When Genesis 2:7 refers to man as a ‘living soul’ (a designation
repeated for various creatures in Genesis 1:21; 2:19; 9:10, 12, 15, 16) it
causes me to ask why the word ‘living’ was necessary if we already believed
the soul to be immortal. Can there be such a thing as a ‘dead soul’ in
the common understanding of the word?
“Please say you are my
sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I [literally ‘my soul’ נַפְשִׁ֖י – from NEPHESH]
may live because of you.” (Genesis 12:13)
The KJV, ASV and Young’s Literal Translation all translate the word as ‘soul’
in this verse (unlike the NKJV, which I am using) so it certainly seemed
appropriate at one time to use this English understanding of NEPHESH.
Yet the evident implication within the verse is that Abram’s soul could die,
otherwise he would not have made such a request to Sarai before travelling to
Egypt. I assume it was for this reason that translators of more recent editions
of the Bible felt that NEPHESH here referred to Abram’s physical life – in other words,
Abram’s body rather than his ‘immortal soul’. The common church understanding
of soul clearly could not apply here, so recent translators felt obliged to avoid
confusion with the ‘immortal soul’ by not using the word ‘soul’ at all.
But was this a case of translation or interpretation? The translators assumed
that souls can’t die so they refused to translate NEPHESH as such, even though ‘soul’ is the most popular translation
of the word. In other words,
interpretations have influenced our modern translations and thus we are no
longer afforded objectivity in our quest to understand the Bible.
The above is just one of many examples that illustrate a frustration
over my understanding of the Bible’s meaning of ‘soul’. I know that most
would agree that ‘living’ is a
necessary adjective to partner ‘soul’ at
the beginning of Genesis, because ‘soul’ here refers to the creature,
the physical being. Most would also agree that the above verse (Genesis 12:13)
carries the exact same translation of NEPHESH. But when does it ever
refer to an ethereal component of our being? When is NEPHESH (or the
Greek equivalent ψυχή / psuchē) ever used to refer to our ‘never-dying soul’? I find it difficult to grasp the concept that I can
both be a soul and possess a soul at the same time. I find it
difficult to grasp that, if such be the state of man, the biblical authors
would apply the same Hebrew and Greek word to two concepts which require
serious distinction.
Though I may not have exhausted the occurrences of ‘soul’ in the Bible I’m still
not convinced that there is any context in which the word could refer to the
immaterial and immortal understanding of it. Instead I find that
mortality and materiality are inferred, and if not, it is used in a figurative
sense.
Though the following verses will take up a few pages, I actually had to
stop referencing the Old Testament usage of NEPHESH by the time I had
reached the book of Judges (with a few exceptions). [For a list of all 754 occurrences of נפש in the Old
Testament I recommend accessing Bill Ramey’s work at http://www.inthebeginning.org/oldtestament/nephesh.pdf].
Neither are New Testament uses of psuchē
exhausted. I hope I have been honest enough to provide an extensive overview of
how this word appears in the Bible that does not shy away from those uses which
are less physical. In the lists below I therefore hope to show many literal and figurative uses of NEPHESH.
The soul can die/be killed – it is mortal
And the uncircumcised male
child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person
(NEPHESH) shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.’ (Genesis
17:14)
Indeed now, your servant
has found favour in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you
have shown me by saving my life (NEPHESH); but I cannot escape to the
mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. See now, this city is near
enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it
not a little one?) and my soul (NEPHESH) shall live. (Genesis 19:19-20)
For whoever eats leavened
bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person (NEPHESH) shall be
cut off from Israel... For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses,
since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person (NEPHESH) shall be cut
off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of
the land. (Exodus 12:15,19)
You shall keep the
Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall
surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person (NEPHESH)
shall be cut off from among his people. (Exodus 31:14)
But the person (NEPHESH)
who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, while he is unclean,
that person (NEPHESH) shall be cut off from his people. Moreover the person
(NEPHESH) who touches any unclean thing, such as human uncleanness, an unclean
animal, or any abominable unclean thing, and who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the
peace offering that belongs to the LORD, that person (NEPHESH) shall be cut off
from his people.’ (Leviticus 7:20-21 [see also vv.25, 27])
Therefore everyone who
eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering
of the LORD; and that person (NEPHESH) shall be cut off from his people. (Leviticus
19:8)
You shall not make any
cuttings in your flesh for the dead (NEPHESH), nor tattoo any marks on you: I
am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:28)
Say to them: ‘Whoever of
all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things
which the children of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has uncleanness
upon him, that person (NEPHESH) shall be cut off from My presence: I am the
LORD.’ (Leviticus 22:3)
For any person (NEPHESH)
who is not afflicted in soul [‘in soul’ not in original text] on that same day
shall be cut off from his people. And any person (NEPHESH) who does any work on
that same day, that person (NEPHESH) I will destroy from among his people. (Leviticus
23:29,30)
‘Whoever kills any man
(lit. whoever takes any human NEPHESH) shall surely be put to death.’ (Leviticus
24:17)
All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he
shall not go near a dead body (NEPHESH) ... and the priest
shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make
atonement for him, because he sinned in regard to the corpse (NEPHESH); and he shall sanctify his head that same day. (Numbers
6:6,11)
But the man who is clean
and is not on a journey, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same person
(NEPHESH) shall be cut off from among his people, because he did not bring the
offering of the LORD at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. (Numbers
9:13)
But the person (NEPHESH)
who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that
one brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be cut off from among his people.
Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment,
that person (NEPHESH) shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.
(Numbers 15:30,31)
Whoever touches the body of
anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the
LORD. That person (NEPHESH) shall be cut off from Israel. (Numbers 19:13)
But the man who is unclean
and does not purify himself, that person (NEPHESH) shall be cut off from among
the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. (Numbers 19:20)
Let me [lit. my NEPHESH]
die the death of the righteous (Numbers 23:10)
So the men answered her, “Our
lives for yours [lit. our NEPHESH for yours, to die], if none of you tell this
business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we
will deal kindly and truly with you.” (Joshua 2:14)
On that day Joshua took
Makkedah, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword. He utterly
destroyed them— all the people (NEPHESH) who were in it. He let none remain. He
also did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho. (Joshua
10:28)
Zebulun is a people who
jeopardized their lives (NEPHESH) to the point of death, Naphtali also, on the
heights of the battlefield. (Judges 5:18)
Behold, all souls (NEPHESH)
are
Mine; the soul (NEPHESH) of the father as
well as the soul (NEPHESH) of the son is
Mine; the soul (NEPHESH) who sins shall die.
(Ezekiel 18:4)
Again, when a wicked man turns away from the
wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves
himself alive [lit. he will save his NEPHESH]. (Ezekiel 18:27)
The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a
roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people (NEPHESH); they have taken treasure and precious things; they
have made many widows in her midst. (Ezekiel 22:25)
And do not fear those who
kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28) [though made distinct from the physical life of the person, the soul can
nonetheless be destroyed]
For what profit is it to a
man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man
give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26) [does the context not suggest soul means life? How can an immortal soul
be lost or exchanged?]
Then He said to them, “My
soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” (Matthew
26:38)
For You will not leave my
soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. (Acts
2:27 [see also Psalm 16:9-11]) [it seems that a soul left in Hades may see
corruption, therefore a physical sense of the word must be intended]
Let him know that he who
turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover
a multitude of sins. (James 5:20)
The soul can touch, eat, speak, be bought – it is material
Or if a person (NEPHESH)
touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean beast, or
the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things,
and he is unaware of it, he also shall be unclean and guilty... ‘Or if a person
(NEPHESH) swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do
good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of
it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters. (Leviticus
5:2,4)
But the person (NEPHESH)
who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offering that belongs to the
LORD, while he is unclean, that person (NEPHESH) shall be cut off from his
people. (Leviticus 7:20)
And whatever man of the
house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I
will set My face against that person (NEPHESH) who eats blood, and will cut him
off from among his people. (Leviticus 17:10 [see also vv.11, 12, 15])
The person (NEPHESH) who
has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat
the holy offerings unless he washes his body with water. (Leviticus 22:6)
No outsider shall eat the
holy offering; one who dwells with the priest, or a hired servant, shall not
eat the holy thing. But if the priest buys a person (NEPHESH) with his money,
he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food. (Leviticus
22:10,11)
Whatever the unclean
person touches shall be unclean; and the person (NEPHESH) who touches it shall
be unclean until evening. (Numbers 19:22)
Other physical uses of ‘soul’
But all in the seas or in
the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any
living thing (NEPHESH) which is in the water, they are an abomination to you. (Leviticus
17:10)
This is the law of the
animals and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and
of every creature (NEPHESH) that creeps on the earth… (Leviticus 11:46)
Then the second angel
poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every
living creature (psuchē) in the sea died. (Revelation
16:3)
Figurative uses of ‘soul’
I believe that it is easier to view the following
verses (almost all found in Deuteronomy) as using ‘soul’ in a figurative sense.
We know that ‘heart’ must be viewed as such because God hardly demands our
physical hearts to serve Him. Equally so it must be figurative to say ‘love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, and with all your strength’. If taken as three distinct arenas in which we must
serve God what is the difference between heart and soul? How can we
give something
all of our heart but not our soul or strength? By simply serving God in
everything we do we are attaining to this expectation in its entirety. The statement
is surely a turn of phrase and intended as inspirational to us, not a call to
examine three supposedly distinct forms of worship. As such, I believe that
‘soul’, in these verses, can be understood as the ‘whole being’ – an
understanding that would fit the figurative expressions well.
But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and
you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy
4:29)
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5 [see
also Matthew 22:37])
And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require
of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him,
to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy
10:12)
And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My
commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him
with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 11:13 [see
also13:3; 26:16; 30:2,6,10])
Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your
heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be
as frontlets between your eyes. (Deuteronomy 11:18)
But take careful heed to
do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded
you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His
commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and
with all your soul. (Joshua 22:5)
I
believe that this figurative sense of NEPHESH is further supported by
the following verses. In the first two verses the NKJV translators actually
translated NEPHESH as ‘heart’
(i.e. ‘heart’ and ‘soul’ can effectively be two words that mean
the same thing when used figuratively – perhaps when more than one is used it
is simply for emphasis). This again raises the question that if one physical
organ can be spoken of in a non-physical sense, why must we assume the ‘soul’
to be immaterial when used in the same contexts?
However, you may slaughter
and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart (NEPHESH) desires,
according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you; the
unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike. (Deuteronomy
12:15 [see also 14:26; 18:6])
When the LORD your God
enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘Let me eat meat,’
because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart (NEPHESH)
desires. (Deuteronomy 12:20 [see also v21])
The torrent of Kishon
swept them away, That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, march
on in strength! (Judges 5:21)
Then they said to one
another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of
his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this
distress has come upon us.” (Genesis 42:21)
If your brother, the son
of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your
friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and
serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers (Deuteronomy
13:6)
The
following occurrence of NEPHESH has been used as evidence of an
immaterial, immortal part of man. It is easy to see why this is the case if
Scripture teaches it elsewhere, but the verse itself does not teach it.
And so it was, as her soul
was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but
his father called him Benjamin. (Genesis 35:18)
The
idea that an ethereal component of Rachel was departing as her body died is
easy to understand given the accepted theology, but if ‘soul’ is not
explicitly defined as such elsewhere in the Bible, and yet can be understood as
‘life’, is there a problem in viewing the expression as meaning ‘her life was
departing’? Given the accepted meanings of NEPHESH in the Hebrew
Lexicons should this not be our first point of reference when interpreting the
verse?
The soul as ‘desire’
The enemy said, ‘I will
pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire (NEPHESH) shall be
satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.’ (Exodus
15:9)
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