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Nephesh

The Hebrew language has two words that are translated into English as "soul".

The first is נפּשׁ (nephesh) and is Strong's #5315. The first time this word is used is in Genesis 1:

Then G-d said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens." (Genesis 1:20)

 

The first time where the NASB translates this as "soul" is in Genesis 27:

Isaac said, "Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death. Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die." (Genesis 27:2-4)

 

The same Hebrew word, nephesh, is used in both verses.  It's just translated differently.

In some Hebrew texts,  the nephesh has been called the "engine of life".  Animals have souls (as indicated by Genesis 1:20 above). The difference between a dead animal or person and a live animal or person is usually pretty obvious (possums not withstanding). The "engine" is not running in something that is dead.

The nephesh is also sometimes called the "lower soul".  It is seen as the part of us that drives towards self-preservation and self-enhancement regarding our physical drives and desires.  In human beings this is sometimes called an "animal instinct" or a "natural instinct".  As a result, this "lower soul" in humans is also sometimes referred to as the "animal soul".

The Septuagint translates the Hebrew word nephesh into Greek as ψυχη (psuche- Strong's #5590) which is most often translated from Greek into English as "soul" or "life".  This word is also the word most commonly used in the Greek Scriptures for "soul" as well.  The first place where it's found in the Greek Scriptures is in the second chapter of Matthew:

"Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead." (Matthew 2:20)

 

This matches the Hebrew connotation of "life" in nephesh.

The first place psuche is used and translated as "soul" in the NASB is in Matthew chapter 10 where the Master speaks these words with another warning regarding Gehennom:

Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)

 

The last place this word is found is in the book of Revelation:

Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of G-d, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4)

 

Neshamah

The second Hebrew word translated as "soul" is נִשְׁמַה (neshamah).  This is Strong's #5397.  It is found only 29 times in 24 verses and it is often translated as either "breath" or "breath of life".

The first place in the Tanakh where this word is used is in the story of the creation of Adam:

Then the LORD G-d formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

 

PILE OF UNINFLATED BALLOONS FROM DIFFERENT COLORS © Srckomkrit | Dreamstime.com

Think of it this way.  Adam's body (his basar) was like an uninflated balloon. 

It had a physical form but no breath was in it.

DARK BLUE BALLOON © Percent | Dreamstime.com

Once G-d breathed the "breath [neshamah] of life" into Adam's body that same physical form was now alive.

 

 

When we die, that "breath of life" leaves our body and (in the metaphor of the preacher from Ecclesiastes):

...then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

 

 

 

In the story of Noach, we find the "breath of the spirit of life" was in the land animals as well (Genesis 7:21-22) and that they perished in the Flood.  Given that the Hebrew word for "spirit" can also mean "breath", the phrase "breath of the spirit" might redundant ... but it isn't:

All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath [neshamah] of the spirit [ruach] of life, died. (Genesis 7:21-22)

 

In Hebraic thought, the neshamah is considered to be the "higher soul" compared to the nephesh which is viewed as the "lower soul".  In land mammals we can often see a "nobler" side to them compared to fish, birds, and reptiles.  Dogs, horses, and other animals at times exhibit behavior that is inconsistently above their animal nature.  In a similar manner humans (at times) exhibit behavior that is above their sinful nature.

It is via our "higher soul" that we can act in a manner above our sinful state and animals can act above their animal state.  To the Hebrew way of thinking the neshamah is the inner being of humans that is pure and created by G-d and allows us to connect with Him. The morning prayers of ancient believers included this:

"My G-d, the soul [neshamah] which you have placed within me is pure. You have created it, you have formed it, and you have breathed it into me. You preserve it within me and one day you will take it from me and restore it to me in the awaited future". 1

 

This sentiment is echoed in the Gemara in Berakhot 10a where it is said "Just as G-d is pure, so is man's soul [neshamah] pure".

To the Hebrew mind this inner being, our "higher soul", our neshamah is the part of humans that allows us to connect with G-d. It is through this connection that we continue to receive life from our Heavenly Father.  It is because this part of us is pure, untainted by sin, that we are able to have life at all.  When we do good and selfless things it is because we are heeding this "higher soul".  When we do sinful, fleshly things it is because we are following the leading of our "lower soul"... our nephesh and the animal nature with which it is connected.

The last place in the Tanakh where the word neshamah is found is in Daniel 10.

And behold, one who resembled a human being was touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, "O my lord, as a result of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath [neshamah] been left in me. Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me. He said, "O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!" Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, "May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me." (Daniel 10:16-19)

 

In a vision, Daniel is visited by "one who resembled a human being" (an angel... a messenger from G-d). Daniel recognizes the divine authority of the messenger and, upon seeing him, says he has no strength and no neshamah (no life) left in him. Without a neshamah Daniel would have been unable to interact with (i.e. reach up to and connect with) G-d or his messenger.

There is no single equivalent word in Greek or English that encompasses the concept of a "higher soul". The Septuagint simply translates this word as πνοή (pnoe). It is pronounced pno-AY, is Strong's #4157 and means "breath" or "wind". This word is used only twice in the whole of Scripture. The first is in Acts 2:

And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:2)

 

The second and last place where it is used is also in Acts during Paul's discourse to the Athenians in the Areopagus:

"For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The G-d who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek G-d, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'" (Acts 17:23-28)

 

 

Footnotes

1. Samson Raphael Hirsch, The Hirsch Siddur page 11 at http://books.google.com/books?id=Ne-itrgIlSsC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0  [back]

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Today is

Yom Chamishi, 18 Adar II, 5784

Thursday, March 28, 2024

 

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