Is it just me, or does the bible define soul as your physical self?

Question

note: the word soul was translated from Nephesh and Psuche meaning "person".
Numbers 31:19 And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person (nephesh), and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day
Revelation 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls (psuche) of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

So the evidence of soul is my physical self and it cannot be immortal unless it is immortalized (some scifi-like divine adaptation).

and what's with the confusion of soul and spirit? nephesh/psuche (self) and neshama/pneuma (breath) is two different things.

my breath is not me, that's for sure.

M'lady, whether you lose an arm or eye isn't a thing to worry about because Jesus is the reurrection and the life. All things are not lost in him.

lol good pont Kithy

Answer 1

A ship sinks with 1500 "souls" aboard. I think they mean physical bodies, although I've never seen a soul on an x-ray.

Answer 2

That the soul is a "person" is correct. That it is the physical body is not correct. It is explained in Genesis 2:7. There God creates the physical body from the elements of the earth, and breaths into it his breath (also translated spirit), and the results is a living soul. So the soul is the union of the physical and the spiritual. (So also1Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12)

In the Bible, the soul is where the mind, will and emotions reside. It is where decisions or made. It receives information about the physical from the body and the spiritual from the spirit.
When the soul is working with the body, it is referred to as "the flesh". When it is working with the spirit, it is referred to as "the heart".

Your soul as just as much "you" as your body. Same with your spirit. In the course of scripture, each is referred to as "a person" or as being "you". It takes all three of them to function in the current world.

As you quoted in Revelation 6:9, on death that part of you that is the soul (psuche) continues to exist as "you". In is shown there in heaven under the altar after the body were slain.

So, yes, the soul is a "person". Just not the physical part of "you".

Answer 3

What, then is the Soul? The soul is NOT the body, nor the spirit, but is everything else these two are not. We will define the spirit next, but in brief, the soul is our intellect, our personality, in fact, our identity. The first mention of the soul in the Bible is in Genesis 2:7, where is is recorded that Adam BECAME a living soul. Notice that Adam did not RECEIVE a soul, Adam became a soul. Many Bible translations interchange the words "soul", "person", and "life", and this is correct since a soul can touch, according to Leviticus 5:2, a soul can commit a sin, according to Leviticus 5:15, and a soul can also eat according to Leviticus 7:18. Psalms 42:2 records that our soul can "thirst for God".We are created in the image of God according to the Bible. Just as our God is a Triune Being, so are we. We are composed of Body, Soul, and Spirit. Let's confirm this fact by considering 1 Thessalonians 5:23,

"Now may the God of Peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."http://www.macgregorministries.org/jehovahs_witnesses/soul_spirit.html

Answer 4

Exactly. In Genesis, when God created Adam and breathes into him, Adam becomes a "Living Soul".

And I've yet to see anyone call the Holy Spirit the Holy Soul - why is that if they aren't two different things?

Answer 5

If you lose a leg, are you still yourself? If you lose an arm? Maybe an eye? Which part is exactly what makes you be you? The brain? --Cuba Gooding JR. at "What Dreams May Come"

There's a lot going out there. Why worry for vain things when you can try to make a difference in this world? Think of it...

Answer 6

There are many Greek/Hebrew words for our few english words, they all have a differing connotation some contexts referring to an entire being, Spirit Soul and Body. If we look at the overall translation and interpretation we can come to a biblical understanding of what these aspects of our essence are.

The Bible shows that our soul is not our physical self, it is our, mind, our will, our emotions, our conscience. It is that aspect of our person for which we are answerable to God. Take a look at the 35 times that "heart" and "soul" are used in the same verse. We readily understand that the heart is a figurative term for the seat of our emotions. This is a Hebrew idiom that uses synonymous words to expound a point.
Eze 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. ....
This death is explained as the place of eternal punishment in (Rev 2:11, 20:6, 20:14, 21:8)

Our physical self is most definitely our body that expresses our soul in an outward, physical manifestation of our decisions, emotions. It has instincts and natural desires that inherently are not wrong but need to be kept in check.
(1Co 9:27 CEV) I keep my body under control and make it my slave, so I won't lose out after telling the good news to others.

Your subsequent question differentiating the spirit can be answered in the following way: Your Spirit (hebrew - ruach) is your life essence, given by God and that essence of life which has been lent to us it will return to him.
Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit (ruach) shall return unto God who gave it.
Further to that, if our spirit is not filled with the spirit of God then we do not have the power to live above a sinful lifestyle (in our Mind/Soul, and in our Body/Flesh).

The aspect of our humanity that hangs in the balance is our soul. If we do not have the infilling of the Holy Spirit (as evidenced in Acts 2) our spirit is ruled by our soul then we are carnally minded and fulfill the lusts of the flesh. But if we have the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, our soul is then in submission to adopt the mindset of Christ. (Phillipians 2:5)

Paul tied it all together in his letter to the Romans
Rom 8:5-9 For they that are after the FLESH do mind the things of the FLESH; but they that are after the SPIRIT the things of the SPIRIT. (6) For to be CARNALLY MINDED is death; but to be SPIRITUALLY MINDED is life and peace. (7) Because the CARNAL MIND is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (8) So then they that are in the FLESH cannot please God. (9) But ye are not in the FLESH, but in the SPIRIT, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Answer 7

You are attempting to combine spirit and physical. God's world is spiritual, your presence on earth is physical. The 'YOU' is the soul. Your reference to Numbers and Revelation have been explanded a bit better that the literal translation you suggest.

Answer 8

Good statement. (It is marginally a question) No it is not you, it IS Scripture. If you accept the Messiah, who was the word made flesh, and if you accept His word (Which is Scripture) you must (ipso facto) deny all of Churchianity, for there is no "organized religion" that teaches truth, (at least I haven't been able to find one) and the Spirit of YHVH has been promised to guide us into all truth. We must not deny the Spirit, or grieve the Spirit, by which we are sealed.

Answer 9

i believe that Christians are of the impression that upon judgement , the bodies will rise from the graves and be taken to heaven
so yes it seems it is the physical body that is spoken of and not the soul/spirit
this does bring up a lot of questions for me also

Answer 10

read Genesis chapter two verse 7. Jehovah blow the breath of life into Adam and he became a living soul. so we are the soul and when we die our soul dies also. it is also in the king james bible also