What is a soul?

[TrustAndObey]

PaleHorse and I worked on this question-type essay together a few months ago. Since we started it I have found more verses like these, but I didn't write them all down unfortunately.

Side note: I wish I were one of those people that could memorize scripture. I am humbled every day by those that know a verse right off the top of their heads even if you just say "okay, the verse says something about...." and they're like "oh yes, I know which one...Galatians 3:19" (just as an example). LOL That is a true GIFT if you have it!!!

Just what exactly is a soul?


Genesis 2:7 - 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.

Can a soul be purchased?​

Leviticus 22:11 - But if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat.


Can a soul bleed?
Jeremiah 2:34 - Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.

Can a soul die?
Ezekiel 18:4 - Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Ezekiel 18:20 - The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Psalms 78:50 - He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;

Can a soul go in the grave?

Psalms 30:3 - O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Psalms 35:7 - For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul. (There's more of these but they're the ones I didn't write down).

Does a soul eat literal food?
Leviticus 7:18 - And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.
Leviticus 7:20 - But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

Can a soul lie?
Leviticus 6:2 - If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour.

Can a soul be destroyed by humans?
Psalms 63:9 - But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

Can a soul be torn?
Psalms 7:2 - Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

Do souls have gender?
Numbers 15:28 - And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.

Can a soul be washed with water?
Leviticus 22:6 - The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water.

Can your soul touch an object?
Leviticus 7:21 - Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

Can a soul dry away?
Numbers 11:6 - But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

Can a soul faint?
Psalms 84:2 - My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
Psalms 107:5 - Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

Can a soul be humbled with fasting from food?
Psalms 35:13 - But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.

Can your soul be persecuted?
Psalms 143:3 - For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.

Can a soul hate God’s law?
Leviticus 26:43 - The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.

Leviticus 18 is a good chapter on this subject.

In short, I have to laugh when people say "soul sleep isn't biblical". Our souls sleep every night!!!

 

[TrustAndObey]

Interesting tidbit of information:

Nephesh is the Hebrew word translated to say “soul” in the bible.

Verses that translate the exact same word to say “body” in the Bible (and specifically stating it is DEAD)—Leviticus 21:1 & 11, Numbers 5:2, Numbers 6:6, Numbers 9:6-7 & 10, Numbers 19:11, & 13, Numbers 31:19, Haggai 2:13.

Those aren't all of the verses that translate nephesh to body (or dead body), but unfortunately I didn't look them all up. It's enough to get the drift though.

 

[smooze]

great post!

 

[TrustAndObey]

Why thank you kind sir!

 

[Windmill]

Yep, it is indeed

It still find it amusing when people talk about souls or whatever xD like selling your soul is basically selling yourself into slavery.

 

[TrustAndObey]

I'm having trouble finding our study on what a spirit is. I do know that we must rely on the Old Testament as the foundation of what a word means. Here are a few verses that contradict the belief that the spirit is a walking, talking entity that lives on and thinks without our minds.

The Hebrew word “ruach” is used 377 times in the bible. Strongs Concordance #7306 Ruach=to blow or to breath air, breath, or spirit.



Ruach is translated in the bible 1) 177 times to mean “wind or air” 2) 33 times to mean “breath” 3) 227 times to mean “spirit”.


Number 27:16 - Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all FLESH, set a man over the congregation

Ecclesiastes 8:8 - There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

1 Kings 10:5 And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; THERE WAS NO MORE SPIRIT IN HER.

Did she die? No.


This refers to the Queen of Sheba going to visit King Solomon and being flabbergasted at his wealth. This verse is simply stating that all of Solomon’s wisdom and fortune TOOK HER BREATH AWAY!

Job 27:3 - All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my NOSTRILS.

_________________________________________________________

I have to make this quick because I have to get ready for work, but I do know where the idea of going directly to heaven or hell comes from. Usually you will hear the verse I'm about to quote and the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man...oh, and the most misquoted verse in the whole Bible. I'll comment on all three of these later but I am interested in every body eles's opinon as well!

Ecclesiastes 12:7 - Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

While I agree that the spirit returns to God, I believe that means ALL spirits (breath of life) return to God...even from the wicked. If the spirit is a walking, talking, feeling entity then the wicked are in heaven too, and that isn't what the Bible promises.

I'll post a study on the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man later.

The MOST misquoted verse in scripture....2 Corinthians 5:8 - We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

How many of you have heard people quote that verse as "To be absent from the body IS to be present with the Lord"? Is that what the verse says? I believe the word "rather" is in there.

Paul wrote specifically that we'd be resurrected and THEN receive immortality. This is an interesting subject on its own so I will maybe start a thread about it after I get home from work.

Speaking of which...I gotta get in the shower! Have a great day everyone!!

 

[TrustAndObey]

The Bible speaks of Elijah being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, and we all know Jesus ascended in a cloud. I'm still unclear about Enoch and Moses.....however, I do know that the two people that for sure went up had their physical bodies with them. Plus we know they were exceptions, Elijah never died and Christ was resurrected.

Physical body + breath of life (spirit) = a living soul (Genesis 2:7).

Psalms 13:3 - Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

 

[smooze]

Moses all it says is the Lord swept his body away into the desert

5 And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. 6 He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.

 

[SassySDA]

Moses all it says is the Lord swept his body away into the desert

I don't think Moses went up to heaven, deceased or not. I believe if he HAD, that it would have been stated as so in the bible. All we know, as Jonathan pointed out, is that God buried Moses somewhere in Moab, and the gravesite has never been found.

I also think there is a reason why God chose to bury him the way that He did. The children of Israel depended too greatly on Moses. We all remember how scared they would get if Moses wasn't standing right in front of them...that after having seen God take them out of bondage, provide for them the entire trip, feed them, part seas for them, etc., they still only appeared to have faith (for the most part, anyway, I'm sure there were folks who believed without having to have Moses under their noses) when Moses was physically present in front of their eyes. If they had known where Moses was laid to rest, they would have built a shrine to him, statues, who knows what else. Instead of worshipping the Father, they would have worshipped Moses. I don't have any scripture to back that up, but still I believe it to be the case, my 2 cents, if you will.

I don't say this to be critical of anyone...No one can be certain they wouldn't have been JUST as afraid as those children were.

 

[StormyOne]

Moses is in heaven, or how do you explain this text?

Mat 17:1-8 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, (2) And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. (3) And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. (4) Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. (5) While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. (6) And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. (7) And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. (8) And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.

 

[TrustAndObey]

Stormy, I tend to agree with you. However, if Moses is in heaven now, then he was resurrected...just like Christ. The Bible says that death reigned from Adam to Moses.

Until there's a resurrection, we are not immortal beings. Only God has immortality.

 

[StormyOne]

Let's correct a theological untruth. Humans have never been and never will be immortal, even after the resurrection. Only the Creator has the attribute of immortality because only He is eternal. Anything that has a beginning has an ending unless the Creator extends its existence. We will never be independently immortal.

Is that what you meant T&O?

 

[TrustAndObey]

Paul says the righteous will put on immortality.

Romans 2:7 - To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

1 Corinthians 15:53 - For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Paul is specifically talking about the resurrection in this verse.

1 Corinthians 15:54 - So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

For death to be swallowed up....seems immortal to me. Why would we die once we get to heaven/new earth? There will be no more sin, so I can't imagine the Father suddenly deciding to kick us out or let us die. That doesn't make sense to me, so please explain.

 

[TrustAndObey]

Keep in mind, I do not feel that immortality makes us equal with God. We never will be equal to the Creator.

 

[StormyOne]

Simple.... we will be immortal because the Creator wants us to be... We are not immortal in the sense that He is immortal i.e. no beginning and no end.....

 

[TrustAndObey]

But there will be no death on the new earth. Death is swallowed up in victory.

 

[StormyOne]

However this is what happens when people believe Paul was an authority and disregard everything else the Bible teaches.

If we actually put on immortality in the way people interpret Paul we would have no need for the tree of life in the new earth, or any need of God for that matter.

Adam was not immortal before the sin. If we say that He becomes immortal after sin it means that sin caused an improvement in human nature. I'm not sure we want to say that.

 

[TrustAndObey]

You don't think Paul was inspired by God to write what he did?

Stormy, I know there are people out there that believe Paul is/was the antichrist....please tell me you're not one of those people.

 

[StormyOne]

T&O I believe Paul was inspired and I believe that he wrote based on his understanding of who God was. Additionally I believe Paul like all of us continued to grow and understand better those things of God and the big picture...

No, I don't believe that Paul was the antichrist..... I do believe that we can know more than Paul did about God though... we have what he (and others wrote) to build on... to increase what we know so to speak...

 

[TrustAndObey]

I respect your opinion but I'll have to disagree. I don't think science or any other new development has made us understand God any more than Paul did. Paul had the great fortune of walking along side Christ, nothing any of us today can claim (unless spiritually of course).

I take the Bible as the inerrant Word of God, and I think Paul was inspired directly from God all the way. When Paul gave personal opinion he stated it as such.

I am relieved you don't think Paul was the antichrist. I have a really hard time talking to those people.