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The Bible Meaning of "Soul"
AN ANIMAL LIFE OR BODY SUBJECT TO DEATH -- NOT IMMORTAL
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IN THIS ARTICLE: THIS PAGE: Is God's Word A Final, Infallible Authority? The Original Words Translated "Soul" SECOND PAGE: Nephesh: First Used of Animals Then Used of Man Man and Animals Together Indiscriminately Adam's Sentence: "Dust Thou Art" Nephesh: Physical Functions of Fleshly Creatures THIRD PAGE: Souls Killed Souls Dead New and Old Testaments In Harmony "Living Soul" Equals "Natural Body" "Not Able To Kill The Soul" Summary Salvation Requires Devotion, And Diligent Application To Truth |
To the average person, the word "soul" carries the meaning of an undying, immaterial essence that continues in conscious existence after death. This conception is accepted without thought or examination. As soon as we start to look into the question, however, we begin to make very interesting discoveries. We find, first of all, that the BIBLE meaning of soul is ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT from this, and immediately the question arises:
The Scriptures themselves give the answer. They tell us that the Truth is hidden from all except those few whose minds and hearts please God [2 Cor. 4:4; Matt. 13:11-15; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10; 1st Cor. 2:14; Isa. 55:8; Matt. 7:13-14; 20:16; 22:14; Matt. 24:12-13; Luke 13:23-24; 18:8; 2 Tim. 4:3-4; Matt. 11:25; Luke 10:21]. Divine truth is not a common thing to be probed by every curious scholar [1 Cor. 1:17-29; 2:1-16; 3:18-20]. Unless a man sets his heart to seek God and sets his life to conform to God's will, he can no more find the truth of the Scriptures [Deut. 4:29; 1 Chron. 28:9; 2 Chron. 15:2; 31:21; Prov. 28:5; Isa. 55:6; Jer. 29:13; Amos 5:14; Matt. 6:33; 7:7; Luke 11:9; 12:31; 13:24; Acts 17:27; Heb. 11:6; Rom. 12:1-2] than the men of Sodom could find the door of Lot's house [Gen. 19:11]. God has said that He will send a strong delusion upon all those who receive not the LOVE of the Truth, that they should believe a lie (2 Thess. 2:10-11). |
and Based On Greek Philosophy
When we turn to works of reference by the learned expositors of the immortal soul theory, we see how this "believing a lie" works out quite naturally. Most of them make no attempt to conceal the fact that scriptural teaching and popular theology are very different regarding the meaning of "soul." They are in fact, proud that they have developed many "improvements" upon what they consider the partial and hazy conceptions voiced by the "Holy men of God who spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21).
We soon find that we are forced to choose between Scripture teaching and orthodox Christianity. It is very fortunate for us that the issue is so clearcut, and that the leading exponents of the immortal soul theory are so frank in admission of its non-Biblical origin. Webster's Dictionary says:
"The Christian conception of the soul derives from the Greek, especially as modified by the mystery cults, as well as from the Bible...
"The more exact determination of the Christian conception was reserved for the Church Fathers, especially Saint Augustine, who taught that it is simple, immaterial and spiritual, devoid of quality and spatial extension. He argued its immortality from the fact that it is the repository of imperishable truth."
Funk & Wagnall Dictionary is even more to the point:
"Among the ancient Hebrews 'soul' was the equivalent of the principle of life as embodied in living creatures, and this meaning is continued throughout the Bible...
"It was Augustine especially who, in part on religious grounds and in part as the disciple of the later Greek Philosophy, taught the simple, immaterial and spiritual nature of the human soul--a view which has remained that of the scholastic philosophy and of Christian theologians down to the present time."
Hasting's well-known Bible Dictionary freely admits:
"Soul is throughout a great part of the Bible simply the equivalent of 'life' embodied in living creature. In the earlier usage of the Old Testament it has no reference to the later philosophical meaning--the animating principle--still less to the idea of an 'immaterial nature' which will survive the body."
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says:
"Soul has various shades of meaning in the Old Testament, which may be summarized as follows: Soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, appetite, emotion and passion.
"Nephesh or soul, can only denote the individual life with a material organization or body.
"In the New Testament 'psuche' appears under more or less similar conditions as in the Old Testament."
Young's Concordance defines both nephesh and psuche as "animal soul."
Strong's Concordance defines nephesh as, "A breathing creature, an animal; or, abstractly vitality." Psuche it likewise defines as "The animal, sentient principle."
The noted lexicographer Parkhurst (himself a believer in immortal soulism) says:
"As a noun nephesh hath been supposed to signify the spiritual part of man, or what we commonly call his soul. I must for myself confess that I can find no passages where it hath undoubtedly this meaning.
"Gen. 35:18, 1 Kings 17:21-22 and Psalms 16:10 seem fairest for this signification. But may not nephesh in the three former passages be most properly rendered 'breath,' and in the last, 'a breathing or animal frame'?"
These quotations show clearly that the immortal soul doctrine is generally admitted by its supporters to be entirely different from the BIBLE meaning of soul, and based mainly upon GREEK PHILOSOPHY.
The issue then is this: is the Word of God to be our final authority, or is religious truth something to be gradually developed by man's speculation on the basis of pagan Greek philosophy?
For nearly 2,000 years, the bulk of Christendom, beginning with the Church Fathers, have favored the latter, but there have always been a few who have regarded the Bible as wholly inspired by God, consistent from beginning to end, and the only possible source of true knowledge of such things as life, death and the nature and destiny of man.
A Bible that is anything less than this is NO BIBLE AT ALL. And the Bible itself leaves no room for compromise. It takes a bold and unequivocal stand throughout as the direct Word of God in every part [Isa. 8:20; Jer. 36:1-4; 1 Cor. 2:9-13; Gal. 1:11-12; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Heb. 1:1-2; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Rev. 1:1-2]. We must accept it as that, or else throw it away entirely as the most brazen and blasphemous of falsehoods.
Those who take the middle ground are the Bible's greatest enemies, and this unfortunately includes the vast majority of professing Christians. They dare not openly deny its divinity, because it is so obviously divine, but they seek to rob it of all power by spinning an endless web of theories around it that confuse the mind and distract the attention, and obscure its plain, clear teaching.
It is impossible in any one consideration to fully examine the Biblical use and meaning of "soul." But it is possible to lay the foundation by demonstrating that popular theology on the subject is admittedly derived from other sources than the Bible, and is at direct variance with it.
The Bible meaning of "soul" (which modern writers mention briefly in passing), is regarded by them as a rather amusing phase of ancient Hebrew speculation, hardly worthy of serious attention, and which no one laying claim to "modern" learning would dare allow his name to be associated with.
The following brief outline of the BIBLICAL use of the term is for those few to whom the Bible is still the one unique Book among millions--the wholly inspired divine message to man--one verse of which is worth more than countless volumes of the cloudy, inconclusive speculations of human philosophy and "modern wisdom." [1 Cor. 1:17; 2:16; 3:18-20].
In the Old Testament Hebrew, the original word for soul is nephesh. In the New Testament Greek it is psuche. Both mean the same thing and are used interchangeably. One is used to translate the other.
Nephesh occurs about 750 times. About 500 times it is translated "soul" in the Authorized Version. The other 250 times it is translated by over 40 different English words, as shown on the chart.
Psuehe occurs about 100 times, and is translated similarly.
It is quite obvious at the outset that a word of such broad application, including all the animal kingdom, all its bodily [and] physical aspects, CANNOT POSSIBLY indicate some immortal essence in man distinguishing him from the lower creation.
It is clear from the words used to translate it that it is related throughout to ANIMAL BODIES, including man, and this will become more and more clear as we consider some of the passages in which it is used.
It can be readily seen, too, that with such a range of meaning the translators could do much to color the various passages by their choice of English words--using one set of terms when used of animals and another when of man.
On the other hand, it is evident that in an article of this kind, it is impossible to quote sufficient of the 850 occurrences to fully illustrate the word, and that by choosing obscure, borderline passages, a very distorted picture could be drawn.
Therefore, only a careful, individual investigation, seeking divine guidance, can bring solid, durable conviction and enlightenment. THERE IS NO SHORT CUT TO THE ENLIGHTENED FAITH THAT LEADS TO SALVATION.
For instance, soul is used in relation to God. He says: "My servant in whom MY SOUL delighteth" (Isa. 42:1). But examination will show that this is a very exceptional, isolated use, and is a figure of speech that has no bearing on the literal meaning of soul. The expression "my soul" is often used simply as an emphatic term meaning "myself," because of its undeniable animal basis. Clearly it is in this secondary sense of emphasis only [that] it is used of God.
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