Nephesh
Encyclopedia
The Bible
portrays the concept of Soul
most commonly using the Hebrew word nephesh and the Greek word psyche.
The Greek Septuagint mostly uses psyche
to translate nephesh
. English translations of the Bible
use the word "soul" to translate nephesh in the Hebrew Bible and psyche in the New Testament
.
The New Testament follows the terminology of the Septuagint, and thus uses the word psyche with the Hebrew semantic domain
and not the Greek. The traditional Christian concept of an immaterial and immortal soul separate from the body is not found in pre-exilic Judaism
, but may have evolved as a result of interaction with Persian and Hellenistic philosophy.
, there was the establishing of the Roman Catholic tradition of the inherent immortality of the soul and its divine nature. Inherent immortality of the soul was accepted among western and eastern theologians throughout the middle ages
, and after the Reformation, as evidenced by the Westminster Confession.
made no reference to an "immortal soul" independent of the body. This view is represented consistently in a wide range of scholarly reference works.
In the last six decades, conditional immortality, or "immortality by grace" , of the soul has also been widely accepted among Eastern Orthodox theologians, by returning to the views of the late 2nd century, where immortality was still considered as a gift granted with the value of Jesus' death and resurrection.
Many modern theologians reject the view that the doctrine of the immortal soul is taught in the Bible, and Hebblethwaite observes the doctrine is "not popular amongst Christian theologians or among Christian philosophers today". See also Soul death.
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
portrays the concept of Soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
most commonly using the Hebrew word nephesh and the Greek word psyche.
The Greek Septuagint mostly uses psyche
Psyche
- Psychology :* Psyche , a concept of intangible self* Psyche , a periodical on the study of consciousness* Soul in the Bible, or psyche , spirit or soul in philosophy and theology- Art :...
to translate nephesh
Nephesh
The Bible portrays the concept of Soul most commonly using the Hebrew word nephesh and the Greek word psyche.The Greek Septuagint mostly uses psyche to translate nephesh...
. English translations of the Bible
English translations of the Bible
The efforts of translating the Bible from its original languages into over 2,000 others have spanned more than two millennia. Partial translations of the Bible into languages of the English people can be traced back to the end of the 7th century, including translations into Old English and Middle...
use the word "soul" to translate nephesh in the Hebrew Bible and psyche in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
.
The New Testament follows the terminology of the Septuagint, and thus uses the word psyche with the Hebrew semantic domain
Semantic domain
Semantics is a term that refers to how meaning is assigned in language . A domain is essentially a specific place or territory . A semantic domain is a specific place that shares a set of meanings, or a language that holds its meaning, within the given context of the place...
and not the Greek. The traditional Christian concept of an immaterial and immortal soul separate from the body is not found in pre-exilic Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, but may have evolved as a result of interaction with Persian and Hellenistic philosophy.
Etymology
The only Hebrew word traditionally translated soul [nephesh] in English language Bibles refers to a life breath which returns to God at death, rather than to an immortal soul. In the New Testament, the Greek word traditionally translated soul [psyche] has substantially the same meaning as the Hebrew, without reference to an immortal soul.Man as Nephesh
Animals as Nephesh
Biblical definition
Genesis 2:7 gives the formula for creating a soul. According to this verse God did not make a body and put a soul into it like a letter into an envelope of dust. Rather he formed man's body from the dust; then, by breathing His breath into it, he made the body of dust live, i.e. the dust did not embody a soul, but it became a soul—a whole creature.Immortality
The concept of an immaterial soul separate from and surviving the body is common today but was not found in ancient Hebrew beliefs. The word never means an immortal soul or an incorporeal part of the human being that can survive death of the body as the spirit of dead.Historical Christianity
In Patristic thought, towards the end of the 2nd century, psyche was begun to be understood in a more Greek than a Hebrew way, contrasted with the body. By the 3rd century, with the influence of OrigenOrigen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
, there was the establishing of the Roman Catholic tradition of the inherent immortality of the soul and its divine nature. Inherent immortality of the soul was accepted among western and eastern theologians throughout the middle ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, and after the Reformation, as evidenced by the Westminster Confession.
Modern scholarship
The modern scholarly consensus is that the canonical teaching of the Old TestamentOld Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
made no reference to an "immortal soul" independent of the body. This view is represented consistently in a wide range of scholarly reference works.
In the last six decades, conditional immortality, or "immortality by grace" , of the soul has also been widely accepted among Eastern Orthodox theologians, by returning to the views of the late 2nd century, where immortality was still considered as a gift granted with the value of Jesus' death and resurrection.
Many modern theologians reject the view that the doctrine of the immortal soul is taught in the Bible, and Hebblethwaite observes the doctrine is "not popular amongst Christian theologians or among Christian philosophers today". See also Soul death.