the human soul, what is it?
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There is one problem with that............ Will what you read in the Bible reflect the theology of the translator, not necessarily the meaning applied by the author, having done a little research on the translations of the Bible, I can assure you that not a single one was under the influence of the Holy Spirit, as the authors were, and all of them were led by tradition, not the meanings of the words. Make a translation the pope or his bishops didn't agree with, and there was a real hot stake in your future, after you got off the rack and a few other lovely devices that the church used to convince people that the pope was right and they were wrong. I will give you one example from the old testament. when I started studying Hebrew, I was surprised to find that there were many words that were not translated, where they were in the text,they were just ignored, starred out. the worst example is a single two letter word which is written "Aleph tav," AT, or T. From Zondervan's exhaustive concordance:#906, & 907 it offers various definitions that fill an entire column on a 3 column page in very small print, it also lists it as untranslated, 11,003 times for the two variations of the word. it explains that away, by saying that it is usually not translated, because it marks the direct object. I assure you that this is not the case, because no one 5,000 years ago had any idea of sentence structure, what an object was, or why it would need marking. Of all those times it is translated, only one is correct. The meaning is, a "man arrives," or "son" this is not a huge problem, until you get to the genealogies, and there the word "son" is untranslated, and the word for wife and mother, becomes "son" that is the reason no women are mentioned in most genealogies.
Nepesh is the correct word for soul, it's original meaning is "around a pure return" meaning the soul can be cleansed of all its evil memories, and returned to start new, that can only be accomplished by God saving the mind, sealing its memories of ever being here, and returning it in a new born cleansed of all its evil temporarily, God can then test it, to find the seed of evil that still may be there, pinpoint its location in the brain, and when the testing is over, destroy the cells where it is located. You may be surprised to find, that science has proven this, although they didn't know what they were proving. brains studied after death will have certain cells that have been destroyed, and the scientist have no clue why, but in time, they will, God will explain it to them.
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Gary Sechler
With knowledge on loan from God
Nepesh is the correct word for soul, it's original meaning is "around a pure return" meaning the soul can be cleansed of all its evil memories, and returned to start new, that can only be accomplished by God saving the mind, sealing its memories of ever being here, and returning it in a new born cleansed of all its evil temporarily, God can then test it, to find the seed of evil that still may be there, pinpoint its location in the brain, and when the testing is over, destroy the cells where it is located. You may be surprised to find, that science has proven this, although they didn't know what they were proving. brains studied after death will have certain cells that have been destroyed, and the scientist have no clue why, but in time, they will, God will explain it to them.
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Gary Sechler
With knowledge on loan from God
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Thanks for sharing this, Jack. The words and terms for words like heart, spirit, soul (and many other words) are many more than we regularly use today (just like there are, in the Inuit languages, over 40 different words for different types of snow while there is only one word for snow in English). Thankfully, the Bible was by God's wisdom given to us in mainly Hebrew and Greek, two languages that break words into multiplicities of synonyms and meanings so we wouldn't be stuck with the restricted languages (usually English) that we speak today.
In 231 passages, nephesh is used of man as exercising mental faculties and manifesting certain feelings and affections and passions.
So to say soul is the intangible essence of man that consists of mind, heart, will and such would seem to me to be an acceptable description, according to scripture.
But where does "spirit" fit in, exactly? A different word than soul, in both the Hebrew and Greek?
So to say soul is the intangible essence of man that consists of mind, heart, will and such would seem to me to be an acceptable description, according to scripture.
But where does "spirit" fit in, exactly? A different word than soul, in both the Hebrew and Greek?
T
The Bible clearly show us that man:
Has a spirit, [This is what is separated from God from the fall and when you are born again, this is what is restored unto God, through Jesus Christ]
Has a soul [which is your: mind, will emotions, passions, intellect, feelings]
Has a body[which is your flesh]
The soul and spirit of a man fight each other for supremacy of the flesh. Once we become born again our Spirit man is reconnected with God, through Jesus Christ. We must then renew our mind[which is part of our soul] to become submissive to the spirit man. Once the Spirit of a man is the dominate controller of the man, the Body[Flesh will follow]
This is why we see many fail in the church, because theya e not tuaght to rewnew their minds and make it submissive to the spirit. This is why Paul beat to death the idea of renewing the mind, so that the flesh would be subject to the spirit
If the soul of a man: his mind, will emotions, passions, intellect, feelings control him, the flesh will follow.
If the spirit of a man, his direct connection with God, through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit rule a man, his soul will be transformed and his flesh will be crucified to the spirit.
This is Bible 401 folks and is not easily revealed[the uncovering of existing Bible knowledge] or manifested, but is a Biblical principal. This is why we have the helmet of salvation.
Once you get this and understand it in your spirit man, it will amaze you how quickly other Bible principals, become much clearer.
A very good resource book about this subject is written by Watchman Nee and it is called, The Spiritual Man.
If you read this book and follow the Bible verses and passages the author lays out it will transform your relationship with God, Jesus, the Holy Ghost and mankind. I have watched a lot of people be transformed by this Biblical principal and are never the same.
You will either believe it or you wont, but it's is clear in the Bible that man is a 3 part being.
Has a spirit, [This is what is separated from God from the fall and when you are born again, this is what is restored unto God, through Jesus Christ]
Has a soul [which is your: mind, will emotions, passions, intellect, feelings]
Has a body[which is your flesh]
The soul and spirit of a man fight each other for supremacy of the flesh. Once we become born again our Spirit man is reconnected with God, through Jesus Christ. We must then renew our mind[which is part of our soul] to become submissive to the spirit man. Once the Spirit of a man is the dominate controller of the man, the Body[Flesh will follow]
This is why we see many fail in the church, because theya e not tuaght to rewnew their minds and make it submissive to the spirit. This is why Paul beat to death the idea of renewing the mind, so that the flesh would be subject to the spirit
If the soul of a man: his mind, will emotions, passions, intellect, feelings control him, the flesh will follow.
If the spirit of a man, his direct connection with God, through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit rule a man, his soul will be transformed and his flesh will be crucified to the spirit.
This is Bible 401 folks and is not easily revealed[the uncovering of existing Bible knowledge] or manifested, but is a Biblical principal. This is why we have the helmet of salvation.
Once you get this and understand it in your spirit man, it will amaze you how quickly other Bible principals, become much clearer.
A very good resource book about this subject is written by Watchman Nee and it is called, The Spiritual Man.
If you read this book and follow the Bible verses and passages the author lays out it will transform your relationship with God, Jesus, the Holy Ghost and mankind. I have watched a lot of people be transformed by this Biblical principal and are never the same.
You will either believe it or you wont, but it's is clear in the Bible that man is a 3 part being.
The soul is a tricky thing to explain. If I understand the Christian meaning the soul is what holds together our identity of self after death. All our memories are bound to it, whereas the atheist would say our memories are bound to our mind. Lose brain function and memories die; the self dies. If the soul is separate from the mind then shouldn’t we hold on to memories despite the ravages of Alzheimer disease?
Don't mice and mosquitoes also posses the breath-of-life? If a living organism loses the breath-of-life does it not die? It seems to me the term breath-of-life is a fuzzy figure of speech; it is a synonym for something that is alive but it doesn't actually mean anything else. It doesn't help clarify anything.
I’m not sure that’s a good thing. It may mean there is no human awareness of what we call the soul and consequently what little there is to explain it within Christian literature is a figment of Christian thinking.
Don't mice and mosquitoes also posses the breath-of-life? If a living organism loses the breath-of-life does it not die? It seems to me the term breath-of-life is a fuzzy figure of speech; it is a synonym for something that is alive but it doesn't actually mean anything else. It doesn't help clarify anything.
I’m not sure that’s a good thing. It may mean there is no human awareness of what we call the soul and consequently what little there is to explain it within Christian literature is a figment of Christian thinking.
Would that be true of lions also? My assumption is that Adam was in inanimate object until God breathed into his nostrils. Did God give life to lions in a like manner? I know scripture doesn't explain, but one would think that they too would require the breath-of-life to become living. What do you think?
No, only the Lord Jesus Christ can destroy the soul; And that takes place sometime within the future within Gehenna (i.e. the Lake of Fire).
Matthew 10:28 (Aramaic Bible in Plain English)
"And you shall not be afraid of those who kill the body that are not able to kill the soul; rather be afraid of him who can destroy soul and body in Gehenna.”
Matthew 10:28 (Aramaic Bible in Plain English)
"And you shall not be afraid of those who kill the body that are not able to kill the soul; rather be afraid of him who can destroy soul and body in Gehenna.”
The Scriptures say that all life has a soul (Job 12:10 KJV) and that animals will go to Heaven (Romans 8:19, 20, 21, 22) (Pay close attention to verse 21).
All living animals have a soul, they cannot function without it. If you are on FB, almost everyday, there are videos of animals displaying intelligence beyond what they are normally credited with. yes, God saves them, even as low as butterflys, who take 3 to 4 lifetimes to make one migration, from Mexico to the USA, and back. Same soul different body, that's how they know where to go and what to do, they've been there and done that.
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Gary Sechler
With knowledge on loan from God
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Gary Sechler
With knowledge on loan from God
Well, those are not the only passages. Here is a good article that goes into it.
What does the bible say about animals/pets in Heaven
What does the bible say about animals/pets in Heaven
Y
Hi!I would have to disagree but that ok 
The word “spirit” refers only to the immaterial facet of humanity. Human beings have a spirit, but we are not spirits. However, in Scripture, only believers are said to be spiritually alive (1 Corinthians 2:11; Hebrews 4:12; James 2:26), while unbelievers are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-5; Colossians 2:13). In Paul's writing, the spiritual was pivotal to the life of the believer (1 Corinthians 2:14; 3:1; Ephesians 1:3; 5:19; Colossians 1:9; 3:16). The spirit is the element in humanity which gives us the ability to have an intimate relationship with God. Whenever the word “spirit” is used, it refers to the immaterial part of humanity that “connects” with God, who Himself is spirit (John 4:24).
The word “soul” can refer to both the immaterial and material aspects of humanity. Unlike human beings having a spirit, human beings are souls. In its most basic sense, the word “soul” means “life.” However, beyond this essential meaning, the Bible speaks of the soul in many contexts. One of these is humanity’s eagerness to sin (Luke 12:26). Humanity is naturally evil, and our souls are tainted as a result. The life principle of the soul is removed at the time of physical death (Genesis 35:18; Jeremiah 15:2). The soul, as with the spirit, is the center of many spiritual and emotional experiences (Job 30:25; Psalm 43:5; Jeremiah 13:17). Whenever the word “soul” is used, it can refer to the whole person, whether alive or in the afterlife.
The soul and the spirit are connected, but separable (Hebrews 4:12). The soul is the essence of humanity’s being; it is who we are. The spirit is the aspect of humanity that connects with God.
The word “spirit” refers only to the immaterial facet of humanity. Human beings have a spirit, but we are not spirits. However, in Scripture, only believers are said to be spiritually alive (1 Corinthians 2:11; Hebrews 4:12; James 2:26), while unbelievers are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-5; Colossians 2:13). In Paul's writing, the spiritual was pivotal to the life of the believer (1 Corinthians 2:14; 3:1; Ephesians 1:3; 5:19; Colossians 1:9; 3:16). The spirit is the element in humanity which gives us the ability to have an intimate relationship with God. Whenever the word “spirit” is used, it refers to the immaterial part of humanity that “connects” with God, who Himself is spirit (John 4:24).
The word “soul” can refer to both the immaterial and material aspects of humanity. Unlike human beings having a spirit, human beings are souls. In its most basic sense, the word “soul” means “life.” However, beyond this essential meaning, the Bible speaks of the soul in many contexts. One of these is humanity’s eagerness to sin (Luke 12:26). Humanity is naturally evil, and our souls are tainted as a result. The life principle of the soul is removed at the time of physical death (Genesis 35:18; Jeremiah 15:2). The soul, as with the spirit, is the center of many spiritual and emotional experiences (Job 30:25; Psalm 43:5; Jeremiah 13:17). Whenever the word “soul” is used, it can refer to the whole person, whether alive or in the afterlife.
The soul and the spirit are connected, but separable (Hebrews 4:12). The soul is the essence of humanity’s being; it is who we are. The spirit is the aspect of humanity that connects with God.
The things I've learned about the body, soul, spirit, and the many other facets of those three are things I definitely don't have the words with which to share. It would take at least one book (probably a three-book series) to unveil what in the world is going on in this realm of things. In the physical body, no one knows by visible or tangible evidence what in the world powers it. After the last atom, molecule, and "God particle", the source of energy remains invisible. If the source for the tangible (physical body) is intangible and therefore beyond grasp, how can we hope to apprehend the realm of the invisible soul and spirit?
When Jesus talked to Nicodemus, the first thing He told him was, "You must be born again." Nicodemus couldn't grasp Jesus' practical application of that, so Jesus said to him, "Are you Israel's teacher, and do you not know these things?... I have spoken to you about earthly things and you do not believe (comprehend); how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things" (Jn. 3:3-12). This is exactly where we are as Christians today: we can barely understand physical or earthly things: English, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, the physical body; therefore, we can't hope to grasp (and therefore believe) most spiritual things (which is why there is so much unbelief, disbelief, and mockery of spiritual truths among Christians: they can't grasp ordinary truths, therefore, spiritual truths fall way beyond them). We have to start in the spiritual (the bottom up) if we will grasp the spiritual and then everything else (the soul, body, psychological, emotional, mental, everything else) from there. Most of us Christians don't even know about the motivational/redemptive gifts. (Rom. 12:6-8.) We don't know which we have and how they work or their purpose; and that is just the beginning. How can we skip first things and arrive legally (with qualifications) at second things?
In a war-torn 3rd world country, a Christian with the motivational gift of mercy walks on to a battle field full of dying people and feels the pain of the people. He feels horizontally (he feels regarding people). Then a Christian with the motivational gift of prophecy walks on the field and feels the oppressive atmosphere. He feels vertically (he feels regarding spiritual things). If you were to merge both Christians together in that situation, it would look like this:
Mercy & Prophecy: "I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place..."
Prophet: "I saw the tears of the oppressed..."
Mercy: "and they have no comforter."
Prophet: "Power is on the side of their oppressors..."
Mercy: "and they have no comforter."
(Eccl. 4:1.)
And that is just the beginning. Without beginning in the spirit, trying to grasp this extremely complex area of soul, body, spirit, psyche, conscious, subconscious, unconscious, pre-conception, eternity, intellect, intuition, instinct, intelligence, etc., is impossible. But beginning in the spirit, you see all of it from the bottom, from the roots up, and they all tie together perfectly as complex as they may be individually. "Where does 'spirit' fit exactly?" At the beginning. No one unrolls a red carpet from the middle. Start at the beginning (in the spirit), and all the answers will unfold effortlessly.
When Jesus talked to Nicodemus, the first thing He told him was, "You must be born again." Nicodemus couldn't grasp Jesus' practical application of that, so Jesus said to him, "Are you Israel's teacher, and do you not know these things?... I have spoken to you about earthly things and you do not believe (comprehend); how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things" (Jn. 3:3-12). This is exactly where we are as Christians today: we can barely understand physical or earthly things: English, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, the physical body; therefore, we can't hope to grasp (and therefore believe) most spiritual things (which is why there is so much unbelief, disbelief, and mockery of spiritual truths among Christians: they can't grasp ordinary truths, therefore, spiritual truths fall way beyond them). We have to start in the spiritual (the bottom up) if we will grasp the spiritual and then everything else (the soul, body, psychological, emotional, mental, everything else) from there. Most of us Christians don't even know about the motivational/redemptive gifts. (Rom. 12:6-8.) We don't know which we have and how they work or their purpose; and that is just the beginning. How can we skip first things and arrive legally (with qualifications) at second things?
In a war-torn 3rd world country, a Christian with the motivational gift of mercy walks on to a battle field full of dying people and feels the pain of the people. He feels horizontally (he feels regarding people). Then a Christian with the motivational gift of prophecy walks on the field and feels the oppressive atmosphere. He feels vertically (he feels regarding spiritual things). If you were to merge both Christians together in that situation, it would look like this:
Mercy & Prophecy: "I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place..."
Prophet: "I saw the tears of the oppressed..."
Mercy: "and they have no comforter."
Prophet: "Power is on the side of their oppressors..."
Mercy: "and they have no comforter."
(Eccl. 4:1.)
And that is just the beginning. Without beginning in the spirit, trying to grasp this extremely complex area of soul, body, spirit, psyche, conscious, subconscious, unconscious, pre-conception, eternity, intellect, intuition, instinct, intelligence, etc., is impossible. But beginning in the spirit, you see all of it from the bottom, from the roots up, and they all tie together perfectly as complex as they may be individually. "Where does 'spirit' fit exactly?" At the beginning. No one unrolls a red carpet from the middle. Start at the beginning (in the spirit), and all the answers will unfold effortlessly.
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Let me use a Psalm to illustrate something about Bible interpretation: part of the 23 psalm
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
That is from the KJV, which I prefer, but it is not correctly translated, in the Hebrew it does not read "thy rod and thy staff" and some translations, remove one of them because of that, the Hebrew word used to get the word "rod" is "shin,bet, teth, ending kaph " the Hebrew word for Rod, is written "mem, teth, he" now agreed, both words have a "teth" in them, but it is obvious, that the word for "rod" is not present. It is also the same main word for "Staff" I say "main" word, because this is what I call a "wild card word" Wild cards, because like deuces in poker they can be used for almost any word the translator needs, in order to come up with the translation he wants. The Hebrew word translated as "Staff" does not have "mem, teth, he" in it either. Unfortunatly, this is so common in Hebrew, and in the Greek, that most translators do not attempt to do word for word, they use a Lexicon, which is a book that makes the statement "we can't get the traditional understanding of the words out of them so this is what it says." It doesn't, and no one can translate it and get it to come anywhere close to what the traditional reading is. So forgive me if I don't drop on my knees and worship at the altar of alln knows how to read an English Bible, because some of the time it doesn't say in the English, what it says in the Hebrew. That is not a problem for me, because I KNOW There IS A God, which is why God revealed Himself to me, before He showed me this. I could tell you what it says in the original Hebrew, but you wouldn't understand it. The translators of the Bible did not have a clue what a "spirit" was and the translators, not the authors, are who you're dealing with in the English. To get to the author you have to dig into the Hebrew or Greek, and every teacher of Hebrew and Greek are hopelessly lost in the fantasy world of "Lexicon," as are all modern Hebrew speakers.
The human is made up of body and soul, the only spirit, is the Holy Spirit. That's it, there is no other answer, no point in pushing your false theology any further.
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Gary Sechler
With knowledge on loan from God
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
That is from the KJV, which I prefer, but it is not correctly translated, in the Hebrew it does not read "thy rod and thy staff" and some translations, remove one of them because of that, the Hebrew word used to get the word "rod" is "shin,bet, teth, ending kaph " the Hebrew word for Rod, is written "mem, teth, he" now agreed, both words have a "teth" in them, but it is obvious, that the word for "rod" is not present. It is also the same main word for "Staff" I say "main" word, because this is what I call a "wild card word" Wild cards, because like deuces in poker they can be used for almost any word the translator needs, in order to come up with the translation he wants. The Hebrew word translated as "Staff" does not have "mem, teth, he" in it either. Unfortunatly, this is so common in Hebrew, and in the Greek, that most translators do not attempt to do word for word, they use a Lexicon, which is a book that makes the statement "we can't get the traditional understanding of the words out of them so this is what it says." It doesn't, and no one can translate it and get it to come anywhere close to what the traditional reading is. So forgive me if I don't drop on my knees and worship at the altar of alln knows how to read an English Bible, because some of the time it doesn't say in the English, what it says in the Hebrew. That is not a problem for me, because I KNOW There IS A God, which is why God revealed Himself to me, before He showed me this. I could tell you what it says in the original Hebrew, but you wouldn't understand it. The translators of the Bible did not have a clue what a "spirit" was and the translators, not the authors, are who you're dealing with in the English. To get to the author you have to dig into the Hebrew or Greek, and every teacher of Hebrew and Greek are hopelessly lost in the fantasy world of "Lexicon," as are all modern Hebrew speakers.
The human is made up of body and soul, the only spirit, is the Holy Spirit. That's it, there is no other answer, no point in pushing your false theology any further.
<><===><>
Gary Sechler
With knowledge on loan from God
The original-language terms (Hebrew, ne´phesh; Greek., psy·khe´ as used in the Scriptures show “soul” to be a person, an animal, or the life that a person or an animal enjoys.
Ne´phesh evidently comes from a root meaning “breathe” and in a literal sense ne´phesh could be rendered as “a breather.” Koehler and Baumgartner’s Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros (Leiden, 1958, p. 627) defines it as: “the breathing substance, making man a[nd] animal living beings Gn 1, 20, the soul (strictly distinct from the greek notion of soul) the seat of which is the blood Gn 9, 4f Lv 17, 11 Dt 12, 23: (249 X)…soul = living being, individual, person.”
More recently, when The Jewish Publication Society of America issued a new translation of the Torah, or first five books of the Bible, the editor-in-chief, H. M. Orlinsky of Hebrew Union College, stated that the word “soul” had been virtually eliminated from this translation because, “the Hebrew word in question here is ‘Nefesh.’” He added: “Other translators have interpreted it to mean ‘soul,’ which is completely inaccurate. The Bible does not say we have a soul. ‘Nefesh’ is the person himself, his need for food, the very blood in his veins, his being.”-The New York Times, October 12, 1962.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia says: “Nepes [ne´phesh] is a term of far greater extension than our ‘soul,’ signifying life (Ex 21.23; Dt 19.21) and its various vital manifestations: breathing (Gn 35.18; Jb 41.13[21]), blood [Gn 9.4; Dt 12.23; Ps 140(141).8], desire (2 Sm 3.21; Prv 23.2). The soul in the O[ld] T[estament] means not a part of man, but the whole man-man as a living being. Similarly, in the N[ew] T[estament] it signifies human life: the life of an individual, conscious subject (Mt 2.20; 6.25; Lk 12.22-23; 14.26; Jn 10.11, 15, 17; 13.37).”-1967, Vol. XIII, p. 467.
The Roman Catholic translation, The New American Bible, in its “Glossary of Biblical Theology Terms” (pp. 27, 28), says: “In the New Testament, to ‘save one’s soul’ (Mk 8:35) does not mean to save some ‘spiritual’ part of man, as opposed to his ‘body’ (in the Platonic sense) but the whole person with emphasis on the fact that the person is living, desiring, loving and willing, etc., in addition to being concrete and physical.”-Edition published by P. J. Kenedy & Sons, New York, 1970.
The Greek-English lexicons give such definitions as “life,” and “the conscious self or personality as centre of emotions, desires, and affections,” “a living being,” and they show that even in non-Biblical Greek works the term was used “of animals.” Of course, such sources, treating as they do primarily of classical Greek writings, include all the meanings that the pagan Greek philosophers gave to the word, including that of “departed spirit,” “the immaterial and immortal soul,” “the spirit of the universe,” and “the immaterial principle of movement and life.” Evidently because some of the pagan philosophers taught that the soul emerged from the body at death, the term psy·khe´ was also applied to the “butterfly or moth,” which creatures go through a metamorphosis, changing from caterpillar to winged creature.-Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon, revised by H. Jones, 1968, pp. 2026, 2027; Donnegan’s New Greek and English Lexicon, 1836, p. 1404.
The difficulty lies in the fact that the meanings popularly attached to the English word “soul” stem primarily, not from the Hebrew or Christian Greek Scriptures, but from ancient Greek philosophy, actually pagan religious thought. Greek philosopher Plato, for example, quotes Socrates as saying: “The soul,…if it departs pure, dragging with it nothing of the body,…goes away into that which is like itself, into the invisible, divine, immortal, and wise, and when it arrives there it is happy, freed from error and folly and fear…and all the other human ills, and…lives in truth through all after time with the gods.”-Phaedo, 80, D, E; 81, A.
The ancient Greek writers applied psy·khe´ in various ways and were not consistent, their personal and religious philosophies influencing their use of the term. Of Plato, to whose philosophy the common ideas about the English “soul” may be attributed (as is generally acknowledged), it is stated: “While he sometimes speaks of one of [the alleged] three parts of the soul, the ‘intelligible,’ as necessarily immortal, while the other two parts are mortal, he also speaks as if there were two souls in one body, one immortal and divine, the other mortal.”-The Evangelical Quarterly, London, 1931, Vol. III, p. 121, “Thoughts on the Tripartite Theory of Human Nature,” by A. McCaig.
The connotations that the English “soul” commonly carries in the minds of most persons are not in agreement with the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words as used by the inspired Bible writers. This fact has steadily gained wider acknowledgment. Back in 1897, in the Journal of Biblical Literature (Vol. XVI, p. 30), Professor C. A. Briggs, as a result of detailed analysis of the use of ne´phesh, observed: “Soul in English usage at the present time conveys usually a very different meaning from נפש [ne´phesh] in Hebrew, and it is easy for the incautious reader to misinterpret.”
In view of such inconsistency in non-Biblical writings, it is essential to let the Scriptures speak for themselves, showing what the inspired writers meant by their use of the term psy·khe´, as well as by ne´phesh. Ne´phesh occurs 754 times in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Scriptures, while psy·khe´ appears by itself 102 times in the Westcott and Hort text of the Christian Greek Scriptures, giving a total of 856 occurrences. This frequency of occurrence makes possible a clear concept of the sense that these terms conveyed to the minds of the inspired Bible writers and the sense their writings should convey to our mind. An examination shows that, while the sense of these terms is broad, with different shades of meaning, among the Bible writers there was no inconsistency, confusion, or disharmony as to man’s nature, as existed among the Grecian philosophers of the so-called Classical Period.
Ne´phesh evidently comes from a root meaning “breathe” and in a literal sense ne´phesh could be rendered as “a breather.” Koehler and Baumgartner’s Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros (Leiden, 1958, p. 627) defines it as: “the breathing substance, making man a[nd] animal living beings Gn 1, 20, the soul (strictly distinct from the greek notion of soul) the seat of which is the blood Gn 9, 4f Lv 17, 11 Dt 12, 23: (249 X)…soul = living being, individual, person.”
More recently, when The Jewish Publication Society of America issued a new translation of the Torah, or first five books of the Bible, the editor-in-chief, H. M. Orlinsky of Hebrew Union College, stated that the word “soul” had been virtually eliminated from this translation because, “the Hebrew word in question here is ‘Nefesh.’” He added: “Other translators have interpreted it to mean ‘soul,’ which is completely inaccurate. The Bible does not say we have a soul. ‘Nefesh’ is the person himself, his need for food, the very blood in his veins, his being.”-The New York Times, October 12, 1962.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia says: “Nepes [ne´phesh] is a term of far greater extension than our ‘soul,’ signifying life (Ex 21.23; Dt 19.21) and its various vital manifestations: breathing (Gn 35.18; Jb 41.13[21]), blood [Gn 9.4; Dt 12.23; Ps 140(141).8], desire (2 Sm 3.21; Prv 23.2). The soul in the O[ld] T[estament] means not a part of man, but the whole man-man as a living being. Similarly, in the N[ew] T[estament] it signifies human life: the life of an individual, conscious subject (Mt 2.20; 6.25; Lk 12.22-23; 14.26; Jn 10.11, 15, 17; 13.37).”-1967, Vol. XIII, p. 467.
The Roman Catholic translation, The New American Bible, in its “Glossary of Biblical Theology Terms” (pp. 27, 28), says: “In the New Testament, to ‘save one’s soul’ (Mk 8:35) does not mean to save some ‘spiritual’ part of man, as opposed to his ‘body’ (in the Platonic sense) but the whole person with emphasis on the fact that the person is living, desiring, loving and willing, etc., in addition to being concrete and physical.”-Edition published by P. J. Kenedy & Sons, New York, 1970.
The Greek-English lexicons give such definitions as “life,” and “the conscious self or personality as centre of emotions, desires, and affections,” “a living being,” and they show that even in non-Biblical Greek works the term was used “of animals.” Of course, such sources, treating as they do primarily of classical Greek writings, include all the meanings that the pagan Greek philosophers gave to the word, including that of “departed spirit,” “the immaterial and immortal soul,” “the spirit of the universe,” and “the immaterial principle of movement and life.” Evidently because some of the pagan philosophers taught that the soul emerged from the body at death, the term psy·khe´ was also applied to the “butterfly or moth,” which creatures go through a metamorphosis, changing from caterpillar to winged creature.-Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon, revised by H. Jones, 1968, pp. 2026, 2027; Donnegan’s New Greek and English Lexicon, 1836, p. 1404.
The difficulty lies in the fact that the meanings popularly attached to the English word “soul” stem primarily, not from the Hebrew or Christian Greek Scriptures, but from ancient Greek philosophy, actually pagan religious thought. Greek philosopher Plato, for example, quotes Socrates as saying: “The soul,…if it departs pure, dragging with it nothing of the body,…goes away into that which is like itself, into the invisible, divine, immortal, and wise, and when it arrives there it is happy, freed from error and folly and fear…and all the other human ills, and…lives in truth through all after time with the gods.”-Phaedo, 80, D, E; 81, A.
The ancient Greek writers applied psy·khe´ in various ways and were not consistent, their personal and religious philosophies influencing their use of the term. Of Plato, to whose philosophy the common ideas about the English “soul” may be attributed (as is generally acknowledged), it is stated: “While he sometimes speaks of one of [the alleged] three parts of the soul, the ‘intelligible,’ as necessarily immortal, while the other two parts are mortal, he also speaks as if there were two souls in one body, one immortal and divine, the other mortal.”-The Evangelical Quarterly, London, 1931, Vol. III, p. 121, “Thoughts on the Tripartite Theory of Human Nature,” by A. McCaig.
The connotations that the English “soul” commonly carries in the minds of most persons are not in agreement with the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words as used by the inspired Bible writers. This fact has steadily gained wider acknowledgment. Back in 1897, in the Journal of Biblical Literature (Vol. XVI, p. 30), Professor C. A. Briggs, as a result of detailed analysis of the use of ne´phesh, observed: “Soul in English usage at the present time conveys usually a very different meaning from נפש [ne´phesh] in Hebrew, and it is easy for the incautious reader to misinterpret.”
In view of such inconsistency in non-Biblical writings, it is essential to let the Scriptures speak for themselves, showing what the inspired writers meant by their use of the term psy·khe´, as well as by ne´phesh. Ne´phesh occurs 754 times in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Scriptures, while psy·khe´ appears by itself 102 times in the Westcott and Hort text of the Christian Greek Scriptures, giving a total of 856 occurrences. This frequency of occurrence makes possible a clear concept of the sense that these terms conveyed to the minds of the inspired Bible writers and the sense their writings should convey to our mind. An examination shows that, while the sense of these terms is broad, with different shades of meaning, among the Bible writers there was no inconsistency, confusion, or disharmony as to man’s nature, as existed among the Grecian philosophers of the so-called Classical Period.
So you can copy and paste from a Watchtower website. Good for you.
People who copy and paste large blocks of text annoy the hell out of me. Especially when they don't even give an attribution. I might add that this is generally a copyright violation.
This is a discussion forum. Why don't you tell us what YOU think.
People who copy and paste large blocks of text annoy the hell out of me. Especially when they don't even give an attribution. I might add that this is generally a copyright violation.
This is a discussion forum. Why don't you tell us what YOU think.
[The human is made up of body and soul, the only spirit, is the Holy Spirit. That's it, there is no other answer,
no point in pushing your false theology any further.]
1 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens,
and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
I believe these verses says the spirit of man, not Gods spirit.
all man has this spirit, not all have Gods power of the Holy Spirit
no point in pushing your false theology any further.]
1 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens,
and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
I believe these verses says the spirit of man, not Gods spirit.
all man has this spirit, not all have Gods power of the Holy Spirit