- What is the spirit?
Answer: Genesis 2:7 tells us what God gave at Creation, “the breath of life.” Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, what God gave is the “spirit.” You will see that “breath” and “spirit” are used interchangeably in the Scripture. In the poetry of the Old Testament, they often repeat the same thought, but in different words. Job 27:3 makes it very clear that our breath and the spirit of God is the same thing. The word “breath” (7307) in Psalm 104:29 and 146:4 is the same word interpreted “spirit” (word# 7307) in Ecclesiastes 12:7 and Job 27:3 above. Compare Job 33:4 and James 2:26. - What is the soul?
Answer: Notice, the Scripture says, man became, or was made, a living soul. The Scripture does not say, God placed a soul into man (Genesis 2:7, Ecclesiastes 12:7, Isaiah 57:16, 1 Corinthians 15:45). The Hebrew word translated “life” in Genesis 1:20,30 is the same word translated as “soul” in Genesis 2:7 (word #5315). So is the Hebrew word translated “living creature” in Genesis 1:21,24; 9:16. Any creature on the earth that walks, runs, hops, flies, crawls, slithers; in other words, anything that is alive, is a “soul.” The Scripture is very clear, in Numbers 31:28 and Revelation 16:3 that both man, animals, and the fish in the sea are souls. Every living creature has the “breath of life” (Genesis 7:21-23). The word “soul” is used to refer to a person or people in James 5:20, Exodus 1:5, Genesis 12:5, Numbers 9:13 and Proverbs 25:25. - Where is the “soul” located?
Answer: In the blood (Leviticus 17:11-14). “Life” and “soul” here is word #5315. This explains Acts 17:26. - What is the word “soul” translated from in the Old Testament?
Answer: The Hebrew word commonly rendered “soul” in the Old Testament is “nephesh” (word #5315). With two exceptions (Job 30:15, Isaiah 57:16), the word “soul” in the Old Testament is always translated from “nephesh”. The word “nephesh” occurs 428 times. “nephesh” is also translated as “life” 118 times, “person” 29 times, “mind” 15 times, and “heart” 15 times. The word “nephesh” is never translated as “spirit.” - What is the word “soul” translated from in the New Testament?
Answer: “Soul” is rendered from the Greek word “psuche” 58 times. “Psuche” is also translated as “life” 40 times. The word “psuche” is never translated as “spirit.” - What are the three scriptural meanings of the word “soul?”
Answer: The word “soul” means a “person” as in Exodus 16:16. “Mind” (affections, desires) as in Psalm 103:1; 139:14. And “Life” as in Matthew 16:25-26. - Can a “soul” die?
Answer: Yes (Psalm 22:29; 49:15, Job 7:15). The Hebrew word translated “soul” in Ezekiel 18:4,20 is the same as “soul” in Genesis 2:7 (word #5315). If a soul couldn’t die, then there would be no need to “save a soul from death” (James 5:20). - Where is the “soul” at death?
Answer: The grave (Job 33:18,22,28,30, Psalm 30:3; 89:48). - What is the word “spirit” translated from in the Old Testament?
Answer: The Hebrew word commonly rendered “spirit” in the Old Testament is “Ruwach” (word# 7307). With two exceptions (Job 26:4, Proverbs 20:27), the word “spirit” in the Old Testament is always translated from “Ruwach”. The word Ruwach occurs 378 times, and is never rendered as “soul.” - What is the word “spirit” translated from in the New Testament?
Answer: The Greek word commonly rendered “spirit” in the New Testament is “Pneuma” (word# 4151). With two exceptions (Matthew 14:26, Mark 6:49), the word “spirit” in the New Testament is always translated from “Pneuma”. Pneuma occurs 385 times, and is never rendered as “soul.” - What are some examples of the “spirit” in scripture?
Answer: There’s an evil spirit (Judges 9:23), the spirit of the dead (Leviticus 20:27), spirit of jealously (Numbers 5:14), a sorrowful spirit (1 Samuel 1:15), a contrite spirit (Psalm 34:18), a broken spirit (Psalm 51:17), a haughty spirit (Proverbs 16:18), a spirit of judgment and burning (Isaiah 4:4), a perverse spirit (Isaiah 19:14), the spirit of deep sleep (Isaiah 29:10), a troubled spirit (Daniel 2:1), the spirit of whoredoms (Hosea 4:12), an unclean spirit (Matthew 12:43), a dumb spirit (Mark 9:17), a foul spirit (Mark 9:25), a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:11), a spirit of divination (Acts 16:16), a spirit of bondage (Romans 8:15), the spirit of the world (1 Corinthians 2:12), seducing spirits (1 Timothy 4:1), the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7), a foul spirit (Revelation 18:2), a spirit of error (1 John 4:13), the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2), the Spirit of God (Romans 15:19), and the Holy Spirit(Luke 11:13).Now, if a “broken spirit, a “haughty spirit,” and the “spirit of jealousy” are not descriptions of actual beings who roam the earth, but are just descriptions of someone’s mood, why is it that people believe an “evil spirit” is a separate being and not a description of someone’s mood? - Does man’s “spirit” (breath) return to God who gave it?
Answer: Yes (Ecclesiastes 3:21; 12:7). Using the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance we see that the word “breath” (7307 ruwach) in Psalms 104:29 and Psalms 146:4 is the same word interpreted “spirit” (7307 ruwach) in Job 34:14 and Ecclesiastes 12:7. The word “breath” (5397 nshamah) in Job 34:14 is the same as used in Genesis 2:7“…breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…” (5397 nshamah). Even the spirit of the wicked person goes back to God. The spirit (breath of life; the power that gives life) is neither righteous nor sinful. - Are the “soul” and “spirit” immortal?
Answer: The words “Ruwach” and “Pneuma” rendered “spirit,” like “Nephesh” and “Psuche” rendered “soul,” have no qualifying words like immortal, everlasting, undying, endless, or any other word having a similar meaning.