The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1
III. Nephesh as Translated in the English Versions
1. ENGLISH TRANSLATION REVEALS SIGNIFICANT FACTS
It seems proper to ask at this point whether the English versions really convey to the common English reader the true meaning of nephesh. A survey will reveal some interesting facts. CFF1 148.14
One interesting and useful analysis is to be found in The Companion Bible, Appendix 13. The following facts and figures are taken from it: CFF1 148.15
Nephesh occurs in the Old Testament 754 times. In the K.J.V. and the R.V. it is translated “soul” 472 times, and by 44 different words in 282 other occurrences.
Nephesh is used of the lower animals only—in 22 instances.
Nephesh is used of lower animals and man—7 times. (The first usage of nephesh is Genesis 1:20.)
Nephesh is used of man as an individual—53 times.
Nephesh is used of man as exercising certain powers or performing certain acts—96 times.
Nephesh is used of man as possessing animal appetites and passions 22 times.
Nephesh is used of man as exercising mental faculties and manifesting feelings, affections, and passions—231 times in 20 different ways.
Nephesh is used of man “cut off” by God, and being slain or killed in 54 passages.
Nephesh is used of man as mortal, subject to death, but from which he can be delivered—in 243 passages.
Nephesh is used of man as actually dead—in 13 passages.
Finally, nephesh is used of man (all rendered “soul”) as going (1) to she’ol, (2) to the “grave,” (3) to “hell,” (4) to the “pit”—hence a grave, (5) a “deep pit,” and (6) into “silence.” 4
CFF1 148.16
Another summary presents the facts in a slightly different way. CFF1 149.1
In the K.J.V. the Hebrew word nephesh is translated as follows:
471 times soul (every text in the Old Testament where soul is used except two, Job 30:15 and Isaiah 57:16).
118 times life (life’s, lives).
29 times person.
15 times mind.
15 times heart.
9 times creature.
7 times body.
5 times dead.
4 times man.
3 times me.
3 times beast.
2 times ghost. 1 time fish.
CFF1 149.2
Nephesh is also translated one or more times as me, he, thee, they, her, herself, him (and other forms of the personal pronoun), and as will, appetite, lust, thing, breath, etc. 5 CFF1 149.3
One thing is abundantly clear from this analysis. The Hebrew word nephesh was used in a variety of contexts with a variety of meanings. This is common in a language that is as word poor as Hebrew. To present the correct meaning it is necessary to use many different English words, depending for guidance on the context. CFF1 150.1
2. INTERESTING VARIATIONS IN R.S.V
Let us now turn to the Revised Standard Version, and make some comparisons. At the time of this writing the R.S.V. is the latest group-produced English translation of the complete Old Testament. Others are in preparation, and may reveal additional facts for our quest. A check of the computer-produced Concordance of the Revised Standard Version reveals that the words soul and souls are used 200 times in the Old Testament. A cross-check with the Englishman’s Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance, which lists every text in which nephesh occurs, with the English translation in the K.J.V., reveals that only 190 times is nephesh translated soul in the R.S.V. CFF1 150.2
This is interesting, for it reveals that the translators were aware of the difficulties presented by the word soul and have used the other English meanings of nephesh in 281 more cases than the K.J.V. In the R.S.V. many of the uses of soul for nephesh refer to the mind, will, emotions, desires. In a few cases soul is retained where life or person would be appropriate. CFF1 150.3
3. PROBLEMS CONFRONT THE TRANSLATORS
One text in particular is worthy of mention because it is often used by those who believe in an immortal soul that can separate from the body. In the R.S.V., Genesis 35:18 reads: “As her soul was departing (for she died), she called his name Benoni.” It would appear that here the revisers did not follow the principles they had been using in the other texts. Nephesh could very well have been translated life, since the text goes on to explain that she died. CFF1 150.4
Several modern translators have recognized this, for they translate this verse in harmony with Hebrew usage to give the correct English meaning. CFF1 151.1
Berkeley: “With her last breath—for she expired—...” CFF1 151.2
Fenton: “But she breathing out her life—for she was dying—...”
Moffatt: “As her life went from her (for she died) ...”
Knox: “... her life was ebbing away in her pangs ...”
Quite parallel to this text is 1 Kings 17:21, 22: “And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.” CFF1 151.3
This child was dead, for in verse 17 it is said, “His sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.” He had stopped breathing. CFF1 151.4
Here the R.S.V. continues the use of the word “soul” from the K. J.V., but again in apparent violation of its principles in other texts. Several modern translations follow the Hebrew consistently: CFF1 151.5
Moffatt: “... the child’s life came back and he revived.” CFF1 151.6
Knox: “... the boy’s life returned to him, and he revived.” CFF1 151.7
Berkeley: “... the life of the child returned to him, and he lived again.” CFF1 151.8
Smith—Goodspeed: “... the life of the child came back to him again; so that he lived.” CFF1 151.9
Rotherham: “... the life of the boy came again within him and he lived.” CFF1 151.10
It should be added that in the new Jewish Publication Society translation, of which only the Pentateuch is available at present, the translators have designedly omitted the English word soul altogether, because in their opinion it does not correctly represent the Hebrew meaning in any text. CFF1 151.11
4. THREE CLEAR CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING “NEPHESH.”
It is now possible to draw some definite conclusions about nephesh. CFF1 151.12
(1) “Nephesh” is not an independent entity—something that is separate, or separable, from the individual himself; something put into one when he is brought into being, and that lives on after he is dead, a sort of double, another self. There are not two personalities in man. Man is an integer, a single personality, a unit. CFF1 152.1
(2) “Nephesh” does not denote something peculiar to man alone, distinguishing him from the animals beneath him in the scale of being. There is assuredly a radical difference, a fixed gulf, between the lowest type of man and the very highest order of brute or beast. But nephesh is not the differentiating factor, for the term nephesh is applied to lower animals as well as man. CFF1 152.2
(3) “Nephesh” definitely does not designate something in man that is immortal and indestructible. CFF1 152.3
If nephesh does not denote a separate entity that may survive death and separate from the body, is it possible that the word “spirit” can carry such a connotation? The English word “spirit” is often the translation of the Hebrew word ruach. So let us study this word to discover its real meaning. CFF1 152.4