What Is A Soul?
Soul, Hebrew Nephesh, a word occurring 755 times in the Old Testament, 144 times in the Psalms, most frequently translated “SOUL.” This translation is unfortunate, for “soul” conveys, to many English readers, ideas that do not properly belong to nephesh. A brief analysis of the Hebrew word will help to clarify what the Bible writers meant when they used the word.
Soul – a Variety of Meanings
Generally nephesh means, “breath,” “life,” “person,” “emotions,” “appetites,” from naphash, “to breathe;” Greek psuche, “breath,” “life,” “life principle,” “living creature,” “person,” “the affections,” “the feelings.” The terms thus translated have a variety of meanings. In its first occurrence (Gen. 2:7), the Hebrew nephesh denotes man, who was given existence when the divine spark of life was injected into a physical body formed from the dust of the ground. Similarly, a new soul comes into existence whenever a child is born, each “soul” being a new life uniquely different, and separate, from all others. This quality of individuality in each living being, which constitutes it a unique entity, is the idea emphasized by the Hebrew term nephesh. When used in this sense nephesh is not a part of the person; it is the person, and, in many instances, is translated “person” (see Gen. 14:21; Num. 5:6; Deut. 10:22) or “self” (Lev. 11:43; 1 Kings 19:4; Isa. 46:2).
We are Souls
The basic idea of “soul” being the individual rather than the part of the individual underlies the various occurrences of nephesh. It is therefore better to say a certain person is a soul than to say he has a soul.
From the basic idea of a nephesh being an individual, or person, springs the idiomatic use of nephesh for the personal pronoun. Expressions like “my soul” are idiomatic for “I”, “me”; “thy soul” for “you”; “their soul” for “they”, “them”.
Soul = Life or Person
Since each new nephesh represents a new life, nephesh is often used synonymously with “life”. In 119 instances the KJV translates nephesh “life”, and there are other instances when life would have been a more accurate translation (see 1 Kings 17:21).
The majority of the occurrences of nephesh may be appropriately translated “person”, “individual”, “life”, or by the appropriate personal pronoun. “The souls that they had gotten in Heron” (Gen. 12:5) is simply “the persons that they had gotten in Heron.” “My soul shall live because of thee” (Gen. 12:13) is simply, “I shall live because of thee.” “That soul shall be cut off” (Lev. 19:8) is simply, “He shall be cut off.”
No Existence Apart from the Body
The translation “soul” is misleading and conveys to many the idea of an immortal entity, capable of a conscious existence separate from the body. This idea is not resident in the word nephesh. In all of the more than 700 occurrences of the word, never once is such an idea attached to it or even implied. Not once is a nephesh called immortal.
The idea that a “soul” can have existence apart from the body, or that it possesses an immortal essence, is wholly foreign to the Bible. This non-scriptural idea originated in the ancient pagan religious and philosophical systems of Greece and Egypt, and finds no support in the inspired writings. There is nothing in the words translated “soul” or in their usage in the Bible that even remotely implies a conscious entity that survives the body after death, or that attributes immortality to it. In fact, the New Testament specifically teaches that the soul (psuche) is destroyed along with the body in “hell” (Matt. 10:28).
Animals are Souls
The usage of the Greek word psuche in the New Testament is similar to that of nephesh in the Old Testament. It is used of animal life as well as human life (Rev. 16:3). In the KJV it is translated 40 times simply as “life” or “lives” (see Matt. 2:20; 6:25; 16:25). In some instances it is used to mean simply “people” (see Acts 7:14; 27:37; Rom. 13:1; 1 Pet. 3:20), and in others is it equivalent to the personal pronoun (see Matt. 12:18; 2 Cor. 12:15). Sometimes it refers to emotions (Mark 14:34; Luke 2:35), to the mind (Acts 14:2; Phil. 1:27), or to the heart (Eph. 6:6).
In Genesis 1:20, 30 the brute creation is said to have a nephesh, “life”. The possession of a nephesh, then, gives man nothing more than all forms of animal life possess. Certainly no one would wish to claim that at death the “souls” of amoebae, mollusks, and apes go flitting their way to heaven. In fact, in Eccl. 3:19 it is specifically stated that both animals and men have the same “breath”, ruach, and at death the same thing happens to both of them. According to Psalms 146:4 two things happen to a man when he dies: (1) His “breath,” ruach, leaves his body. (2) “His thoughts perish.”
The clause, “let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life” (Gen. 1:20), is literally, “let the waters swarm swarms of souls of life.” Beasts and fowl are called “living creatures” literally, “souls of life”, better, “individuals of life” (Gen. 2:19). Hence animals as well as human beings are “souls.”
Problem Texts Explained
There are a few texts that are frequently misquoted to support the idea that the soul is immortal and that when a person dies they go straight to their reward; heaven or hell. These texts with an explanation are as follows.
- 2 Cor. 5:6, 8 “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: . . . we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”
First of all it should be noticed that verse 8 does not say, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Paul is saying that while we live in this present life we cannot physically be with the Lord. The word “present” means, “to be at home.” Paul is simply stating here that he would rather be in heaven (at home) with the Lord than to be here on this earth; the desire of every sincere Christian.
- Phil. 1:23 “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.”
Paul does not say in this text that he will go to be with Christ when he dies. This is an assumption on the part of those who believe that when a righteous person dies they go immediately to heaven. Paul undoubtedly was using the word “depart” in reference to his death. But the Bible clearly reveals that he did not believe his “departure” would mean immediate entrance into heaven. Here’s the proof: “. . . the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE HIS APPEARING.” 2 Tim. 4:6-8.
Since Paul obviously did not expect to get his eternal crown at his departure at death, when did he anticipate actually being with Christ? “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. Paul’s desire to depart and be with Christ involved the resurrection that would take place at the end of the world. Since the unconscious sleep of death is like a moment, Paul speaks of death and the coming of Christ as almost simultaneous. And so it will seem to those who depart and awake from death to see Jesus coming.
Those who believe that the soul is not the person himself, but rather an immortal part of that person, will have trouble with Paul’s statement in 1 Cor. 15:51-54. Since it is obvious from the context of these verses that immortality is given to the righteous at the second coming of Christ, and since 1 Tim. 6:16 says, only God has immortality, then it becomes quite clear that the “soul”, the person, is mortal until that time.
- 1 Thess. 4:14 “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.”
The focal point of this verse is that, just as Jesus died and rose again, even so (or in like manner) them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him from the grave. Just as Jesus died, rested in the grave, and was afterward resurrected and ascended to heaven, so will those who now sleep in Jesus. Since Paul was trying to comfort the Thessalonians regarding their loved ones who had died, he could have told them that their loved ones were enjoying the bliss of heaven, if that is what he believed, but he did not. He could not and still be in harmony with the words of his Lord in John 14:3. Jesus will not receive the saints, that they might be with Him where He is, until the second coming. Another point is that Jesus Himself did not ascend to heaven when He died (John 20:17), therefore if Jesus did not go to heaven when He died, neither will we until we are resurrected as He was. Even Martha understood this truth (see John 11:21-25).
- Matt. 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Jesus clearly teaches in this text that the soul is not naturally immortal. It can and will be destroyed in hell. But what does He mean about killing the body, but not the soul? Is it possible for the soul to exist apart from the body? Some say it is, but the Bible indicates otherwise. The Greek word psuche has been translated “soul” in this text, but in 40 other texts it has been translated “life”. For example, Jesus said, “Whosoever shall lose his life (psuche) for my sake shall find it.” Matt. 16:25. Obviously psuche could not mean soul in this instance, or people could be said to lose their soul for Christ’s sake. It is properly translated “life”.
There is nothing in the Greek word psuche itself that even remotely implies a conscious entity that is able to survive the death of the body and hence be immortal. In no instance of its use in the Bible does psuche refer to a conscious entity able to exist apart from the body. The Bible knows nothing of a living, conscious soul that supposedly, survives the body.
But what of Matt. 10:28? Put in the word “life” instead of “soul” and the text makes perfect sense in its consistency with the rest of the Bible. The contrast is between one who can take the physical life, and He who can take away eternal life. Here is proof in the words of Jesus: “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you of whom ye shall fear: fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell.” Luke 12:4, 5.
In other words, the word “soul” here means not only life, but eternal life. Notice that Luke says everything just like Matthew except that he does not say, “kills the soul”. Instead he says, “cast into hell.” They mean the same thing. Men can only kill the body and take away the physical life. God will cast into hell and take away eternal life. Not only will their bodies be destroyed in that fire, but their lives will be snuffed out for all eternity.
- 1 Thess. 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
As already stated, the word soul has a variety of meanings according to the context of a verse. Sometimes it refers to emotions, to feelings, or to the heart. In like manner the word spirit sometimes refers to the mental disposition, the mind, or the intellectual part of man. And the word body simply refers to the physical.
The idea Paul wishes to convey is that true sanctification (holiness) involves the whole being. It is not possible to be partially sanctified. Every part of the life must be submitted to the purifying power of the Holy Spirit. Since our thoughts and feelings combined make up our moral character and our physical health determines, to some extent, how we react to outside stimuli, it follows therefore that we must allow God to be in control of every part of our lives if we are to be “blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Danger of Being Misinformed
Is it really all that important what one believes about the soul? Can a misunderstanding lead to deception and eternal loss? The following quote may help to clarify the dangers.
“The doctrine of man’s consciousness in death, especially the belief that spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism. If the dead are admitted to the presence of God and holy angels, and privileged with knowledge far exceeding what they before possessed, why should they not return to the earth to enlighten and instruct the living? If, as taught by popular theologians, spirits of the dead are hovering about their friends on earth, why should they not be permitted to communicate with them, to warn them against evil, or to comfort them in sorrow? How can those who believe in man’s consciousness in death reject what comes to them as divine light communicated by glorified spirits? Here is a channel regarded as sacred, through which Satan works for the accomplishment of his purposes. The fallen angels who do his bidding appear as messengers from the spirit world. While professing to bring the living into communication with the dead, the prince of evil exercises his bewitching influence upon their minds.
“He has power to bring before men the appearance of their departed friends. The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar look, the words, the tone, are reproduced with marvelous distinctness. Many are comforted with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of heaven, and without suspicion of danger, they give ear ‘to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.’ ” The Great Controversy, p. 551, 552.
The Bible clearly teaches that only those who accept Jesus as their Saviour will be granted eternal life. But there are many who teach that those who reject the Lord will burn forever. That would be a terrible existence, but wouldn’t it still be eternal life? God has a better plan.