- Oct 2, 2011
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Right.I understand that in the scriptures the Hebrew word nephesh and the Greek word psykhe are translated soul. It's also my understanding that in the scriptures the word soul refers to a person, an animal, or the life that a person or an animal has.(Genesis 1:20; Genesis 2:7; Numbers 31:28; 1Peter 3:20) God tells us how he created the first man Adam at Genesis 2:7 which says, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." So going by Genesis 2:7 it's telling us that God took dust from the ground and formed a flesh and blood human body, then God blew the breath or spirit of life into that flesh and blood human body and that flesh and blood human body became a living soul, or living person. So it's my understanding from the scriptures that the scriptures don't say human beings or animals have souls but instead the scriptures teach us that human beings and animals are souls.
In contrast to the way that the term "soul" is used in many religious contexts, the Bible shows that both the Hebrew word nephesh and the Greek word psykhe, in connection with earthly creatures, whether they are animal or human, refers to that which is material, tangible, visible, and mortal. So the Hebrew word nephesh and the Greek word psykhe can be translated , "life," "creature," "person," "one's whole being," or simply as a personal pronoun( for example, "I" for "my soul"). When referring to doing something with one's whole soul, it means to do it with one's whole being, wholeheartedly, or with one's whole life(Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). In some contexts, these original language words can be used to refer to the desire or appetite of a living creature. They can also refer to a dead person or a dead body.(Numbers 6:6; Proverbs 23:2; Isaiah 56:11; Haggai 2:13).
The Hebrew word ruach and the Greek word pneuma which is often translated "spirit," have a number of meanings. All of them refer to that which is invisible to human sight and gives evidence of force in motion. The Hebrew and Greek words are used with reference to "wind," "the active life force in earthly creatures" (human or animals), "the impelling force that issues from a person's figurative heart and causes him/her to say and do things in a certain way," "inspired expressions originating from an invisible source," "spirit persons," and God's active force."(Holy Spirit)
Exodus 35:21; Psalm 104:29; Matthew 12:43; Luke 11:13
In some contexts, it is useful to distinguish between spirit and soul.
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