Nephesh (???????? nép?e?) is a Biblical Hebrew word which occurs in the Hebrew Bible. The word refers to the aspects of sentience, and human beings and other animals are both described as having nephesh. Plants, as an example of live organisms, are not referred in the Bible as having nephesh. The term ???? is literally "soul", although it is commonly rendered as "life" in English translations. A view is that nephesh relates to sentient being without the idea of life and that, rather than having a nephesh, a sentient creation of God is a nephesh. In Genesis 2:7 the text is that Adam was not given a nephesh but "became a living nephesh." Nephesh then is better understood as person, seeing that Leviticus 21:11 and Numbers 6:6 speak of a "dead body", which in Hebrew is a nép?e? mê?, a dead nephesh. Nephesh when put with another word can detail aspects related to the concept of nephesh; with ?????? rûach ("spirit") it describes a part of mankind that is immaterial, like one's mind, emotions, will, intellect, personality, and conscience, as in Job 7:11.
Video Nephesh
Biblical use
The word nephesh occurs 754 times in the Hebrew Bible. The first four times nephesh is used in the Bible, it is used exclusively to describe animals: Gen 1:20 (sea life), Gen 1:21 (great sea life), Gen 1:24 (land creatures), Gen 1:30 (birds and land creatures). At Gen 2:7 nephesh is used as description of man.
Job 12:7-10 offers a distinct similarity between ??? (ruah) and ???? (nephesh): "In His hand is the life (nephesh) of every living thing and the spirit (ruah) of every human being."
The Hebrew term, nephesh chayyah is often translated "living soul". Chayyah alone is often translated living thing or animal. The Hebrew word tsiyyi is translated wild animal.
Often nephesh is used as saving your life, nephesh then is referring to complete person's life as in Joshua 2:13; Isaiah 44:20; 1 Samuel 19:11; Psalm 6:5; 49:15; 72:13.
The Greek the word ???? (psyche) is the closest equivalent to the Hebrew nephesh. In its turn, the Latin word for ???? is anima, etymon of the word animal.
Maps Nephesh
See also
- Human spirit
- Immortality
- On the Soul by Aristotle
- Pikuach nefesh
- Soul in the Bible
References
- Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (3 Volume Set), March, 1993, by Horst Balz
- A.B.Davidson (Professor of Hebrew & O.T. exegesis, Edinburgh), The Theology of the Old Testament, Edinburgh: T.& T. Clark, 1904/25, p.200-201
Source of article : Wikipedia
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