You asked

what did 'breath of life' signify about animation and divine connection in ancient near eastern thought?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Genesis 2:7

“Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

This passage describes the creation of the first human, Adam, by God. It comes from the second, more detailed creation account in Genesis, focusing on the formation of humanity and the establishment of the Garden of Eden.

How does this idea of a 'breath of life' shape your understanding of human animation and our connection to something beyond ourselves?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Job 33:4
Job affirms that God's spirit made him and the Almighty's breath gives him life.
Ezekiel 37:5-6
God promises to put breath into dry bones, bringing them back to life, echoing the Genesis creation.
John 20:22
Jesus breathes on his disciples and says, 'Receive the Holy Spirit,' connecting breath with spiritual life and commissioning.

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