The term "soul" is the English equivalent of the Hebrew
nepes, meaning true self, living being, or person. One should note that
nepes is a loaded word that must be carefully translated based on the context in which it is used. That said, of its 757 occurrences in the Hebrew Old Testament, no fewer than 203 refer specifically to the soul. For example:
"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." [Genesis 2:7/KJV]
Most modern translations render "living being" in this verse, which is equally correct. In either case, my
nepes is my true self -- the person inside my body.
In the Old Testament, "soul" and "spirit" are often rendered somewhat interchangeably (depending on your translation); the Greek New Testament, on the other hand, delineates the two separately. Consider this example:
"For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of
soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." [Hebrews 4:12/NASB]
The Greek word for soul is
psyche, and is the approximate equivalent of the Hebrew
nepes. The Greek word for spirit is
pneuma, and refers quite literally to a person's ghost.
We learn two interesting facts from Hebrews 4:12. Firstly, the soul and spirit are two different things. Secondly, they are attached to one another. My soul is the real me -- my true self -- my thoughts, feelings and personality. Etymologically then, my spirit is the noncorporeal container for my thoughts, feelings and personality.
While many of God's animal creations have a soul, only human beings have an eternal spirit. It is the fact that a human's thoughts, feelings and personality are contained in an everlasting package that permits (and in fact requires) our ongoing existence after death. Unfortunately, as a consequence of Adam's sin, every human being is born with a dead human spirit -- that is, a corrupted spirit that is unsuitable for heaven [Romans 3:10-23; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22]. Consequently, Jesus taught that a person must be spiritually reborn in order to enter heaven [John 3:1-21].
Thus, if a person dies in his sins -- that is, dies having not received God's forgiveness in Christ -- his dead spirit will drag his doomed soul into eternal punishment. On the other hand, if a person has received God's forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ, then that person has a living spirit -- and that living spirit will carry his soul into God's presence when this life is over. The moment a person repents of his sins and surrenders to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, that person is instantly born again -- made spiritually alive and ready to meet God.
Hope this helps.
