The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Tsȃlach

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Salah or tsȃlach; Strong’s #6743

Judges 14: 6 (NIV) The Spirt of the Lord came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands.   Tsȃlach means to succeed or prosper – come mightily upon.  In the sixty-five times, it is used in the Bible forty-nine of them are translated “prosper.” The first time it is used is in Genesis 24:21, this is Abraham’s servant wondering about his trip to find a wife for Isaac.  So, I think it is fair to view these three times of the Holy Spirit coming upon these men with the idea of “prosper.”  Two of them did, one of them had the Spirit withdraw Himself and his final days were not pretty (Saul).

This type of anointing came on just three men: Samson, King Saul, and King David.

  • Samson had this anointing three times. Each one was for a physical act of strength. Judges 14: 6, 19 and 15: 14
  • King Saul experienced this twice before the Spirit left him completely – Samuel 10: 10, 11: 6. The first time he prophesied and the second time was for him to lead the people against Nahash the Ammonite.
  • King David experienced it only once in 1 Samuel 16:13, but it remained on him his whole life. (read the KJV) David is covered below in a separate section.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Mālē

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Mālē; Strong’s #4390  Mālē means to be full.

Exodus 31: 3 and 35:31 tell the story of Bezalel (1 Chronicles 2:20) of the tribe of Judah and Oholiab. Bezalel was filled with the knowledge, skill, and ability to do and teach others what needed to be done to make the Ark and Tabernacle.

Like all four of the words that are used to signify the Spirit coming on people, Mālē has other meanings/used in different applications.  The construction of the Ark and Tabernacle took a year, but you have the sense that these men were filled up and it lasted a lifetime.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Lȃbash

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Labas or lȃbash; Strong’s #3847 He put on righteousness as his breastplate. ….. he put on garments of vengeance.  Isaiah 59: 17 (NIV)  The meaning of lȃbash is to put on garments or wrap up in something.  This verse, to me, is one of the “building stones” for the armor of the Spirit that is found in Ephesians 6.

Gideon – Judges 6:34

Amasai – 1 Chronicles 12: 18  He pledged his support to David in the form of a word of encouragement.  In this verse, Amasi is listed as the leader of the Thirty, but that name is not in the list of David’s Thirty.  It could be he had another name, or was in charge of David’s Thirty before or after the list in 2 Samuel 23: 24 was made.

Vine, in his dictionary, puts this “come upon” more along the line of being filled (as in living inside) with the Spirit, and thus helped the men (Gideon) from the inside out.  The way the Hebrew makes it sound is that the Spirit put Gideon on.  This thought may mess with your theology, but this is another level of relationship with the Spirit in the Old Testament.  Given what Gideon did and the amount of story that was written about him it must have been an impressive experience.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Hȃyȃ

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There are four words (hȃyȃ, lȃbash, mālē, tsȃlach) we will look at that are used in the Old Testament to convey that the Spirit “came upon” man.  The use of these different words seems to indicate different intensities of “anointing.”  Just to be clear, any anointing of the Holy Spirit is a big deal!

Hȃyȃ; Strong’s #1961 – Nehemiah 9:30 You were patient with them. By your Spirit, you admonished them through your prophets (NIV).

Balaam – Numbers 24:2

Othniel – Judges 3:10

Jephthah – Judges 11:29

King Saul’s men – 1 Samuel 19: 20

Azariah son of Oded for King Asa – 2 Chronicles 15:1

Jahaziel descendent of Asaph for King Jehoshaphat – 2 Chronicles 20:14, 20

According to Strong’s/Vines Concordance when used as a verb it emphasizes that a person is present.  This is also the word when God told Moses, “I am (hȃyȃ) that I am (hȃyȃ).  Most people will recognize Balaam, the deceiver, and Jephthah, a man of faith (Hebrews 11: 32), but the rest of these men are mentioned once and no more.  It would seem that this is the “lightest” connection with the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament; the reason I say this is because of duration, not intensity.  The word Hȃyȃ is a very interesting word that is used in many contexts (future study).

There are many men and women who were prophets in the Old Testament and most of them have no record as to when or how the Spirit moved on them to prophecy (or see visions/dreams).  Othniel and Jephthah were judges and their touch by the Spirit is in connection with them doing that task.  The last three on the list prophesied, once, and we never see them again.  Balaam’s (See The Lord Your/My God) words to Balak (Numbers 23, 24) are “good” words but his life and actions are wrong; still, he was used by the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Moses

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The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Moses

Psalm 106: 33  The people rebelled against what the Spirit of God was doing and Moses said things he should not have said.

Nehemiah 9: 20  The Spirit was given to instruct the people in the wilderness; You guided them, feed them, and took care of physical and health needs.

Isaiah 63: 10, 11, 14 (10 is about Isaiah’s time but still reflects the Exodus) The Spirit gave rest to the people but they rebelled against Him and grieved the Spirit; still they wanted to know where He was that had done miracles for them.

No definite moment; David had one, Jesus had the Dove come down, the 120 had tongues of fire rest on them, but we are not told the definite moment that Moses was given the Spirit!  It may have been at his calling in Exodus 3: 12, or at Mount Sinai in Exodus 19 or 24, it may have been in Exodus 33, but the fact is Moses was given the Spirit, we are just not told when or where.  Numbers 11 is the story of God taking some of the Spirit and putting it on the seventy elders; so, we know Moses had the Spirit and that His Spirit was transferable. Does the “definite moment” matter, no!

It seems that the Spirit was doing “His work” in the Exodus just like He did in Genesis.  He was giving life and instruction to these ex-slaves. It is just that they were not wanting it and kept complaining.  Even the elders (Exodus 24:10) that saw God were quick to go with the golden calf and not with the God they had seen.

The Holy Spirit was definitely active in the Exodus and in Moses.  If you reflect on Moses’ personal growth in the Exodus story you can see a Spirit-led walk.  Since “no definite” moment is mentioned, I will guess that it is a tsȃlach anointing.

I will cover the four words used to describe when the Spirit “came upon” people in the Old Testament.