Biblical Hebrew
Biblical Hebrew ( or ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite languages, Canaanitic branch of the Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Isra ...
word which occurs in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' sentience
Sentience is the ability to experience feelings and sensations. It may not necessarily imply higher cognitive functions such as awareness, reasoning, or complex thought processes. Some writers define sentience exclusively as the capacity for ''v ...
, and human beings and other animals are both described as being nephesh. Not all living organisms are referred to as Nefesh, arthropods ("bugs") and plants, for example, are not described in the Bible as nephesh. The primary meaning of the term is 'the breath of life' instinct in the nostrils of all living beings, and by extension 'life', 'person' or 'very self'. There English corresponding term to nephesh is the (Christian) '
soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
', which has very similar connotations, and is customarily used to translate it. One 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 , the text is not that
Adam
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam).
According to Christianity, Adam ...
was given a nephesh but that Adam "became a living nephesh." Nephesh when put with another word can detail aspects related to the concept of nephesh; with rûach (“breath”, “wind,” or "spirit") it describes a part of mankind that is immaterial, like one's mind, emotions, will, intellect, personality, and conscience, as in .
Biblical use
The word nephesh occurs 754 times in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' ruah'') and נפׁש (''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.
Often nephesh is used in the context of ''saving your life'', nephesh then is referring to an entire person's life as in Joshua 2:13; Isaiah 44:20; 1 Samuel 19:11; Psalm 6:5; 49:15; 72:13.
In Greek, the word ψυχή ('' psyche'') is the closest equivalent to the Hebrew ''nephesh''.Compare Psalm 16:10 and Acts 2:27; Also, SDA Bible Commentary (Review and Herald; Washington DC, 1960), Vol.8, Bible Dictionary, p.1037 notes "The usage of the Greek word psuche in the NT is similar to that of nephesh in the OT." In its turn, the Latin word for ψυχή is ''anima'', etymon of the word ''animal''.
Immortality
Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess "biological immortality" due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit.
From at least the time of the Ancient Mesopotamian religion, ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a con ...