wind:
The north wind is usually a strong, continuous wind blowing down from the northern hills, and while it is cool it always drives away rain, as correctly stated in Pro 25:23, the King James Version; yet it is a disagreeable wind, and often causes headache and fever.
5. East Wind:
The east wind or sirocco (from Arabic shark= east) is the scorching wind (Jam 1:11) from the desert. It is a hot, gusty wind laden with sand and dust and occurs most frequently in May and October. The temperature in a given place often rises 15 or 20 degrees within a few hours, bringing thermometer to the highest readings of the year. It is customary for the people to close up the houses tightly to keep out the dust and heat. The heat and dryness wither all vegetation (Gen 41:6). Happily the wind seldom lasts for more than three days at a time. It is the destructive wind of the wilderness (Job 1:19; Jer 4:11; Jer 13:24): Yahweh caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night (Exo 14:21) for the children of Israel to pass; the rough blast in the day of the east wind (Isa 27:8). The strength of the wind makes it dangerous for ships at sea: With the east wind thou breakest the ships of Tarshish (Psa 48:7). Euraquilo or Euroclydon (Act 27:14 the King James Version), which caused Paul’s shipwreck, was an East-Northeast wind, which was especially dangerous in that region.
6. Practical Use:
The wind is directly of great use to the farmer in Palestine in winnowing the grain after it is threshed by treading out (Psa 1:4; Psa 35:5; Isa 17:13). It was used as a sign of the weather (Ecc 11:4). It was a necessity for traveling on the sea in ancient times (Act 28:13; Jam 3:4), but too strong a wind caused shipwreck (Jon 1:4; Mat 8:24; Luk 8:23).
7. Scripture References:
The Scriptural references to wind show many illustrative and figurative uses: (1) Power of God (1Ki 19:11; Job 27:21; Job 38:24; Psa 107:25; Psa 135:7; Psa 147:18; Psa 148:8; Pro 30:4; Jer 10:13; Hos 4:19; Luk 8:25): He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens; and by his power he guided the south wind (Psa 78:26). (2) Scattering and destruction: A stormy wind shall rend it (Eze 13:11; compare Eze 5:2; Eze 12:14; Eze 17:21; Hos 4:19; Hos 8:7; Jer 49:36; Mat 7:25). (3) Uncertainty: tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine (Eph 4:14; compare Pro 27:16; Ecc 1:6; Joh 3:8; Jam 1:6). (4) Various directions: toward the four winds of heaven (Dan 11:4; compare Dan 8:8; Zec 2:6; Mat 24:31; Mar 13:27). (5) Brevity: a wind that passeth away (Psa 78:39; compare Psa 1:4; Psa 35:5; Psa 103:16). (6) Nothingness: Molten images are wind (Isa 41:29; compare Jer 5:13).
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Wind
The Hebrew word signifies air in motion generally, as breath, wind, etc. It is used,
1.for the wind as a natural phenomenon (Gen 3:8’cool’; Job 21:18; Job 30:15; Job 30:22; Job 37:21; Psa 1:4; Psa 103:16; Pro 30:4; Ecc 1:6; Ecc 11:4; Isa 7:2; Isa 17:13; Isa 40:7’spirit’; Jer 10:13; Jer 51:16; Amo 4:13). It is poetically ascribed to the immediate agency of God (Psa 135:7; Psa 147:18).
2.The wind occurs as the medium of the divine interposition, or agency (Gen 1:2’spirit’; 8:1; Exo 15:10; Num 11:31; 1Ki 18:45; 1Ki 19:11; Job 1:19; Isa 11:15; Jon 1:4). In the New Testament, the wind was supernaturally employed at the day of Pentecost, like the ‘sound’ and ‘fire’ (Act 2:2) [SPIRIT]. To this class of instances we refer Gen 1:2, ‘and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.’ Along with Patrick and Rosenmller, we construe the phrase, ‘a wind of God,’ a wind employed as the medium of divine agency.
3.The wind is used metaphorically in the following instances: ‘The wings of the wind’ denote the most rapid motion (2Sa 22:11). Anything light or trifling is called wind (Job 7:7; Isa 41:29; Psa 78:39; comp. Eph 4:14; Sir 5:9). Violent yet empty speech is called ‘a strong wind,’ or a mere tempest of words (Job 8:2). ‘Vain knowledge’ is called knowledge of wind (Job 15:2); ‘vain words,’ words of wind (Job 16:3). Many expressive phrases are formed with this word. ‘To inherit the wind,’ denotes extreme disappointment (Pro 11:29); ‘to hide the wind,’ impossibility (Pro 27:16); to ‘labor for the wind,’ to labor in vain (Ecc 5:16); ‘to bring forth wind,’ great patience and pains for no purpose (Isa 26:18; comp. Hos 8:7; Hos 12:1); ‘to become wind,’ to result in nothingness (Jer 5:13). ‘The four winds’ denote the four quarters of the globe (Eze 37:9); ‘to scatter to all winds,’ to disperse completely (Eze 5:10; Eze 12:14; Eze 17:21); ‘to cause to come from all winds,’ to restore completely (Eze 37:9). ‘The wind hath bound her upon her wings,’ means deportation into a far country (Hos 4:19); ‘to sow the wind and reap the whirlwind,’ unwise labor and a fruitless result (Hos 8:7); ‘to feed on the wind,’ to pursue delusory schemes (Hos 12:1); ‘to walk in wind,’ to live and act in vain (Mic 2:11); ‘to observe the wind,’ to be over cautious (Ecc 11:4); to ‘winnow with every wind,’ to be credulous, apt to receive impressions (Eph 4:14).
4.The east wind. Dr. Shaw remarks, that every wind is called by the Orientals an east wind which blows from any point of the compass between the east and north, and between the east and south (Travels, p. 285). If the east wind happens to blow a few days in Palestine during the months of May, June, July, and August, it occasions great destruction to the vines and harvests on the land, and also to the vessels at sea on the Mediterranean. It is accordingly often used to denote any pernicious wind, as in Psa 48:7. It is used metaphorically for pernicious speech, a storm of words (Job 15:2); calamities, especially by war (Isa 27:8; Jer 18:17; Eze 17:10; Eze 19:12; Eze 27:26; Hos 13:15). The east wind denotes divine judgment (Job 27:21). Phrases’To follow the east wind,’ is to pursue a delusory and fatal course (Hos 12:1).
5.West wind.
6.North wind (Pro 25:23).
7.South wind (Job 37:17; Psa 78:26; Luk 12:55); Sirocco (Act 27:13).
8.The four winds. This phrase is equivalent to the four quarters of the world (Eze 37:9; 2Es 13:5), the several points of the compass, as we should say (Dan 8:8). Phrases’Striving of the four winds,’ is great political commotions (Dan 7:2; comp. Jer 4:11-12; Jer 51:1); to ‘hold the four winds,’ is by contrary to secure peace (Rev 7:1); ‘to be divided to the four winds,’ implies utter dispersion (Dan 11:4; Jer 49:32; Eze 5:10; Eze 5:12; Eze 17:21).
The Hebrews, like other ancient nations, had but few names of winds. One Greek name of a wind occurs in Act 27:14, Euroclydon, a tempestuous wind in the Mediterranean, now called a Levanter. , Eurus, ‘east wind,’ and , ‘a wave,’ quasi an eastern tempest. Other MSS. read , Euryclydon, from , ‘broad,’ and , ‘a wave,’ or rough wavy sea; and then the word would mean the wind which peculiarly excites the waves. Shaw defends the common reading, and describes the wind as blowing in all directions from the N.E. round by the N. to the S.E. (Travels, p. 330. etc. 4to.; see Bowyer’s conjectures, and Doddridge, in loc.). The Hebrews had no single terms indicating the relative velocity of the air in motion, like our words breeze, gale, etc. Such gradations they expressed by some additional word, as ‘great,’ -, ‘a great wind’ (Jon 1:4), ‘rough,’ , etc. Nor have we any single word indicating the destructive effects of the wind, like their verbs and , as (Zec 7:14, etc.), and answering to the Greek word (see Sept. of Gen 41:6; Gen 41:23). Our metaphorical use of the word storm comes nearest. The phrase , ‘stormy wind,’ , spiritus procell, occurs in Psa 107:25; Psa 148:8. It is metaphorically used for the divine judgments (Eze 13:11; Eze 13:13). The word usually translated ‘whirlwind’ means more properly a storm (2Ki 2:1; 2Ki 2:11; Job 38:1; Job 40:6; Zec 9:14). The Hebrew word is used metaphorically for the divine judgments (Isa 40:24; Isa 41:16); and to describe them as sudden and irresistible (Jer 23:19; Jer 25:32; Jer 30:23). Total defeat is often compared to ‘chaff scattered by a whirlwind’ (Isa 17:13). It denotes the rapidity and irresistibleness of the divine judgments (Isa 64:6). The phrase ‘to reap the whirlwind’ denotes useless labor (Hos 8:7); ‘the day of the whirlwind,’ destruction by war (Amo 1:14). A beautiful comparison occurs in Pro 10:25 : ‘As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.’
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Wind
The wind, as all else, is used by God to work out His purposes with man. Exo 10:13; Psa 135:7; Eze 13:13. As the unseen wind comes and goes we know not whither, “so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Joh 3:8. Its power is felt, and the result abides. The wind is also used as a symbol of the unseen influence of Satan, Jud 1:12; and where permitted he carries out his evil designs by the wind. Job 1:19 .
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Wind
Blasting
2Ki 19:7; 2Ki 19:35
East:
– Hot and blasting in Egypt
Gen 41:6
– In the valley of the Euphrates
Eze 19:12
– In Canaan
Hos 13:15; Luk 12:55
– At Nineveh
Jon 4:8
– Tempestuous in Uz
Job 27:21
West, took away the plague of locusts from the land of Egypt
Exo 10:19
North, free from humidity in Canaan
Pro 25:23
South:
– Soothing
Job 37:17
– Tempestuous
Job 37:9
– Purifying
Job 37:21
Figurative:
– General references
Hos 4:19
– Of the judgments of God
Jer 22:22; Hos 13:15; Mat 7:25
– Of the Spirit
Joh 3:8
– Of heresy
Eph 4:14
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Wind
pnoe (G4157) Wind
pneuma (G4151)
anemos (G417)
lailaps (G2978) Storm
thyella (G2366) Tempest
We will discuss pneuma in its natural, earthly sense, not in its supernatural, heavenly meaning. Pnoe, pneuma, and anemos designate earthly things and differ from one another exactly as do the Latin ar (air), spiritus (breeze), and ventus (wind). Seneca noted: “Motion separates breeze [spiritus] from wind [ventus], for a more violent breeze [spiritus] is wind [ventus]; a lightly flowing breeze [spiritus] in turn is air [ar].”
Pnoe and pneuma frequently occur together, as in Isa 42:5; Isa 57:16. Pnoe refers to a lighter, gentler motion of the air than pneuma, just as aura (gentle breeze) refers to a lighter motion than ventus (wind). Aristotle remarked: “The breezes [pneumata] blowing in the atmosphere we call winds [anemous], but those accompanied by dampness we term vapors [ekpnoai].”Pliny recognized a similar distinction: “Air [ar] is moved by some breeze [spiritu]; more often however it causes gentle breezes [auras] than winds [ventos]. ” Philo stated: “He spoke of pnoe but not pneuma as there is a difference; for pneuma is thought of according to its strength and vigor and force, while pnoe is a gentle breeze and a quiet and calm exhalation.” In one of its two New Testament occurrences (Act 2:2), however, pnoe is used with biaia (G972) and clearly refers to a strong and vehement wind (cf. Job 37:9). As De Wette observed, this may be accounted for by the fact that on this occasion it was necessary to reserve pneuma for the higher spiritual gift of which pnoe was the sign and symbol. To have used pneuma would have introduced a perplexing repetition.
Pneuma is seldom used in the New Testament (Joh 3:8; Heb 1:7) to mean “wind,” though often it is used in that sense in the Septuagint (Gen 8:1; Ecc 11:5; Eze 37:9). Rah (G7307) in Ecc 11:5 is translated by “spirit,” not “wind” (Job 1:19; Psa 148:8), in our Authorized Version, which is unfortunate because it obscures the remarkable connection between the Preacher’s saying and Jesus’ words to Nicodemus (Joh 3:8). Jesus loved to use the Old Testament. His words “the wind blows where it wishes” echo the words of Ecclesiastes “and you do not know what is the way of the wind. ” The Preacher had already indicated that the winds are symbols for mysteries that are higher than man can trace. Pneuma often appears in the Septuagint in connection with pnoe but generally is used in a figurative sense (2Sa 22:16; Job 33:4; Isa 42:5; Isa 57:16).
Aristotle gave this account of anemos:”Wind [anemos] is nothing but a large amount of air flowing together, which is also called pneuma [breeze].”Hippocrates said: “Wind [anemos] is a current and stream of air.” Like ventus and wind, anemos is usually the strong, often tempestuous, wind. It is interesting to observe that in the inspired account of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus (which probably took place in Aramaic), the writer did not use anemos but pneuma to draw an analogy between the natural world and the mysterious movements of the Holy Spirit. Undoubtedly the writer chose pneuma because there is nothing fierce or violent in the measured operation of the Spirit. When Paul wanted to describe men violently blown about on a sea of error, however, he described them as “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind [anemo] of doctrine” (Eph 4:14; cf. Jud 1:12 with 2Pe 2:17).
The derivation of lailaps is uncertain. This word is probably formed by reduplication and is meant to imitate in sound what it represents. It occurs three times in the New Testament (Mar 4:37; Luk 8:23; 2Pe 2:17) and slightly more often in the Septuagint. It refers to a formidable kind of squall. J. H. H. Schmidt has a careful and full discussion on the whole group of words used for wind and weather and associated phenomena. Concerning lailaps he wrote: “The ancients quite generally understood it to denote a storm raging back and forth unstably, breaking forth from dark clouds and accompanied by torrential rains.” The examples he gave support this statement. As Hesychius explained, it is “a whirling of wind [anemou] with rain.” Suidas added the further notion of darkness. Homer always associated kelaine and eremne with lailaps, implying that the darkness that accompanies the latter should not be ignored.
Whenever it occurs in the Septuagint (Deu 4:11; Deu 5:22; Exo 10:22), thyella is used with gnophos (G1105). In the New Testament, thyella is used only in Heb 12:18, where it sounds more like its Septuagintal usage than other words the writer might have employed. Schmidt distinguished thyella from the Homeric aella, but we will not discuss these differences. Thyella often refers to a wilder and fiercer natural phenomenon than lailaps and frequently refers to the conflicted mingling of many opposing winds, as in a turbulent cyclone.
Fuente: Synonyms of the New Testament
Wind
The Hebrews, like us, acknowledge four principal winds, Eze 42:16-18 : the east wind, the north wind, the south wind, and the west wind, or that from the Mediterranean sea. See WHIRLWIND.
Fuente: Biblical and Theological Dictionary
Wind
Job 7:7 (a) This poor man, in his affliction, felt that his life had no stability nor permanence. His soul was cast about with reasonings, philosophies and conclusions, which gave him no peace.
Psa 135:7 (c) We may understand from this that the events that happen in our life which seem to be above and beyond our control, as is the wind, these come out of GOD’s heart of love, because we are precious in His sight. He sees that these will be a blessing to us.
Pro 11:29 (b) No doubt the writer referred to the transient character of that which falls to the lot of the evil man. If he stirs up trouble, it will come back on him twice fold.
Pro 25:14 (a) There are those who claim to have great gifts, but when they stand before the audience, they fall flat. The audience is disappointed. The people expected great things from the advertising, but they wasted their time in listening to the speaker.
Ecc 11:4 (b) We are advised in this passage to work diligently and earnestly at our work regardless of conditions and situations which seem to be unfavorable.
Isa 26:18 (a) This remarkable illustration certainly fits in many cases. A meeting is advertised largely, the speaker is extolled for his ability, the proper music is arranged, the crowd has arrived, and then the whole meeting falls “flat.” Things do not move smoothly, the speaker has no message worth listening to, and there is a general feeling that the meeting was an utter failure. This is the picture in this verse.
Eze 37:9 (a) In many cases throughout the Scripture, the Greek or Hebrew word for wind really refers to the Holy Spirit of GOD. It is so in this case, as is revealed in verse Eze 37:14. The picture is quite clear, for the wind is not seen, and usually the Holy Spirit is not seen. The wind cannot be controlled, and neither can the Spirit. The wind is sent by GOD, and so is the Spirit. The wind has resistless power sometimes, and so does the Spirit. The wind is sometimes soft, balmy and delightful, and so is GOD’s Spirit. The wind is necessary for cleansing the atmosphere, and the Holy Spirit is necessary for cleaning up our lives. He is “the Spirit of Life.” He must be present to give Life Eternal.
Mat 7:25 (b) Here the wind is an emblem of the adverse conditions that arise, with various density and force in the human life.
Joh 3:8 (a) As has already been described, the wind is a type of the Holy Spirit, in that it and He are invisible, and yet forcible. The wind is sovereign in its actions, uncontrolled by human mandate, and undirected by human minds; so is the Spirit of GOD.
Eph 4:14 (a) This indicates the strange power of evil teachings, which, in their sophistry and clever logic, lead away from the truth of the Scriptures into error, and a false faith.
Jud 1:12 (b) By this type we understand the many false religions and evil teachings which abound, which easily deceive the ungodly, and carry them off into false religions.