|
USAGE OF
NEPHESH IN THE
OLD TESTAMENT
The
Hebrew word nephesh is used of animals in the following
texts. The English word which has been translated from the Hebrew
nephesh appears in bold text:
| 1:21 |
And God created great whales,
and every living creature that moveth, which
the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and
every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was
good. |
| Gen 1:24 |
And God said, Let the earth
bring forth the living creature after his
kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after
his kind: and it was so. |
| Gen 2:19 |
And out of the ground the LORD
God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the
air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call
them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature,
that was the name thereof. |
| Gen 9:10 |
And with every living
creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the
cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all
that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. |
| Gen 9:12 |
And God said, This is the
token of the covenant which I make between me and you and
every living creature that is with you, for
perpetual generations: |
| Lev 11:46 |
This is the law of the beasts,
and of the fowl, and of every living creature
that moveth in the waters, and of every creature
that creepeth upon the earth: |
| Lev 11:10 |
And all that have not fins and
scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the
waters, and of any living thing which is in
the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: |
| Ezek 47:9 |
And it shall come to pass,
that every thing that liveth, which moveth,
whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there
shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters
shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing
shall live whither the river cometh. |
| Gen 1:20 |
And God said, Let the waters
bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath
life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the
open firmament of heaven. |
| Gen 1:30 |
And to every beast of the
earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that
creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life,
I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. |
| Gen 9:4 |
But flesh with the
life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye
not eat. |
| Deut 12:23 |
Only be sure that thou eat not
the blood: for the blood is the life; and
thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. |
| Prov 12:10 |
A righteous man regardeth
the life of his beast: but the tender mercies
of the wicked are cruel. |
| Lev 24:18 |
And he that killeth a
beast shall make it good; beast for
beast. |
| Job 12:10 |
In whose hand is the
soul of every living thing, and the breath of all
mankind. |
| Job 41:21 |
His breath
kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. |
| Isa 19:10 |
And they shall be broken in
the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for
fish. |
| Jer 2:24 |
A wild ass used to the
wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her
pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that
seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall
find her. |
Please note first that our King James translators
have rendered the single Hebrew word nephesh nine
different ways into English; creature, life, beast, soul,
breath, life, fish, thing, and her.
It is important for the reader to grasp that each
of these verses uses the exact same Hebrew word which is elsewhere
rendered 'soul' when applied to mankind. In other words, our English
text makes a distinction which the Hebrew text does not.
The first verse in which nephesh is
translated 'soul', as well as the first appearance of the word
'soul' in our English Bible is Genesis 2:7; 'Man became a living
soul'. It is very interesting to note however that as far as the
Hebrew text is concerned, the word 'soul' or nephesh occurs
four times prior to this, and always speaking of animals.
From the above verses, we can determine the
following facts about the Hebrew nephesh, or soul:
- Fish, cattle, fowls, and creeping things are souls
- Souls swim in the water and fly in the air
- Souls can be killed
- A soul refers not only to the creature itself but to the
principle of life it possesses
- This soul can also refer to the lifeblood flowing within the
living creature
I would ask anyone who disagrees with this to
please go back and read the above verses again noting that our
English text makes a distinction where none appears in the Hebrew.
This is not my theology, it is simply what the scriptures say.
Does it seem likely that a word which is so
frequently applied to animal life could EVER also refer to some
immortal immaterial part of man?
In
the following passages, nephesh is used of man AND animals
together:
| 9:15 |
And I will remember my
covenant, which is between me and you and every living
creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more
become a flood to destroy all flesh. |
| Gen 9:16 |
And the bow shall be in the
cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the
everlasting covenant between God and every living
creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. |
| Lev 17:11 |
For the life
of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon
the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the
blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. |
| Lev 17:14 |
For it is the life
of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life
thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye
shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the
life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever
eateth it shall be cut off. |
| Num 31:28 |
And levy a tribute unto the
LORD of the men of war which went out to battle: one
soul of five hundred, both both of the persons, and
of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep: |
Here we see clearly that according to the Hebrew
text, animals are souls or nephesh, as well as men. No one needs to
interpret anything.
In
the following passages, nephesh is used of man as an
individual person in the sense of man as a living sentient being:
| 2:7 |
And the LORD God
formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living
soul |
| Gen 12:5 |
And Abram took
Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their
substance that they had gathered, and the souls
that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into
the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. |
| Gen 46:15 |
These be the sons
of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his
daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and
his daughters were thirty and three. |
| Gen 46:18 |
These are the sons
of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she
bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls. |
| Gen 46:22 |
These are the sons
of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the fourteen.souls
were |
| Gen 46:25 |
These are the sons
of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she
bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were
seven. |
| Gen 46:26 |
All the
souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out
of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the
souls were threescore and six; |
| Gen 46:27 |
And the sons of
Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls:
all the souls of the house of Jacob, which
came into Egypt, were threescore and ten. |
| Ex 1:5 |
And all the
souls that came out of the loins of Jacob
were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt
already. |
| Ex 12:4 |
And if the
household be too little for the lamb, let him and his
neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number
of the souls; every man according to his
eating shall make your count for the lamb. |
| Lev 22:11 |
But if the priest
buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of
it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his
meat. |
| Ps 25:20 |
O keep my
soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I
put my trust in thee. |
| Prov 10:3 |
The LORD will not
suffer the soul of the righteous to famish:
but he casteth away the substance of the wicked. |
| Prov 11:25 |
The liberal
soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth
shall be watered also himself. |
| Prov 11:30 |
The fruit of the
righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls
is wise. |
| Prov 14:25 |
A true witness
delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness
speaketh lies. |
| Prov 19:15 |
Slothfulness
casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul
shall suffer hunger. |
| Prov 22:23 |
For the LORD will
plead their cause, and spoil the soul of
those that spoiled them. |
| Prov 25:25 |
As cold waters to
a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far
country. |
| Prov 27:7 |
The full
soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry
soul every bitter thing is sweet. |
| Jer 38:16 |
So Zedekiah the
king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth,
that made us this soul, I will not put thee
to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men
that seek thy life. |
| Lam 3:25 |
The LORD is good
unto them that wait for him, to the soul that
seeketh him. |
| Ezek 13:18 |
And say, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all
armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to
hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls
of my people, and will ye save the souls
alive that come unto you? |
| Ezek 13:20 |
Wherefore thus
saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows,
wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make
them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let
the souls go, even the souls
that ye hunt to make them fly. |
| Ezek 18:4 |
Behold, all
souls are mine; as the soul
of the father, so also the soul of the son is
mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. |
| Gen 14:21 |
And the king of
Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons,
and take the goods to thyself. |
| Gen 36:6 |
And Esau took his
wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the
persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his
beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of
Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother
Jacob. |
| Ex 16:16 |
This is the thing
which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man
according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to
the number of your persons; take ye every man
for them which are in his tents. |
| Lev 27:2 |
Speak unto the
children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a
singular vow, the persons shall be for the
LORD by thy estimation. |
| Num 31:40 |
And the
persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD's
tribute was thirty and two persons. |
| Num 31:46 |
And sixteen
thousand persons;) |
| Deut 10:22 |
Thy fathers went
down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons;
and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven
for multitude. |
| Jer 43:6 |
Even men, and
women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every
person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the
guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of
Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of
Neriah. |
| Jer 52:29 |
In the eighteenth
year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem
eight hundred thirty and two persons: |
| Jer 52:30 |
In the three and
twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of
the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty
and five persons: all the persons
were four thousand and six hundred. |
| Ezek 16:5 |
None eye pitied
thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon
thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing
of thy person, in the day that thou wast
born. |
| Ezek 27:13 |
Javan, Tubal, and
Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the
persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market. |
| Num 31:35 |
And thirty and two
thousand persons in all, of women that had
not known man by lying with him. |
| Deut 24:7 |
f a man be found
stealing any of his brethren of the children
of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then
that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among
you. |
| 2 Kings 12:4 |
And Jehoash said
to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is
brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every
one that passeth the account, the money that every man
is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man's heart
to bring into the house of the LORD, |
| 1 Chr 5:21 |
And they took away
their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two
hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand,
and of men an hundred thousand. |
| Num 31:35 |
And thirty and two
thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by
lying with him. (nephesh not rendered into English in
this verse) |
Ask yourself; are any of these verses talking
about an invisible, immortal entity within man which departs at
death? According to the above passages, does man have a soul, or IS
HE A SOUL?
Once again, in many cases the truth is clouded by
our translators which have rendered nephesh six different
ways into English; soul, person, persons, any, man, and
and.
We learned in the prior chapter how at least one
fundamentalist scholar attempted to get around the conclusion that
man WAS a soul rather than HAVING a soul as most of Christendom
asserts. Again we quote Peter S. Ruckman:
The Soul is joined to the Body in the
Old Testament. Adam is created with his Soul 'loose' within his
body, and if he were created with the soul stuck to the body it
would matter nothing, for his Flesh (Body) is not yet become the
'Flesh' of Romans 7:18... The soul has a bodily shape and it can
burn in hell forever as a body without burning up.'
'The soul is the 'Ego', the 'I am' of
the individual. The studies in the Hebrew usage of the word
yield no new truth at all. To this day scholars assume the
word is interchangeable with 'life' because it is occasionally
applied to animals (Num. 31:28; Rev. 16:3)...
After the Fall of Man, the Soul is
stuck to a 'body of death' and consequently, the Old Testament
writers use 'Soul' as synonymous with the body.
(emphasis mine)
Based on the evidence thus far, I would ask the reader to
consider how valid such conclusions are. Does the Bible really teach
this 'soul stuck to the body' theory, or is this just an ingenious
attempt to escape the obvious conclusion that man doesn't HAVE a
nephesh, he IS a nephesh?
Many evangelicals in our day talk about 'soul winning', in the
sense of saving that immortal part within man from going to hell.
The term 'soul winning is taken from Proverbs 11:30; 'He that winneth souls is wise'. Given the context of how nephesh is
used elsewhere in Proverbs, does this verse really fit the idea of
saving some invisible entity from burning in hell, or rather winning
over a person by doing good to them?
In
the following passages the soul or nephesh performs certain acts, or
exercises certain powers:
| Gen 27:4 |
And make me savoury meat, such
as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my
soul may bless thee before I die. |
| Gen 27:19 |
And Jacob said unto his
father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou
badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that
thy soul may bless me. |
| Gen 27:25 |
And he said, Bring it near to
me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul
may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat:
and he brought him wine, and he drank. |
| Gen 27:31 |
And he also had made savoury
meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his
father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison,
that thy soul may bless me. |
| Lev 4:2 |
Speak unto the children of
Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through
ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD
concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do
against any of them: |
| Lev 5:1 |
And if a soul
sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether
he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he
shall bear his iniquity. |
| Lev 5:2 |
Or if a soul
touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean
beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of
unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also
shall be unclean, and guilty. |
| Lev 5:4 |
Or if a soul
swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good,
whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and
it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be
guilty in one of these. |
| Lev 5:15 |
If a soul
commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy
things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto
the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy
estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the
sanctuary, for a trespass offering: |
| Lev 5:17 |
And if a soul
sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be
done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not,
yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. |
| Lev 6:2 |
If a soul sin, and commit a
trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that
which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a
thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; |
| Lev 7:18 |
And if any of the flesh of the
sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third
day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed
unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the
soul that eateth of it shall bear his
iniquity. |
| Lev 7:20 |
But the soul
that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings,
that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him,
even that soul shall be cut off from his
people. |
| Lev 7:21 |
Moreover the soul
that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man,
or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat
of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which
pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall
be cut off from his people. |
| Lev 7:27 |
Whatsoever soul it be that
eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off
from his people. |
| Lev 16:29 |
And this shall be a statute
for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day
of the month, ye shall afflict your souls,
and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country,
or a stranger that sojourneth among you: |
| Lev 16:31 |
It shall be a sabbath of rest
unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by
a statute for ever. |
| Lev 17:12 |
Therefore I said unto the
children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat
blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you
eat blood. |
| Lev 17:15 |
And every soul
that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn
with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a
stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in
water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. |
| Lev 20:6 |
And the soul
that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after
wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face
against that soul, and will cut him off from
among his people. |
| Lev 20:25 |
Ye shall therefore put
difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between
unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your
souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any
manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I
have separated from you as unclean. |
| Lev 22:6 |
The soul
which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and
shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh
with water. |
| Lev 23:27 |
Also on the tenth day of this
seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be
an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your
souls, and offer an offering made by fire
unto the LORD. |
| Lev 23:30 |
And whatsoever soul
it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will
I destroy from among his people. |
| Lev 23:32 |
It shall be unto you a sabbath
of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in
the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall
ye celebrate your sabbath. |
| Num 15:27 |
And if any soul
sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the
first year for a sin offering. |
| Num 15:28 |
And the priest shall make an
atonement for the soul that sinneth
ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to
make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. |
| Num 15:30 |
But the soul
that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the
land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that
soul shall be cut off from among his people. |
| Num 19:22 |
And whatsoever the unclean
person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul
that toucheth it shall be unclean until even. |
| Num 29:7 |
And ye shall have on the tenth
day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall
afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work
therein: |
| Num 30:2 |
If a man vow a vow unto the
LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with
a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to
all that proceedeth out of his mouth. |
| Num 30:4 |
And her father hear her vow,
and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul,
and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows
shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her
soul shall stand. |
| Num 30:5 |
But if her father disallow her
in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her
bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul,
shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her
father disallowed her. |
| Num 30:6 |
And if she had at all an
husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips,
wherewith she bound her soul; |
| Num 30:7 |
And her husband heard it, and
held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her
vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her
soul shall stand. |
| Num 30:8 |
But if her husband disallowed
her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow
which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips,
wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect:
and the LORD shall forgive her. |
| Num 30:9 |
But every vow of a widow, and
of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their
souls, shall stand against her. |
| Num 30:10 |
And if she vowed in her
husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond
with an oath; |
| Num 30:11 |
And her husband heard it, and
held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her
vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her
soul shall stand. |
| Num 30:12 |
But if her husband hath
utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then
whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or
concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband
hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her. |
| Num 30:13 |
Every vow, and every binding
oath to afflict the soul, her husband may
establish it, or her husband may make it void. |
| Deut 13:6 |
If thy brother, the son of thy
mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom,
or thy friend, which is as thine own soul,
entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods,
which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; |
| Judg 5:21 |
The river of Kishon swept them
away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul,
thou hast trodden down strength. |
| 1 Sam 1:26 |
And she said, Oh my lord, as
thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that
stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. |
| 1 Sam 17:55 |
And when Saul saw David go
forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain
of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said,
As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. |
| 1 Sam 18:3 |
Then Jonathan and David made a
covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. |
| 1 Sam 20:3 |
And David sware moreover, and
said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in
thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he
be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy
soul liveth, there is but a step between me and
death. |
| 1 Sam 20:17 |
And Jonathan caused David to
swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he
loved his own soul. |
| 1 Sam 25:26 |
Now therefore, my lord, as the
LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing
the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and
from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine
enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. |
| 2 Sam 11:11 |
And Uriah said unto David, The
ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab,
and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields;
shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to
lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul
liveth, I will not do this thing. |
| 2 Sam 14:19 |
And the king said, Is not the
hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and
said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king,
none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that
my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade
me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid: |
| 2 King 2:2 |
And Elijah said unto Elisha,
Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel.
And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy
soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they
went down to Bethel. |
| 2 King 2:4 |
Elijah said unto him, Elisha,
tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho.
And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul
liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. |
| 2 King 2:6 |
And Elijah said unto him,
Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan.
And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul
liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. |
| 2 King 4:30 |
And the mother of the child
said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul
liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her. |
| Job 16:4 |
I also could speak as ye do:
if your soul were in my soul's
stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head
at you. |
| Job 31:30 |
Neither have I suffered my
mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. |
| Ps 35:13 |
But as for me, when they were
sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul
with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom. |
| Ps 120:6 |
My soul hath
long dwelt with him that hateth peace. |
| Prov 6:32 |
But whoso committeth adultery
with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it
destroyeth his own soul. |
| Prov 8:36 |
But he that sinneth against me
wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me
love death. |
| Prov 11:17 |
The merciful man doeth good to
his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth
his own flesh. |
| Prov 13:2 |
A man shall eat good by the
fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the
transgressors shall eat violence. |
| Prov 15:32 |
He that refuseth instruction
despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth
reproof getteth understanding. |
| Prov 16:17 |
The highway of the upright is
to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his
soul. |
| Prov 19:8 |
He that getteth wisdom loveth
his own soul: he that keepeth understanding
shall find good. |
| Prov 19:16 |
He that keepeth the
commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that
despiseth his ways shall die. |
| Prov 20:2 |
The fear of a king is as the
roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth
against his own soul. |
| Prov 21:23 |
Whoso keepeth his mouth and
his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. |
| Prov 22:5 |
Thorns and snares are in the
way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul
shall be far from them. |
| Prov 29:24 |
Whoso is partner with a thief
hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and
bewrayeth it not. |
| Eccl 4:8 |
There is one alone, and there
is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet
is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye
satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour,
and bereave my soul of good? This is also
vanity, yea, it is a sore travail. |
| Eccl 6:2 |
A man to whom God hath given
riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his
soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth
him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this
is vanity, and it is an evil disease. |
| Isa 51:23 |
But I will put it into the
hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy
soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast
laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that
went over. |
| Isa 58:3 |
Wherefore have we fasted, say
they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our
soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold,
in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your
labours. |
| Isa 58:5 |
Is it such a fast that I have
chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul?
is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread
sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and
an acceptable day to the LORD? |
| Jer 4:19 |
My bowels, my bowels! I am
pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I
cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my
soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. |
| Ezek 4:14 |
Then said I, Ah Lord GOD!
behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for
from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which
dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there
abominable flesh into my mouth. |
| Mic 6:7 |
Will the LORD be pleased with
thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of
my body for the sin of my soul? |
| Ex 12:16 |
And in the first day there
shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there
shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall
be done in them, save that which every man
must eat, that only may be done of you. |
| Lev 2:1 |
And when any
will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall
be of |
| Lev 4:27 |
And if any one
of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth
somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD
concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty; |
| Lev 11:43 |
Ye shall not make
yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that
creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them,
that ye should be defiled thereby. |
| Lev 11:44 |
For I am the LORD your God: ye
shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye
shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile
yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth
upon the earth. |
| Jer 17:21 |
Thus saith the LORD; Take heed
to yourselves, and bear no burden on the
sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; |
| Num 5:6 |
Speak unto the children of
Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men
commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that
person be guilty; |
| Est 9:31 |
To confirm these days of Purim
in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and
Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed
for themselves and for their seed, the
matters of the fastings and their cry. |
| Isa 46:2 |
They stoop, they bow down
together; they could not deliver the burden, but
themselves are gone into captivity. |
| Job 18:4 |
He teareth himself
in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall
the rock be removed out of his place? |
| Job 32:2 |
Then was kindled the wrath of
Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram:
against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified
himself rather than God. |
| Ps 105:18 |
Whose feet they hurt with
fetters: he was laid in iron: |
| Jer 3:11 |
And the LORD said unto me, The
backsliding Israel hath justified herself
more than treacherous Judah. |
| Jer 51:14 |
The LORD of hosts hath sworn
by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee
with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout
against thee. |
| Amos 6:8 |
The Lord GOD hath sworn by
himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I
abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore
will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. |
In the above passage we see that the Hebrew word
nephesh has been rendered ten different ways; soul, man, any,
one. yourselves, person, themselves, himself, he, herself.
The first four texts give the account of Isaac
blessing Jacob and Esau. When he uses the phrase 'That my soul may
bless thee', is he speaking of that immortal immaterial part of
himself, or is he simply using an emphatic expression for 'That
I may bless thee'? Given the other ways in which
nephesh is used (herself, himself, themselves, etc) which
seems most reasonable?
Numbers 19:22 states:
And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the
soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.
Is this speaking of some
immaterial immortal part of man physically touching an
unclean person, or simply speaking of the person himself?
Simply stated, taken together and
in context, do the above passages teach that man HAS a soul, or that
he IS a soul?
Do the phrases 'his soul', 'my
soul' etc mean 'That immortal part within me', or 'Me myself'?
Does the empathic 'O my soul'
speak of that immortal, immaterial part of man, or the man himself?
The truth is, these verses need no
explanation.
|
AVING
briefly touched upon the description of what makes up a man, as well
as the 'formula' for a soul as given in the book of Genesis, we are
now better prepared for a much deeper study of the way in which 'soul'
is used throughout the Bible.