Day 33 of 75 · The Beatitude roots
R-W-Ḥ
ruḥa: breath
רוחא
ܪܽܘܚܳܐ
The feel
Ruḥa is breath, wind, and spirit in one word. The Qala says the Breath for the divine ruḥa, and the Sacred Breath where most translations say the Holy Spirit. It keeps the word Ruha in John 3:5-8 and Matthew 5:3. Ruḥa is feminine, and the divine Ruḥa is called she. An unclean ruḥa is rendered unclean spirit and called it.
The root family
| Form | Pattern | Transliteration | Script | Standard | Qala rendering |
|---|
| ruḥa | noun | ruḥa | רוחא ܪܽܘܚܳܐ | wind; breath; spirit | wind / breath, and, for the divine, the Breath |
| ruḥa d-qudsha | noun + construct | ruḥa d-qudsha | רוחא דקודשא ܪܘܚܐ ܕܩܘܕܫܐ | the Holy Spirit | the Sacred Breath |
In the Gospels this root appears only in the noun ruḥa.
In his voice
Matthew 14:32
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind dropped.
ruḥa, "the wind." Here it is the wind over the lake, and it dropped when they climbed into the boat.
Matthew 12:28
But if I drive out the evil spirits by the Breath of God, then the reign of God has come upon you.
b-ruḥa d-alaha, "by the Breath of God." The Qala capitalizes Breath when the word means God's own ruḥa.
Matthew 12:32
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be released; but whoever speaks against the Sacred Breath will not be released, not in this age or in the age to come.
ruḥa d-qudsha, "the Sacred Breath." Here today's word is joined to the Q-D-Sh root of day 4, the root of what is sacred and set apart.
Practice
Open a window and take one slow breath of the outside air. As you breathe out, say ruḥa aloud, the one word for breath, wind, and spirit.
Connections