The next several posts will deal with a few topics that popular Christianity has intertwined, but actually deal with distinct concepts with many misconceptions associated with them. This first part, as the titles suggests, deals with the question of what a soul is.
Genesis 2:7 states, "And [Jehovah] God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (KJV). The Hebrew word in Gen. 2:7 rendered as "soul" is "nephesh;" the Greek word that corresponds to this is "psyche." Notice that Genesis 2:7 does not say that man was given a soul, but that he became a living soul. This is an accurate diescription. The Bible does not support the notion that a person possesses a soul, but rather that a person (or animal) is a soul. The soul is not something that is separate from us, nor is it something that can leave the body. 1 Corinthians 15:45 confirms this by saying, "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit" (KJV). 1 Peter 3:20 also makes no distinction between the person and the soul, saying, "[...] in the days of Noah [...] eight souls were saved by water" (KJV).
The New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967), Vol XIII states, "There is no dichotomy of body and soul in the OT. The Israelite saw things concretely, in their totality, and thus he saw men as persons and not as composites. The term nepeš [nephesh], though translated by our word soul, never means soul as distinct from the body or the individual person [...] The term [psyche] is the NT word corresponding with nepeš. It can mean the principle of life, life itself, and the living being" (pp. 449-450).
The New Encyclopedia Britannica states, "The Hebrew term for 'soul' [...] was used by Moses [...], signifying an 'animated being' and applicable equally to nonhuman beings [...] New Testament usage of psyche was comparable to nephesh" (Vol. 15, p. 152). Indeed there are passages that refer to animals as souls: Gen. 1:20, 21, 24; Lev. 24:17, 18; Rev. 16:3. In general, Biblical usage of the term "soul," suggests it to mean a person or animal or the life that a person or animal enjoys.
Josh 11:11 states, "And they smote all the souls that where therein with the edge of the sword" (KJV). Here we see a soul being touched by a sword, so it cannot be intangible like a spirit, which will be the topic of the next post.
The following lists group usages of the words for soul (nephesh and psyche) that support the corresponding heading:
Animals Are Souls:
Gen. 1:20, 21, 24, 30; 2:19; 9:10, 12, 15, 16; Lev. 11:10, 46; 24:18; Num. 31:28; Job 41:21; Eze. 47:9
A Living Person is a Soul
Gen 2:7; 12:5; 14:20; 36:6; 46:15, 18, 22, 25, 26, 27; Ex 1:5; 12:4, 16; 16:16; Lev 2:1; 4:2, 27; 5:1, 2, 4, 15, 17; 6:2; 7:18, 20, 21, 25, 27; 17:10, 12, 15; 18:29; 20:6; 22:6, 11; 23:29, 30; 27:2; Num 5:6; 15:27, 28, 30; 19:18, 22; 31:35, 40, 46; 35:30; Deu 10:22; 24:6, 7; 1 Sam 22:22; 2 Sam 14:14; 2 Ki 12:4; 1 Chron 5:21; Ps 19:7; Pro 11:25, 30; 16:24; 19:2, 15; 25:25; 27:7, 9; Jer 43:6; 52:29; Lam 3:25; Eze 27:13; Acts 2:41, 43; 7:14; 27:37 Rom 13:1; 1 Cor 15:45; 1 Pet 3:20
The Soul is Mortal and Destructible
Gen 12:13; 17:14; 19:19, 20; 37:21; Ex 12:15, 19; 31:14; Lev 7:20, 21, 27; 19:8; 22:3; 23:30; 24:17; Num 9:13; 15:30, 31; 19:13, 20; 23:10; 31:19; 35:11, 15, 30; Deu 19:6, 11; 22:26; 27:25; Jos 2:13, 14; 10:28, 30, 32, 35, 37, 39; 11:11; 20:3, 9; Judges 5:18; 16:16, 30; 1 Ki 19:4; 20:31; Job 7:15; 11:20; 18:4; 33:22; 36:14; Ps 7:2; 22:29; 66:9; 69:1; 78:50; 94:17; 106:15; 124:4; Pro 28:17; Isa 55:3; Jer 2:34; 4:10; 18:20; 38:17; 40:14; Eze 13:19; 17:17; 18:4; 22:25, 27; 33:6; Matt 2:20; 10:28; 26:38; Mark 3:4; 14:34; Luke 6:9; 17:33; John 12:25; Acts 3:23; Rom 11:3; Heb 10:39; James 5:20; Rev 8:9; 12:11; 16:3
Dead Soul (Corpse)
Lev 19:28; 21:1, 11; 22:4; Num 5:2; 6:6, 11; 9:6, 7, 10; 19:11, 13; Hag 2:13
Soul is Separate From Spirit
Phillip 1:27; 1 Thess 5:23; Heb 4:12
God Has a Soul
1 Sam 2:35; Psa 11:5; 24:4; Pro 6:16; Isa 1:14; 42:1; Jer 5:9; 12:7; 14:19; 15:1; 32:41; 51:14; Lam 3:20; Eze 23:18; Amos 6:8; Matt 12:18; Heb 10:38
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