A word used to translate the Greek word psuche and the Hebrew nephesh.
The Greek philosopher Plato, who lived in the fourth century BC, believed that the soul is the eternal part of humans. While the body dies, the soul does not. When a person dies, their soul enters another body. If they were bad, their soul might go into a lower human, an animal, or a bird. Over time, through moving from one body to another, the soul is purified of evil. In the early centuries of the Christian era, Gnosticism also taught that the body was like a prison for the soul. Redemption, or being saved, happened when people learned Gnostic secrets, allowing their soul to be freed from the body.
Biblical View of the Soul
The Bible has a different view of the soul.
Soul in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, the soul is vital to human life. The Hebrew and Greek words for soul often mean "life" and can sometimes refer to the life of animals (Genesis 1:20; Leviticus 11:10). “Soul for soul” means “life for life” (Exodus 21:23). In legal texts, a soul means a person in relation to the law (for example, “If a soul shall sin…,” Leviticus 4:2, King James Version). When people were counted, they were counted as souls, meaning persons (Exodus 1:5; Deuteronomy 10:22).
More narrowly, the soul refers to human emotions and inner strength. People are called to love God with all their heart and soul (Deuteronomy 13:3).
Certain aspects of life come from the soul:
Knowledge and understanding (Psalm 139:14)
Thought (1 Samuel 20:3)
Memory (Lamentations 3:20)
Here, the soul is like the self, one's personality or ego.
The Old Testament does not suggest that the soul moves to another body after death. Humans are seen as a unity of body and soul, meaning one person viewed from different angles. In Genesis 2:7, the phrase “a living being” is sometimes translated as “a living soul” in error. The thought is not that men and women became souls, for clearly they had bodies. The use of the word in the original draws attention to the vital aspect of humans as “living beings.” This does not mean humans became souls, but highlights the vital aspect of being "living beings." The Hebrew idea of person unity helps explain the shadowy view of life after death in the Old Testament, as it’s hard to imagine existence without a body (Psalms 16:10; 49:15; 88:3–12). Where hope of an afterlife exists, it is due to faith in God’s power over death, believing that communion with Him continues after death (Exodus 3:6; 1 Samuel 2:6; Job 19:25–26; Psalms 16:10–11; 73:24–25; Isaiah 25:8; 26:19; Daniel 12:2; Hosea 6:1–3; 13:14).
Soul in the New Testament
In the New Testament, the word for soul (psuche) has meanings similar to those in the Old Testament. Often, it means life itself. Followers of Jesus risked their lives (souls) for his sake (Acts 15:26; compare John 13:37; Romans 16:4; Philippians 2:30). Jesus, as the Son of Man, came to serve and give his life (soul) as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). As the Good Shepherd, he lays down his life (soul) for the sheep (John 10:14, 17–18). In Luke 14:26, discipleship means being willing to deny oneself to the point of losing one’s life for Christ’s sake (compare Luke 9:23; Revelation 12:11).
Frequently “soul” can mean “person” (Acts 2:43; 3:23; 7:14; Romans 2:9; 13:1; 1 Peter 3:20). The expression “every living soul” (as sometimes used in Revelation 16:3) reflects the vital aspect of living beings. As in the Old Testament, the soul can refer to the emotional energies of a person. It represents the person’s inner being. When Jesus was agonizing about his death, he spoke of his soul being crushed (Matthew 26:38; Mark 14:34; compare Psalm 42:6). In another context, Jesus promised rest to the souls of those who come to him (Matthew 11:29). Here, “soul” means the essential person (compare Luke 2:35; 2 Corinthians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; 3 John 1:2).
Soul and Spirit
Several passages mention the soul alongside the spirit. Luke 1:46 is probably "poetic parallelism," where one idea is written in two different ways. Both terms refer to Mary as a person in her inmost being. Hebrews 4:12, "dividing soul and spirit," is a graphic way of showing how God's Word probes our inner being. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, the prayer for readers to be kept blameless in spirit, soul, and body means the whole person. Here, the soul may suggest physical existence, while the spirit might imply a higher or “spiritual” life.
In other passages, the soul relates to emotions, will, and mind, always implying a person’s inner being. People are to love God with all their soul (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; compare Deuteronomy 6:5). The phrase “from your soul” (as sometimes rendered in Ephesians 6:6; Colossians 3:23) means “from the heart,” with all one’s being. In Philippians 1:27, believers are called to be of one mind (compare Acts 4:32; 14:2).
The Soul and Salvation
Passages about the soul and salvation include:
These passages either stress the human being, apart from the physical body, or the person’s continued existence with God before the resurrection.