Originally Posted by
Studious One
Actually, the soul does indeed leave the body upon death.
1 Kings 17:22 (KJV) And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
The word translated 'soul' here is from the Hebrew word 'nephesh'. When a living creature or person dies, the 'nephesh' departs, but does not go someplace else. 'It' dies at physical death, because the basic meaning of 'nephesh' is life
Here are 4 verses for you to ponder on:
DT 12:23
For the life (nephesh, 'soul') is the blood.
Deuteronomy 12:23 (King James Version)
23Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the
blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.
Lev 17:11
Leviticus 17:11 (King James Version)
11For the
life(nephesh) of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls
(nephesh): for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul
(nephesh).
So the blood is the vehicle of soul, hence what one would call 'life blood'.
Judges 16:30 (King James Version)
30And Samson said, Let
me(nephesh) die with the Philistines.
Here, Samson is asking Gog to take away his life (he will die!) Same Hebrew word, nephesh)
Numbers 23:10 (King James Version)
10Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me
(nephesh) die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
These verses prove that 'nephesh' dies at physical death.
In order for the soul to come into the child again, the soul would first have to have left the body.
Scripture also reveals that the soul left Rachel's body...
Genesis 35:18 (KJV) And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
There is no such thing as soul sleep. When the mortal body dies, the body is committed to the ground, while the soul goes to either heaven or hell. If it goes to hell, it will experience all the torment of hell.
The definition of soul you are using uis incorrect. If you were to replace the word 'soul' with 'life', then you have a better understanding of the Hebrew word 'nephesh' which cannot be compared with Plato's definition of soul being read into scripture.
Here is Strong's definition of the word nephesh in which you have used as 'soul':
5315 nephesh neh'-fesh from
5314; properly,
a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly)
vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental):--any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead(-ly), desire, X (dis-)contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart(-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-)self, them (your)-selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.
There is nothing to suggest any immortal quality about 'nephesh'. There is not one verse that suggests souls go to heaven at death, but dead people go to the grave (sheol) whether righteous or evil. It sounds like you do not believe in the resurrection, nor the final judgement, if after all, one either goes to heaven or hell upon death eternally, what would the point of a resurection be?
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