Response

What Is ‘the Breath of Our Nostrils’? Ruach and Neshamah in John Donne’s 1622 Gunpowder Day Sermon

“…Anthony Raspa, by contrast, points out that 'literally all of Donne's references to past and present Hebrew writers are to the Latin translations of German, Italian, and Spanish translators'. 30 Borrowing Matt Goldish's concept of a 'third-order Hebraist', Chanita Goodblatt makes a convincing case for some truth to both perspectives: Donne was someone 'who could read some Hebrew, but who knew and used significant amounts of Jewish literature in Latin and vernacular translation'. 31 In this case, Donne seems likely to have known enough about Hebrew to know that the difference between ruach and neshamah is theologically significant.…”