From the Encyclopaedia Judaica 14:365
רוח הקודש
A more problematical use of the term Ru’ah ha-Kodesh is when in some way hypothesized, or used as a synonym for God.
This tendency toward hypostatization is already apparent in such expressions as “Ru’ah ha-Kodesh resting” on a person or place, or someone “receiving Ru’ah ha-Kodesh”. But it is pronounced in descriptions of the Ru’ah ha-Kodesh speaking (Pes. 117a), or acting as defense counsel on Israel’s behalf (Lev. R. 6:1), or leaving Israel and returning to G-d (Eccles. R. 12:7). This hypothesization is essentially the product of free play of imagery, and does not have the connotations of Ru’ah ha-Kodesh as an entity separate from G-d. Neither are there any over tones of the Ru’ah ha-Kodesh somehow forming as part of the Godhead, as found in the Christian concept of the Holy Ghost which was a translation of Ru’ah ha-Kodesh.
The problems centering around this use of the term Ru’ah ha-Kodesh are the product of it’s different shading into one another. Sometimes it is used merely as a synonym for God, and at others it refers to the power of prophecy through divine inspiration. In order to maintain a perspective on the matter, the monotheistic background and the image character of rabbinic thinking must always be kept in mind.
More Names Of God
- Ru’ah ha-Kodesh (name for God)From the Encyclopaedia Judaica 14:365 רוח הקודש A more problematical use of the term Ru’ah ha-Kodesh is when in some way hypothesized, or used as a synonym for God. This tendency toward hypostatization is already apparent in such expressions as “Ru’ah ha-Kodesh resting” on a person or place, or someone “receiving Ru’ah ha-Kodesh”. But it […]
- Ru’ah Ha-Kodeshרוח הקודש lit. “the Holy Spirit” Although the phrase Ru’ah ha-Kodesh occurs in the Bible (cf. Ps 51:13 ; Isa 63:10), it’s specific connotation as divine inspiration is wholly post-biblical.In rabbinic thought it is the spirit of prophecy which comes from G-d, a divine inspiration giving man an insight into the future and will of […]
- “Heaven” (name for God)From the Encyclopaedia Judaica 7:682 The Earliest occurrences (except for Dan. 4:23 : “It is Heaven that rules”) of the substitution of the word “Heaven” (God’s abode) for “God” (Himself) are found in the Apocrypha : “In the site of Heaven” (I Macc. 3:18), “Let us cry to Heaven” ( I Macc. 4:10) “They were […]
- El ShaddaiThe Almighty God (EL= Almightyness, Shaddai = Exhautless Bounty) Found in Genesis 43:14 El Shaddai (Hebrew: אֵל שַׁדַּי, romanized: ʾĒl Šaddāy; IPA: [el ʃadːaj]) or just Shaddai is one of the names of the God of Israel. El Shaddai is conventionally translated into English as God Almighty (Deus Omnipotens in Latin, Arabic: الله عزوجل, romanized: ʾAllāh ʿazzawajal), but […]
- God’s Name In VainPaska 22 The phrase “taking God’s Name in vain” or it’s equivalent “false swearing” is interpreted successively as follows: Study Torah and not imparting it’s teachings to others; or imparting it’s esoteric teachings to people who will misunderstand them. Taking power of office without being worthy of office The wearing of tefillin through the day […]
- Yahweh or JehovahYAHWEH or Jehovah One of God’s names Jehovah (/dʒɪˈhoʊvə/) is a Latinization of the Hebrew יְהֹוָה Yəhōwā, one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.[2][3][4] The Tetragrammaton יהוה is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism and a form of […]
- ElohimOne of God’s Names God The Creator Elohim (Hebrew: אֱלֹהִים, romanized: ʾĔlōhīm: [(ʔ)eloˈ(h)im]), the plural of אֱלוֹהַּ (ʾĔlōah), is a Hebrew word meaning “gods”. Although the word is plural, in the Hebrew Bible it most often takes singular verbal or pronominal agreement and refers to a single deity, particularly the God of Israel. In other verses […]