It carries the sense of a living being, breathing creature, soul, and person. Man is fully formed, ready for life, but dormant and lifeless until God breathes into him. Only when God gives man life by his own breath does he become alive. The beginning chapters of Genesis speak of God's creating the physical world, plant life, and animals. But when the creation of man is recounted, God is seen as being directly and intimately involved in this creation.
Man is special.
We see from the first chapter of Genesis that man is created in the image of God. Penalty for Violating the Sacredness of Human Life To impress upon mankind the sacredness of human life, God instituted capital punishment and gave man the responsibility and authority to exercise it. Human life is so sacred to God that if one takes it in a act of murder, then that person's life is to be taken. Some argue that it is uncivilized and inhuman to execute murderers. God prefers mercy to judgment but he has delegated to man the responsibility of insuring the respect for human life.