N S B Notes: Soul, Living Being, Person
Hebrew: nephesh, Greek: psyche, Latin: anima
The Hebrew word nephesh is found 754 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. The Greek word psyche occurs 102 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Most older Bible translations render these words to the English word “soul.”
WHAT IS THE SOUL? The basic meaning for the word "soul" is living being, person, individual, and life. However, the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans identified a soul as the spirit part of the living being. They suggested that the soul was immortal, meaning it did not die but left the body at death. The Holy Scriptures do not teach this. Ezekiel was inspired by God to state, “the soul that is sinning will die.”—Eze 18:4.
The word “soul” is a very old word. It has been used and abused for many years. When the Bible was first translated into English nearly 600 years ago the word soul was in use. You can find it in the old 1611 King James Version, 1599 Geneva Bible, 1530 William Tyndale Bible, and 1395 John Wycliffe Bible. The Latin word anima is translated to the English word soul. It is found in Jerome’s Latin Vulgate written in the year 405 C.E.
The English word “soul” is not found in the New Simplified Bible. The transliteration of old English words into twenty-first century words received top priority in this rendering. (See Simplified Bible Dictionary: SOUL) Major doctrines have been established based on wrongful understanding of the meaning of words. This may cause some concern, but reliable authoritative proof is available if the reader wishes to research the matter with an honest heart.
The primary problem with translating the words “nephesh” and “psyche” to English words other than “soul” is that it requires a number of different words. The word used in each specific situation must be determined by the context of the verse and therefore consistent use of the same word is not always practical.
SOUL IS NOT A SEPARATE ENTITY: The Greek philosopher Plato promoted the idea that the soul was something that existed separate from the body. Many other great thinkers followed Plato. Great men of learning were respected as very wise scholars. For that reason their teachings were accepted by religious persons down through the ages. But what does the word soul really mean? Is it really something separate from the body?
When you use the word “soul” you allow the human mind to imagine a separate spiritual entity that lives on after death. Such phrases as "[God] redeemed my soul out of all distress." (1 Kings 1:29), “the LORD redeems the soul of his servants” (Ps 34:22), “you shall not abandon my soul to sheol” (Ps 16:10), and “he restores my soul” (Ps 23:3), speak of the soul as if it was something entirely separate from the person. The possessive term “my soul” is used. It makes it sound as if the soul is something we have separate from ourselves. Peter talked about the righteous man Lot whose soul was tormented. Was the man tormented or was his soul tormented? (2 Pe 2:8)
Look at Revelation 20:4, "And I saw thrones, and there were those who sat down on them, and power of judging was given them. Yes, I saw the souls of those executed with the ax for the witness they bore to Jesus and for speaking about God,…" (NWT) What did the apostle John really see? Did he see the people or did he see souls of the people? The reader could be deceived into believing that Jesus Christ showed John a vision of the so-called “eternal soul.”
A direct literal translation would find it easier to use the word soul since it tries to translate word-for-word instead of thought-for-thought. The New Simplified Bible is a thought-for-thought translation. Use the word soul? No thank you…the word soul does not belong in the Bible anymore.
The word Nephesh is found 754 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. The following list is a partial sample of the translation of the Hebrew word Nephesh in the NSB:
Person, People and related words:
Genesis 12:5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set out for the land of Canaan and soon arrived there.
Genesis 14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram: “Give me the people, but take the goods for yourself.”
Genesis 36:6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods, which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob.
Exodus 12:4 “‘A household may be too small to eat a whole animal. That household and the one next-door can share one animal. Choose your animal based on the number of people and what each person can eat.
Proverbs 11:25 The liberal person will prosper. He who waters will be watered.
Proverbs 19:2 It is not good to be a person without knowledge.
Jeremiah 43:6 They took men, women, children, and the king's daughters. They took every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, including the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch, son of Neriah.
Jeremiah 52:29 In his eighteenth year, Nebuchadnezzar took eight hundred and thirty-two people from Jerusalem.
Being:
Genesis 2:7 Jehovah God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. The man became a living being.
Proverbs 25:25 As cold waters to a thirsty man, so is good news from a far country.
Life: Genesis 12:13 “Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you.”
Genesis 19:19 “You have been so kind to me and saved my life, and you have granted me such mercy. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die.
Genesis 19:20 “There is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead. Do you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.”
Exodus 4:19 Jehovah said to Moses in Midian: “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”
Exodus 31:14 “‘You are to observe the Sabbath. It is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it will absolutely be put to death. Whoever does any work on it will be removed from his people.
Deuteronomy 19:6 “Otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in the heat of his anger. He may overtake him and because the way is long he may take his life. Even though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously.
Deuteronomy 22:26 “Do nothing to the woman. There is no sin in the woman worthy of death. This is like the case where a man attacks and murders his neighbor.
Joshua 2:13, 14 “That you will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brothers and sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” The men answered her: “Our life for yours, if you do not reveal our business. It will be, when Jehovah has given us the land. We will deal kindly and truly with you.”
Psalms 19:7 The law of Jehovah is perfect. It gives new life. The testimony of Jehovah is dependable. It makes the simple wise.
Ezekiel 27:13 “‘“Japan, Tubal and Meshech were your traders. They paid for your merchandise with the lives of men and vessels of bronze.
Dear Brothers, please meditate and pray about the use of the word "soul." It just may be time to change to a more honest and discriptive term for this word.
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