Rushing+Wind+Allusions+in+the+Bible

toc

Theophanies are used throughout the Bible to depict manifestations of God through similes so that readers can better understand things that would otherwise be difficult to comprehend. In Acts 2:2, Paul uses the allusion of the “rushing wind” to convey the significance of the Holy Spirit but what exactly does the “rushing wind” represent and how can other uses of it in the Bible help us understand this significance?

According to Bock, the Hebrew word //ruach// and the Greek word //pneuma// used in Acts 2:2 have the same basic meaning referring to wind but are often translated to be “spirit”[|[i]]. In fact, there are 377 Biblical instances of //ruach,// and 264 of them are translated //pneuma// and the next most common translation is //anemos,// which means wind[|[ii]]. In John 3:8 there is an association made between the Spirit and the wind because John compares the Spirit to the wind in that we cannot see the wind itself but we can see the effects of the wind.

The allusion of the rushing wind in Acts 2 is most commonly associated with the Breath of Life in Genesis 2:7 because both produce a sense of life in those who receive it. Just as God breathed life into the dust that formed Adam, God also caused breathed to into the dry bones in Ezekiel 37, bringing them to life; representing the breath of life. In John 20:22 we see Jesus breathe on the disciples when pledging to give them the Holy Spirit, making a connection between the breath and the Spirit. When this understanding of the Spirit and the breath of life is applied to Acts 2 it suggests that people who are spiritually dead are made spiritually alive with the coming of the Holy Spirit. The New Interpreter’s Bible suggested “that the creative power of the Spirit results in the birth of a new creation or even new life. This subtext could very well be intended by John 20:22, referring to Jesus’ ‘breathing’ upon the disciples (so alluding to creation of human life in Gen. 2:7), especially given the theological importance of the “new creation” motif in John’s gospel”[|[iii]].

The idea of rushing wind is also associated with storm-like winds. Storm like winds can be seen in 1 Kings 19:11-12 in reference to when God’s presence greeted Elijah. This same sort of raging wind is the way in which God spoke to Job in Job 38:1 and 40:6. This idea of God speaking could also relate to the fact that God is using these rushing winds to impart the Holy Spirit to the apostles to speak on behalf of God. This storm-like wind is also used as a figure of judgment by the prophets (Isaiah 5:28; Jeremiah 4:13; Hosea 8:7; Amos 1:14; Zechariah 7:14) and is an allusion to God coming to deliver His people riding on storm-like winds (Zechariah 9:14). In Job 32:8 we also see that it is the breath of God that gives understanding, one of the many roles of the Holy Spirit. In this way, the wind suggests the presence that the Spirit has in the church and it’s role of convicting, judging and giving understanding.

Through the study of the term rushing wind in Acts 2:2, the allusions and theophanies reveal a significant amount about the word choice and the purpose of the Spirit in this context. The similarities to the breath of life reveal the fact that the Holy Spirit is the one who gives life to those who were once dead and makes new life, showing that the Spirit is the one who gives life to the church as seen in Acts 2:2. The allusions to the storm-like wind that comes to judge and the idea of imparting understanding suggests that the Holy Spirit has an active role in judging and giving understanding in the Church.
 * Bibliography: **
 * 1) Darrell L. Bock, //Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament// (Baker Academic, 2007).
 * 2) Holman Bible Editorial Staff, //Holman QuickSource Bible Dictionary// (B&H Publishing Group, 2005).
 * 3) Orville James Nave, //Nave’s topical Bible: a digest of the Holy Scriptures// (International Bible agency, 1905).
 * 4) “Pentecost…Every Sunday? Acts 2,” //Grace To You//, February 10, 2011, http://www.gty.org/Resources/Bible+Q&A/BQ21011_PentecostEvery-Sunday.
 * 5) Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, //Pneumatology : the Holy Spirit in ecumenical, international, and contextual perspective// (Grand Rapids Mich.: Baker Academic, 2002).
 * 6) C. K. Barrett and Charles Kingsley Barrett, //The acts of the apostles: a shorter commentary// (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2002).
 * 7) Paul E. Brown, //The Holy Spirit and the Bible// (Great Britian: Christian Focus, 2002).
 * 8) //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The New Interpreter’s Bible : general articles & introduction, commentary, & reflections for each book of the Bible, including the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books in twelve volumes. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, vol. 10, 12 vols. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, c1994-c2002).

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 115%;">[|[i]] Darrell L. Bock, //Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament// (Baker Academic, 2007). <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 115%;">[|[ii]] Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, //Pneumatology : the Holy Spirit in ecumenical, international, and contextual perspective// (Grand Rapids Mich.: Baker Academic, 2002).

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px; line-height: 115%;">[|[iii]] The New Interpreters Bible : Volume X

media type="custom" key="9698064"

media type="custom" key="9698066"