AIR: ar (aer): In the Old Testament "air" is used (with one exception) in the phrase "fowl" or "fowls (birds) of the air." The Hebrew word is usually rendered "heaven" or "heavens." According to ancient Hebrew cosmogony the sky was a solid dome (firmament) stretching over the earth as a covering. In the above phrase the air means the space between the earth and the firmament. In Job 41:16 "air" renders ruach, "breath," "wind," "spirit." The scales of the leviathan are so closely joined together that no air can penetrate. In the New Testament the phrase "birds (or fowls) of the air," occurs ten times. This simply reproduces the Hebraism noticed above. Apart from this expression "air" in the King James Version represents aer, which denotes the atmosphere which surrounds us. The expression "beating the air" (1Co 9:26) means to "deal blows that do not get home"--that miss the mark. In his conflict with the lower life represented by the body, Paul compares himself to a boxer who aims with unerring accuracy at his opponent. No stroke is lost. Paul also uses the phrase "speaking into the air" (1Co 14:9) in reference to the unintelligible utterances of those who "spake with tongues." In the expression, "prince of the powers of the air" (Eph 2:2 the King James Version) we find an echo of the current belief that the air was the dwelling place of spirits, especially of evil spirits.

Thomas Lewis

AIR:

1. The air or atmosphere surrounding the earth is often denoted by the word heaven; so "the fowls of heaven" means the birds of the air.

2. To "beat the air," and to "speak in the air," 1Co 9:26 14:9, are modes of expression used in most languages, signifying to speak or act without judgment or understanding, or to no purpose. "The powers of the air," Eph 2:2, probably means devils.

AIR: the atmosphere, as opposed to the higher regions of the sky (1 Thess. 4:17; Rev. 9:2; 16:17). This word occurs once as the rendering of the Hebrew _ruah_ (Job 41:16); elsewhere it is the rendering of _shamaiyim_, usually translated "heavens." The expression "to speak into the air" (1 Cor. 14:9) is a proverb denoting to speak in vain, as to "beat the air" (1 Cor. 9:26) denotes to labour in vain.

AIR: general references to Ac 22:23; 1Co 9:26; 14:9; Eph 2:2; 1Th 4:17