Atmis (ἀτμίς) means "vapor," "steam," "mist," or "smoke." It appears only once in the New Testament (James 4:14) and corresponds to the Hebrew hevel (H1892, "breath/vanity") used throughout Ecclesiastes. The English word "atmosphere" derives from this Greek root.
James 4:14 delivers one of Scripture's most sobering statements about human existence: "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." The word atmis evokes morning fog that burns off by midmorning, visible breath on a cold day that disappears in seconds. This is not nihilism — it is biblical wisdom about contingency and creatureliness. We are not vapor in the sense of being worthless; we are vapor in the sense of being dependent. We exist by God's will, for God's purposes, within a window that God determines. James uses this sobering image not to depress but to liberate: if life is vapor, then presumptuous planning without God is folly, and humble dependence on God is wisdom. "Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that'" (James 4:15). The vapor metaphor leads not to paralysis but to prayerful, present-moment faithfulness.