The BibleTexts.com Bible Commentary

soul

A personal self ? (Gen 2:7) or the divine I AM ? (Exo 3:14)

(A personal identity? or "The only I, or Us?" - S&H 591:16)

version 5.02

by Robert Nguyen Cramer

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Summary

Nephesh, the Old Testament Hebrew word nephesh and New Testament Greek word psuche translated in the Bible as soul are also translated as self; life, and person. In common versions of the Old Testament, the phrases, "my soul" and "our soul," really means -- and modern translations often translate them as -- I, me, we, or us.

Though neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament directly states that nephesh or psuche is God, in Exo 3:14 God identifies himself as the "I AM," who declares, "I AM THAT I AM" or "I AM WHO I AM." The Greek Septuagint, the early Christians' Greek Old Testament, read, Ego eimi ho on, translatable into English as, "I am the Being."

The phrase, Ego eimi or I AM, has great significance in the Gospel of John. Rather than Christ Jesus being just another personal self, independent of God, Christ was/is the image of God, the I AM, his/the divine Soul, the true basis for Christ Jesus' selfhood. When Christ Jesus spoke or acted, he did so because God, spoke or acted. That Christ Jesus recognized God as his/the divine Soul, the I AM, is arguably the significance of Jesus' "I am" sayings in the Gospel of John.


1.a. Soul defined from its Hebrew word nephesh [return to table of contents]

The Hebrew word translatable as soul is "nephesh" <Strong's #05315>, but as Vine's Dictionary of Bible Words points out, it includes all of the following meanings: soul; self; life; person; heart. Vine's goes on to say,

The Bible frequently uses "my soul" or "our soul" as an identification of the first person, I, me, we, or us. (See also S&H 591:16) For example, in the Old Testament we read:

This provides some interesting food for thought, because in the Fourth Gospel when Jesus use the term I, he had a very different basis for that I. When he used I AM, there is a clear reference to Exo 3:14, which identifies God as the "I AM," who declares "I AM THAT I AM" or "I AM WHO I AM." (The Greek Septuagint, the early Christians' Greek Old Testament, read, Ego eimi ho on, translatable into English as, "I am the Being." The phrase, Ego eimi or I AM, has great significance in the Gospel of John.

Rather than Christ Jesus being just another personal self, independent of God, Christ was/is the image of God, the I AM, his/the divine Soul, the true basis for Christ Jesus' selfhood. When Christ Jesus spoke or acted, he did so because God, spoke or acted. That Christ Jesus recognized God as his/the divine Soul, the I AM, is arguably the significance of Jesus' "I am" sayings in the Gospel of John. For more details regarding Jesus' "I am" sayings, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/i-am.htm.

For an additional definition of the Hebrew word, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/glossary/soul.htm#nepes.

1.b. Soul defined from its Greek word psuche [return to table of contents]

For a definition of the Greek word, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/glossary/soul.htm#psuche.


2. Two accounts of the creation of man/woman [return to table of contents]

The distinction between soul as a personal self and Soul as the divine I AM is made clear by the two different descriptions of man/woman in the first two chapters of Genesis, in which two different biblical accounts of creation are presented.

Biblical scholars today have strong evidence that the creation story of Genesis 2 and 3 represents an earlier tradition than the creation account in Genesis 1. (For example, see The Old Testament Library: Genesis, by Gerhard von Rad, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1972, pages 24-25. See also HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, Revised Edition, edited by Paul J. Achtemeier and the Society of Biblical Literature, New York: HarperCollins, 1996, pages 210-211. See also Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, Boston: The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 1910, page 523:14-32.)


3. Two types of man/woman [return to table of contents]

The discovery that the Genesis 2 and 3 ("Adam and Eve") account of creation likely was written several hundred years earlier than the Genesis 1 ("In the beginning...") account of creation fits well with the creation order that Paul describes in his letter to the church in Corinth, regardless of whether or not Paul was in any way aware of the historical sequence of the two creation accounts. Paul writes:

It is helpful to note that the word translated in 1Co 15:45 as a living "being" is translated from the Greek word psuche <Strong's #5590>, which in English means a "soul" or "breath-based, sensual, animal-like life." Here Paul is directly paraphrasing from Genesis 2:7. The word translated above as "physical" is translated from the related Greek adjective psuchikos <Strong's #5591>, which in English means "breath-based, sensual, animal-like."

The following table shows the origin of and the actual meaning of the theological term soul, which is used as a means of personally identifying each mortal man/woman.

The "last Adam" or Christ as "a quickening spirit" is the epitome of the Genesis 1 "man," which is described as follows:

The man/woman of Genesis 1 is described as the "image" or "likeness" (Gen 1:26) of God, and God is later revealed as the I AM (Exodus 3:13) , the divine Soul. Christ is described in the New Testament as the "image" or the "reflection" of God and as being one with God.

Those "in Christ" are described as having a "new self" and as being transformed into "the image" of Christ -- and into "the image" of the "creator."

These verses illustrate how and why the personal soul, the "old self" of mortal man/woman, differs greatly from the divine Soul, God, the I AM, which is Christ's basis of identity and authority. Christ, as "the image of ... God" (Col 2:15), is eternally one with God. The New Testament tells us that "the old self" (NAB, NASB, NRSV, et al) or "the old man" (KJV, NJB, et al) has to be stripped off, and we need to be transformed, in Christ and "clothed.. with the new self," in "the image" of God. And, stimulating further food for thought as to the nature of God, the "image of God" was created "male and female." (Gen 1:27) Thus, God is the Soul of "the new man/woman" in Christ -- the Soul of "the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." (Eph 4:24)

For Bible dictionary definitions of soul, browse http://www.bibletexts.com/glossary/soul.htm .

Copyright 1996-2002 Robert Nguyen Cramer