The meaning of “נֶפֶשׁ”
Understanding nephesh reveals the original theological depth often simplified in translation.
any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, [idiom] dead(-ly), desire, [idiom] (dis-) contented, [idiom] fish, ghost, ...
נֶפֶשׁ
any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, [idiom] dead(-ly), desire, [idiom] (dis-) contented, [idiom] fish, ghost, [phrase] greedy, he, heart(-y), (hath, [idiom] jeopardy of) life ([idiom] in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, [phrase] slay, soul, [phrase] tablet, they, thing, ([idiom] she) will, [idiom] would have it. - properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality - used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental) 1) soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion 1a) that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man 1b) living being 1c) living being (with life in the blood) 1d) the man himself, self, person or individual 1e) seat of the appetites 1f) seat of emotions and passions 1g) activity of mind 1g1) dubious 1h) activity of the will 1h1) dubious 1i) activity of the character 1i1) dubious
Occurrences in the Bible
| Reference | Text | |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis 23:8 | “And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,” Word: נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh) | |
| Judges 10:16 | “And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.” Word: נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh) | |
| 1 Chronicles 22:19 | “Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord. ” Word: נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh) | |
| Ecclesiastes 6:3 | “If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.” Word: נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh) | |
| Hosea 9:4 | “They shall not offer wine offerings to the Lord, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the Lord.” Word: נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh) |
Usage Statistics
Related Words
Cross-referenced Strong's numbers with semantic or etymological connections.
Theological Word Study: Soul
Old Testament Usage
Meaning: Soul, life, self
The Hebrew nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ) denotes the soul or life—the immaterial essence of a person. It represents the whole person, their desires, emotions, and will. God breathed into man and he became 'a living soul' (Genesis 2:7).
New Testament Usage
Meaning: Soul, life, self
The Greek psuche (ψυχή) means soul or life—the seat of emotions and will. Jesus asked, 'What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?' (Mark 8:36).