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Bible Dictionaries
Spirit
Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary
or in Hebrew, רות in Greek, πνευμα , and in Latin, spiritus, is in the Scriptures sometimes taken for the Holy Ghost, the third person of the Holy Trinity. The word signifies also the reasonable soul which animates us, and continues in existence even after the death of the body; that spiritual, thinking and reasoning substance, which is capable of eternal happiness, Numbers 16:22; Acts 7:59 . The term spirit is also often used for an angel, a demon, and a ghost, or soul separate from the body. It is said, in Acts 23:8 , that the Sadducees denied the existence of angels and spirits. Jesus Christ appearing to his disciples, said to them, Luke 24:39 , "Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." And St. Paul calls the good angels "ministering spirits,"
Hebrews 1:14 . In 1 Samuel 16:14; 1 Samuel 18:10; 1 Samuel 19:9 , it is said that an evil spirit from the Lord troubled Saul: and we have also the expression unclean spirits. Add to this, spirit is sometimes put for the disposition of the heart or mind: see Numbers 5:14; Zechariah 12:10; Luke 13:11; Isaiah 11:2 . Discerning of spirits, or the secret character and thoughts of men, was a gift of God, and placed among the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, 1 Corinthians 12:10; 1 John 4:1 .
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Watson, Richard. Entry for 'Spirit'. Richard Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/wtd/s/spirit.html. 1831-2.
