Today we start our look at the development of the concept of the Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God, by tracing how the idea was used in the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament). As I mentioned in my introductory post, I feel this is a helpful thing to do because so many Christians have little understanding, or experience, of the Spirit. And there’s no better place to begin than the beginning.
Ideas about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament come in two major categories, what we may call the particular, in which God’s Spirit comes upon a particular person to accomplish a particular job, and the general, in which the Spirit’s presence or power is understood to be, as the great old prayer puts it, ‘everywhere present and filling all things.’ In this post and the next I’ll be focusing on the first category, first looking at the particular gift of the Holy Spirit in the Torah (Law, or Pentateuch) and the Former Prophets (Deuteronomistic History); then in the next post, I’ll look at them in the Latter Prophets (what Christians know as the Prophets). Then, the third post will turn to the general role of the Spirit in these texts, and particularly in the Bible’s Wisdom literature.
The first mention of the work of the Spirit in an individual person’s life comes towards the end of Genesis, in the story of the patriarch Joseph. There, after successfully interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph is described as “one who has God’s Spirit in him” (41.38). So, the presence of the Spirit of God is linked with gifts of wisdom and discernment, manifest here in the interpretation of dreams, but seen later in Joseph’s good judgment and administration of the state’s wealth.
The next relevant references to God’s Spirit come from Exodus 31 and 35, in which God gifted one particular man with skills of craftsmanship in order to build the holy objects for the Tabernacle, the ‘tent of meeting’ that served as a mobile temple while the Hebrews were wandering in the wilderness:
Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills — to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. (Exodus 31.1-5; cf. 35.30-34)
Then in Numbers, when Moses becomes overwhelmed at the single-handed responsibility he has for leading the Hebrews, God’s solution also involves the Spirit:
The LORD said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone. (Numbers 11.16-17)
After they receive the Spirit, the seventy elders begin to prophesy, starting a second major theme in the Scriptures (11.25; cf. 24.2; 27.18).
Already in these three examples we see a pattern emerging, where the Holy Spirit is associated with what we might call a practical wisdom, a gift of wisdom and understanding given to empower someone for a particular task of leadership in the community: discernment of dreams, administration, craftsmanship, and governance. (This last one will be repeated later (Numbers 27.18 and Deuteronomy 34.9) when Moses’ leadership is transferred to Joshua.)
The particular gift of the Spirit becomes a major motif in the book of Judges. The book is arranged in a cyclical pattern: 1) Israel sins; 2) Israel suffers military losses at the hands of its neighbours; 3) the people call out to God for deliverance; 4) the Spirit of God empowers a leader to restore the nation’s moral and political integrity. This general pattern is repeated six times:
- Othniel (3.9-11), leading Israel against Aram
- Ehud (3.11-29), against Moab
- Deborah (4-5), against the Canaanite city Hazor
- Gideon (6-8), against Midian, Amalek, and assorted desert peoples
- Jepththah (11-12), against Ammon
- Samson (13-16), against Philistine cities.
Samson is a unique case, as the text gives him an origin story, and openly states the the Spirit of God is with him from childhood. But what’s interesting is that these leaders, known as Judges, are not shown to be particularly heroic or holy people. This emphasizes that the power to save Israel comes not from them, but from God, reinforcing the book’s anti-monarchical message. The loose confederation of tribes known as Israel was intended to be what we might call a “charismatic theocracy.” So long as the people remained faithful to God, all would be well.
While Israel famously rejects these terms, insisting on becoming a monarchy like their neighbours, the Holy Spirit’s role in appointing, anointing, and empowering leaders continues under the monarchy. When the prophet Samuel is instructed to anoint Saul to be Israel’s first king, the Spirit of God “came powerfully on” Saul. As with the seventy elders from Numbers, this manifests in ecstatic prophecy:
As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying. (1 Samuel 10.9-10; cf. 1 Samuel 19.20-23)
In some ways, Saul’s prophesying is secondary to the purpose of his receiving the Spirit. He receives it, like Joseph, Moses, the Seventy Elders, Joshua, and the Judges, in order to lead and govern the people. But the Spirit’s presence is demonstrated through prophecy. And we are now in a position where we can look back and see that this connection between leading the people and being a voice of God for the people has been there from the start: Joseph’s dream interpretations are prophetic; Moses hears and communicates God’s words; the seventy elders prophecy, and now, so does Saul. Of course, Saul’s kingship doesn’t exactly work out, and a few chapters later, David is likewise anointed with the Spirit for his future kingly ministry (1 Samuel 16.13), sealing the Spirit as a hallmark of Israelite royal identity and vocation. While the Spirit takes a back seat in David’s story, we see it in Psalm 51, which is attributed to him, and in his last words, which are framed as prophecy:
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Psalm 51.10-12)
And:
These are the last words of David:
“The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse,
the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High,
the man anointed by the God of Jacob,
the hero of Israel’s songs:
“The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue.
The God of Israel spoke,
the Rock of Israel said to me:
‘When one rules over people in righteousness,
when he rules in the fear of God,
he is like the light of morning at sunrise
on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain
that brings grass from the earth.’ (2 Samuel 23.1-4)
So, throughout these sections of the Bible, we actually have a pretty consistent perspective on what the Spirit of God does. While each case is unique, there is a general pattern of the Spirit setting apart and empowering a person for effective leadership of the people, which includes not only good judgment and decision-making, but also prophetic communication of God’s message. The only counter-example to this focus on good governance, the gift of craftsmanship given to Bezalel in Exodus, still fits the overall pattern: a gift of practical wisdom and communication, this time through the visual arts.
That will do it for today’s post, but in a few days, we’ll see how the role of the Spirit is envisioned in the Prophetic tradition.
Matthew Root 
16 thoughts on “The Spirit in the Law & Deuteronomistic History”