What is a Soul?
Lessons 7 & 8


Lesson  7

In our last study it was shown that souls die.
Josh. 11:11 - 11. And they smote all the souls (nephesh) that were therein with the edge of the sword, UTTERLY DESTROYING THEM: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire

It will be shown in this lesson that souls (persons, beings, etc…) are mortal and subject to death of various kinds from which they can be delivered and life prolonged. Just as a fireman can save a soul from death by rescuing a person from a burning building.

Gen. 12: 13 - Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

Here Abram told Sarah to pretend that she was his sister to prevent the Egyptians from killing his soul (him).

Jer. 20:13. Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.

In the following verse David is telling Saul that he did not seek to kill him. Yet Saul hunted David to kill him, to take his life.
1 Sam. 24: 11. Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it.

1 Kings 1: 29. And the king sware, and said, As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,

The Psalmist is wanting the Lord to keep him safe from those that hate him, those who can cause him harm.
Ps. 25:19, 20. Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred. O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.

James 5:19, 20. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;. Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul (him) from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

The previous passage is easy to understand if one knows the context and the meaning of 'soul'. Those who were living during that time could suffer an instant judgment of death if they loved not the truth. They would miss the Kingdom. But if someone shows him his fault, and he turns away from his sin, it would prevent the impending judgment of death.

This is similar to the passage in 1 Cor.5:5 concerning those who commit fornication which is another type of sin unto death. The destruction of the flesh is the same as the destruction of the person, the soul. In turn, that soul could be saved from death if he turned away from his sin. It is apparent that Kingdom laws were in force during that time.

In our next lesson it will be shown that "nephesh" is used of man as a dead corpse.

 

Lesson 8

In our previous lesson it was shown that a soul can be saved from impending death and that souls (persons, beings, etc…) are mortal and subject to death of various kinds from which they can be delivered and life prolonged.

Jer. 20:13. Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.

In this lesson it will be shown that "nephesh" is used of man as being dead. It is rendered 3 different ways:

1. "the dead" in Lev. 19:28, 21:1, 22:4, Num. 5:2, 6:11
2. "dead body" Num. 9:6,7,10
3. "body" in Lev. 21:11 Num. 6:6, 19:11, 13 and Hag. 2:13

Let's take a look at some of these:

Lev. 19:28 - Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead (nephesh), nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.

Lev. 21:1 - And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead (nephesh) among his people:

Num. 5: 2. Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead (nephesh).

Num. 9:6. And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body (nephesh) of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:

Hag. 2:13. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body (nephesh) touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.

So "nephesh" can also refer to a corpse, a dead body.

This ends our definitions of the word "soul". From the last 8 lessons it was shown:

1. That "nephesh", translated "soul" occurs over 740 times in the Bible and that "psuche" in the N.T. is the equivalent to "nephesh" in the O. T.
2. The definitions of "soul" are as follows:
A. Persons or living beings - Animals or anything that hath life, which includes oceanic life and creeping things.
B. Persons as pronouns such as: him, her, themselves, himself, etc…
C. As persons expressing desires, appetites, or feelings, such as my soul hateth, my soul doeth magnify the Lord, my soul thirsteth etc..
D. As persons or animals that die, i.e. "and every living soul died in the sea." and that souls can be delivered from impending death.
E. As a dead body, a dead corpse - a dead soul.

 

<Lesson 5 & 6

 

Continue to Related Topics:

Death, No Gateway to Heaven

Scriptures Concerning 'Death', 'Resurrection', 'Eternal life'

HELL: What the Bible REALLY Teaches

The Gates of Hell

The Visible Hell