What is a soul?

Answer 1

What is a Soul?
Right in the very first book of the Bible, Genesis, we are told that the soul is not something you have, it is something you are. We read of the creation of Adam, the first human being: “The man came to be a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7) The Hebrew word used here for soul, ne'phesh, occurs well over 700 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, never once conveying the idea of a separate, ethereal, spiritual part of man. On the contrary, the soul is tangible, concrete, physical.

Look up the following cited texts in your own copy of the Bible, for the Hebrew word ne'phesh is found in each of them. They clearly show that the soul can face risk, danger, and even be kidnapped (Deuteronomy 24:7; Judges 9:17; 1 Samuel 19:11); touch things (Job 6:7); be locked up in irons (Psalm 105:18); crave to eat, be afflicted by fasting, and faint from hunger and thirst; and suffer from a wasting disease or even insomnia as a result of grief. (Deuteronomy 12:20; Psalm 35:13; 69:10;) In other words, because your soul is you, your very self, your soul can experience anything you can experience.

Does that mean, then, that the soul can actually die? Yes. Far from being immortal, human souls are spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures as being “cut off,” or executed, for wrongdoing, being struck fatally, murdered, destroyed, and torn to pieces. (Exodus 31:14; Deuteronomy 19:6; 22:26; Psalm 7:2) “The soul that is sinning, it itself will die,” says Ezekiel 18:4. Clearly, death is the common end of human souls, since all of us sin. (Psalm 51:5) The first man, Adam, was told that the penalty for sin was death, not transfer to the spirit realm and immortality. (Genesis 2:17) And when he sinned, the sentence was pronounced: “For dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19) When Adam and Eve died, they simply became what the Bible often refers to as ‘dead souls’ or ‘deceased souls.’



Precisely the same Hebrew phrase used of the animal creation, namely, ne'phesh chai·yah' (living soul), is applied to Adam, when, after God formed man out of dust from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, “the man came to be a living soul.” (Ge 2:7) Man was distinct from the animal creation, but that distinction was not because he was a ne'phesh (soul) and they were not. Rather, the record shows that it was because man alone was created “in God’s image.” (Ge 1:26, 27) He was created with moral qualities like those of God, with power and wisdom far superior to the animals; hence he could have in subjection all the lower forms of creature life. (Ge 1:26, 28) Man’s organism was more complex, as well as more versatile, than that of the animals. (1Co 15:39.) Likewise, Adam had, but lost, the prospect of eternal life; this is never stated with regard to the creatures lower than man.

Soul, A Living Creature

As stated, man “came to be a living soul”; hence man was a soul, he did not have a soul as something immaterial, invisible, and intangible residing inside him. The apostle Paul shows that the Christian teaching did not differ from the earlier Hebrew teaching, for he quotes Genesis 2:7 in saying: “It is even so written: ‘The first man Adam became a living soul.’ The first man is out of the earth and made of dust.” 1Co 15:45-47.

The Genesis account shows that a living soul results from the combination of the earthly body with the breath of life. The expression “breath of the force of life [literally, breath of the spirit, or active force (ru'ach), of life]” (Ge 7:22) indicates that it is by breathing air (with its oxygen) that the life-force, or “spirit,” in all creatures, man and animals, is sustained. This life-force is found in every cell of the creature’s body

Answer 2

it is you it is your true self that is immortal and undying
Now I have been told that the soul leaves the body at death. Not very convincing to me. I think the body is a receiver and sender of experiance to the soul that exists outside of our universe beyond time and all duality with the creator or not seperate from the creator. When the Body dies it does not affect a soul that was never there but there, The body is like a space probe. The soul is mission control and ego is what makes us think we are here not there.

Answer 3

Something for which we have no evidence whatsoever. Of course, if you're talking about the philotic core, or aiua, then I accept that as being possible, if improbable. But I'm assuming that you're referring to the Judeo-Christian concept of the immortal soul, which can be tarnished by sin or wiped clean by the unpleasant death of some Jewish carpenter that may or may not have lived about 2000 years ago, then I'm afraid that I have to inform you that it's a myth. Just like your god.

Answer 4

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12
New International Version

Answer 5

A soul is a vibrational frequency that embodies the essence of one's life force. It has intrinsic value and its' strength relies on spiritual enlightenment and the capacity for a person to be both wise and compassionate.

Answer 6

It is YOU. When you look in the mirror what you see is a physical machine that takes in nourishment and uses it for power to move, jump, run, etc. But it is just a physical house in which YOU abide. It really doesn't matter whether you drive a beat up 1963 volkswagen beetle or a 2006 cadillac. That's just the outside. It's not you. God looks at YOU. That's why he wants YOU to live with Him eternally. Your body will turn to dust but YOU will live forever.

Answer 7

It is the eternal "you" that will always exist somewhere. When your soul leaves your body you and your soul are somewhere other than on the earth. You will receive an eternal body when the world is ended that will be perfect. The new body will never die. For all believers in Christ your new body will be like Jesus.

Answer 8

Your soul is your body. God blew into Adams nostrils and he became a living soul. Your Spirit is not the same thing as your soul. Your Spirit is your breath of life. When you die your Spirit, (or your breath) Goes back to God, but your soul stays here in the grave. You know nothing nor are you conscious of anything. Then when Jesus comes back, if you have served God, you will receive you spirit back(breath of life)

Answer 9

Man himself is a soul. 1Corinthians 15:45 "It is even so written: 'The first man Adam became a living soul.' "

Answer 10

A soul is two people attach together.