Lesson 29 Explore 1: What Is a Soul? | Bible Questions
What Is the Soul?
The Bible’s answer
The word “soul” in the Bible is a translation of the Hebrew word neʹphesh and the Greek word psy·kheʹ. The Hebrew word literally means “a creature that breathes,” and the Greek word means “a living being.” The soul, then, is the entire creature, not something inside that survives the death of the body. Consider how the Bible shows that the human soul is the whole person:
CAPTION: Adam was not given a soul—he “became a living soul”
• When Jehovah God created the first man, Adam, the Bible says that “man became a living soul.” King James Version)
(Genesis 2.7: And Jehovah God went on to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living person.)
Adam was not given a soul-he became a living soul, or person.
• The Bible says that the soul can work, crave food, eat, obey laws, and touch a dead body.
(Leviticus 5.2: “‘Or when a person touches anything unclean, whether the dead body of an unclean wild animal, an unclean domestic animal, or an unclean swarming creature, he is unclean and has become guilty even if he does not realize it.)
(Leviticus 7.20: “‘But any person who is unclean and eats the flesh of the communion sacrifice, which is for Jehovah, that person must be cut off from his people.)
(Leviticus 23.30: And I will destroy from among his people every person who does any sort of work on this day.)
(Deuteronomy 12.20: “When Jehovah your God enlarges your territory, just as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I want to eat meat,’ because you desire to eat meat, you may eat meat whenever you desire it.)
(Romans 13.1: Let every person be in subjection to the superior authorities, for there is no authority except by God; the existing authorities stand placed in their relative positions by God.)
Those activities involve the entire person.
Is the soul immortal?
No, the soul can die. Dozens of Bible verses refer to the soul as being mortal. Here are some examples:
• “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.”- King James Version.
(Ezekiel 18.4: Look! All the souls—to me they belong. As the soul of the father so also the soul of the son—to me they belong. The soul who sins is the one who will die.)
(Ezekiel 18.20: The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will bear no guilt because of the error of his father, and a father will bear no guilt because of the error of his son. The righteousness of the righteous one will be accounted to him alone, and the wickedness of the wicked one will be accounted to him alone.)
• In ancient Israel, the punishment for the most serious offenses was that the “soul shall be cut off.” King James Version)
(Exodus 12.15: Seven days you are to eat unleavened bread. Yes, on the first day you are to remove the sourdough from your houses, because anyone eating what is leavened from the first day down to the seventh, that person must be cut off from Israel.)
(Exodus 12.19: No sourdough is to be found in your houses for seven days, because if anyone eats what is leavened, whether he is a foreigner or a native of the land, that person must be cut off from the assembly of Israel.)
(Leviticus 7.20, 21: “‘But any person who is unclean and eats the flesh of the communion sacrifice, which is for Jehovah, that person must be cut off from his people. If someone touches anything unclean, whether the uncleanness of a man or an unclean animal or any unclean disgusting thing, and eats some of the flesh of the communion sacrifice, which is for Jehovah, that person must be cut off from his people.’”)
(Leviticus 7.27: Anyone who eats any blood must be cut off from his people.’”)
(Leviticus 19.8: The one eating it will answer for his error because he has profaned a holy thing of Jehovah, and that person must be cut off from his people.)
The person would “be put to death.”- King James Version.
(Exodus 31.14: You must keep the Sabbath, for it is something holy to you. Whoever profanes it must be put to death. If anyone does any work on it, then that person must be cut off from among his people.)
• After a person dies, the literal term “dead soul” is used for the corpse in some Bible verses. footnote; footnote)
(Leviticus 21.11: He should not approach any dead person; he may not defile himself even for his father or his mother.)
(Numbers 6.6: He should not approach a dead person during all the days he remains separated to Jehovah.)
Although many Bible translations use the terms “dead body” or “dead person” in those verses, the original Hebrew uses the word neʹphesh, or “soul.”
“Soul” can mean “life”
The Bible also uses “soul” as a synonym for “life.” For example,
(Job 33.22: His soul draws near to the pit; His life to those who bring death.)
uses the Hebrew word for “soul” (neʹphesh) as a parallel for “life.” Similarly, the Bible shows that a person’s soul, or life, can be risked or lost.-
(Exodus 4.19: After that Jehovah said to Moses in Midian: “Go, return to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking to kill you are dead.”)
(Judges 9.17: When my father fought for you, he risked his life to save you from Midian’s hand.)
(Philippians 2.30: because he nearly died on account of the work of Christ, risking his life in order to make up for your not being here to render personal service to me.)
This use of the word for “soul” helps us to understand verses in which the soul is said to be “going out” or “departing.” King James Version)
(Genesis 35.18: Just as her life was slipping away (for she was dying), she named him Ben-oni, but his father called him Benjamin.)
This figure of speech indicates that the person’s life is ending. Some translations render this expression at as “she breathed her last.”-Good News Translation; New Jerusalem Bible.
(Genesis 35.18: Just as her life was slipping away (for she was dying), she named him Ben-oni, but his father called him Benjamin.)
Where belief in an immortal soul comes from
Christian denominations that believe in an immortal soul get this teaching, not from the Bible, but from ancient Greek philosophy. The Encyclopædia Britannica says: “Biblical references to the soul are related to the concept of breath and establish no distinction between the ethereal soul and the corporeal body. Christian concepts of a body-soul dichotomy originated with the ancient Greeks.”
God does not condone merging his teachings with human philosophies, such as belief in an immortal soul. Instead, the Bible warns: “Look out that no one takes you captive by means of the philosophy and empty deception according to human tradition.”-
(Colossians 2.8: Look out that no one takes you captive by means of the philosophy and empty deception according to human tradition, according to the elementary things of the world and not according to Christ;)
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