The Constitution Of Man
The Ancient Hebrew Concept of Nephesh
The short and sweet of this section is: nephesh, in simplified form, means the body of a human being is the soul of a human being. That is, the body is an organic mortal soul; man is an animal of the earth. The body and soul duality -- i.e., immortal soul -- of popular modern religion is no where to be found in the texts of the ancient Hebrew.
Adam is very often understood simply as the proper name of the first human being. But 'Adam' is identical with the Hebrew word for human being (adam = 'human being'). The name of the genus becomes the proper name, because Genesis wanted to typify the whole genus in the first human being (Hans Kung, Judaism: Between Yesterday & Tomorrow, C.1991)
In the Torah there is no idea of body and soul as two distinct and different aspects of a human being. A living man or woman is seen as a unified organic being, described in Hebrew as nefesh. Nefesh refers to human life in general and to human character in particular. According to the Bible, the first human, Adam, was created as a living being (nefesh chayah). Genesis describes the actual creation of Adam as the singular act of bringing all of him into existence at once: "And Jehovah God proceeded to form man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul." (Genesis 2:7) The Hebrew word nefesh is also used to refer to human feelings and experiences. This is how it is used in the verse "You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings [nefesh] of the stranger" (Exodus 23:9).
The Bible also uses the term ruah (spirit) and neshamah (breath) to describe human life. Ruah refers to the spirit or breath, the power that comes from outside the body and causes life as its visible manifestation. In the Book of Job, God is described as the source of life and human vitality: "In whose [i.e., God's] hand is the life [nefesh] of every living thing, and the breath [ruah] of all mankind" (Job 12:10). The Bible uses neshamah as a synonym for the living human organism: "And Jehovah God proceeded to form man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life [nishmat chayim], and the man came to be a living soul." (Genesis 2:7)
There is no differentiation, however, between the body, nefesh, ruah and neshamah in the Bible. They all refer to the living, breathing, feeling human being created by God. The human being is a monistic or unified being consisting of one integrated nature. There is no notion in the Bible of any dualism or dual nature -- such as body and soul -- in the human being. The Bible contains no mention of a separate soul. (David S. Ariel, What Do Jews Believe?, C.1995, pages 53-54)
According to the Biblical view man consists of flesh (basar) and spirit (ruah). The term flesh is used impartially of all animals, hence the Biblical term "all flesh" (Gen6:12) includes both man and beast. The body becomes a living being by being penetrated with the "breath of life" (ruah hayim), at whose departure the living body turns at once into a lifeless clod. This breath of life is possessed by the animal as well as by man, as both of them breathe the air. Hence in ancient tongues "breath" and "soul" are used as synonyms, as the Hebrew nefesh and neshamah, the Latin anima and spiritus, the Greek pneuma and psyche. A different primitive belief connected the soul with the blood, noting that man or beast dies when the hot life-blood flows out of the body, so that we read in the Bible, "the blood is the soul." (Gen.9:21; Lev.17:11,14) (Dr. K. Kohler, Jewish Theology, C.1918, page 212)
In the Old Testament man is regarded as a "psychosomatic" whole. The idea of a disembodied spirit, or a soul separated from its body, was not congenial to Jewish thought. And it was not until the Persian and Hellenistic periods that Jewish writers were able to entertain a doctrine of pre-existence of the soul. (George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, C.1962, page 870)
To the Israelite, 'life' meant what we ordinarily call 'life in the body.' Life was the existence of man in all his parts. When Adam was created, God formed him of the dust, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and he became a living person (Gen.2:7). He lived; and in the fellowship of God his life was perfect. And so the pious Israelite always continued to think. To him, separation of the spirit from the body was what he called death. He was far removed form the philosophical view that the body was a prison-house, released from which the spirit could spread its wings and soar into purer and loftier regions. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, page 413)
To the Hebrew mind this life in the body was the normal life. He had no doctrine of a transcendent place of happiness different from earth, where the principles of God's government, impeded in their flow here by many obstacles, should roll on smooth and straight. He saw those principles realized here. The blessedness of the just, arising from the fellowship of God, was enjoyed here.
.life was the existence of the whole man in the body
(A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, page 452)
Man is not considered in Scripture as a duality, but as a unity, though a unity composed of elements; and the principle of this unity, the center of it, is his moral relation to God. This binds all his parts into one, and retains his constitution entire as he came from God. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, page 516)
Genesis 1:26-27 -- What
is meant by the 'image of God,' which man is thus said to bear?
It can be nothing but the gift of self-conscious reason, which is possessed by man, but by no other animal. In all that is implied by this, -- in the various intellectual faculties possessed by him; in his creative and originative power, enabling him to develop and make progress in arts, in sciences, and in civilization generally; in the power of rising superior to the impulses of sense, of subduing and transforming them, of mounting to the apprehension of general principle, and of conceiving intellectual and moral ideals; in the ability to
enter into relations
with fellow-men; in the possession of a moral sense, or the faculty of distinguishing right and wrong; in the capacity for knowing God,
man is distinguished fundamentally from other animals. (it is true, some of the faculties mentioned are possessed, in a limited degree, by animals: but in none of them are they coupled with self-conscious reason; and hence they do not form a foundation for the same distinctive character.) (S.R. Driver, The Book of Genesis, C.1904)
Of all created beings man alone possesses the power of self-determination; he assigns his destiny to himself. While he endeavors to find the object of all other things and even of his own existence in the world, he finds his own purpose within himself. Star and stone, plant and beast fulfill their purpose in the whole plan of creation by their existence and varied natures, and are accordingly called "good" as they are. Man, however, realizes that he must accomplish is purpose by his manner of life and the voluntary exertion of his own powers. His is "good" only as far as he fulfills his destiny on earth. He is not good by mere existence, but by his conduct. Not what he is, but what he ought to be gives value to his being. He is good or bad according to the direction of his will and acts by the imperative: "I ought" or "I ought not" ... (Dr. K. Kohler, Jewish Theology, C.1918, page 218)
The word translated "being" in the RSV is in Hebrew nephesh. The AV has "soul", which the RSV wisely avoids because it might have made its modern readers think about the "immortality" of the soul. This is not a Hebrew but a Greek idea. In Hebrew the "soul" is not a part of man but the whole living person, consisting, as this verse makes clear, of his body plus the breath which gives it life. When the Psalmist says "God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol" (Ps.49:15), he is not therefore to be understood as looking forward to the survival of his soul after death. He is simply expressing his confidence that God will not let him die. And when he says "Bless the lord, O my soul" (Ps.103:1,2,22; Ps.104:1,35), he means simply that he wants to sing to God with his whole being (compare Ps.104:33).
The naivetι of this picture of God forming 'man' like a potter should not be allowed to blind us to its essential meaning. This is that we and all human beings derive our lives directly from him. Without the breath that he puts into us we are dead and our bodies dissolve into the dust from which they came. As Ecclesiastes says (12:7), "the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit (or better, breath) returns to God who gave it." Or as the author of this story later has God saying, "you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (3:19). These quotations show that the origin of every human could to the Hebrews be described in the same pictorial language.
This lesson of man's utter creatureliness is even more starkly present in the Hebrew of this verse than it is in English. For the Hebrew word for "man" is adam and the Hebrew word for "ground" is adamah. The two words have no etymological connection with each other, but they were so close in sound that the author could not resist the play. Nor could he in the verses that follow resist rubbing in the lesson wherever he could by constantly using the world "ground". We have it throughout this story - see 2:9, 19; 3:17, 19, 23 - and we have it throughout the next story of Cain and Abel for which he was also responsible -- see 4:2,3, 10-12,14.
How different all this is from the Greek view that a person's material body may perish but that his or her "soul" will live for ever! That view only became familiar to Judaism and Christianity when in later centuries they moved into the Greek-speaking world, and it has caused untold theological damage ever since. (John C.L. Gibson, Genesis Volume I, C.1981, pages 103-104)
Further insight into the nature of man is furnished by certain terms that describe different aspects of the human personality. The term nefesh can denote the essence of any living creature and may even be equated with the life blood. It signifies the "individual," "ego," "person" and hence even at times the body (Exodus 21:23). Synonymous at times with nefesh but also distinguished from it is the term ru'ah, "spirit." It represents the power and energy that come to man from without
The concept of neshamah, "breath," is
the vitalizing element breathed into man by God
He (man) is not a descendant of the gods (as in certain pagan mythologies); the term child(ren) used in Scripture with reference to man in relation to God (Deuteronomy 14:1; Psalm 2:7) has a metaphorical connotation. Nor is man the product (as some philosophical systems hold) of the blind forces of nature. He is the artifact of God, fashioned purposefully out of two diverse elements: his body is of the earth, but it is animated by the divine breath of life. Yet man is not a dichotomy of body and soul (a view characteristic of Orphism and Platonism), and certainly not a trichotomy of elements. His is a multifaceted unitary being -- nefesh hayyah, "a living person." (Genesis 2:7). (Steven T. Katz, Jewish Ideas & Concepts, C.1977, pages 100-102)
Genesis 2:7 -- a living soul As explained on 1:20, a 'soul' is in Hebrew psychology common to both animals and men; hence no pre-eminence of man is declared in these words: they simply state that he became a living being. (S.R. Driver, The Book of Genesis, C.1904, page 38)
Flesh and Spirit.
The word "flesh" literally means soft tissue, as distinguished from skin and bones (e.g., Job 19:20); by extension it can mean the human race (Isa.40:5; Joel 2:28) and even all animal life (Gen.6:19). "Spirit" translates words that in both Hebrew and Greek mean "wind" (Gen8:1; cf.1:1) or "breath" (Gen.6:17; Ezek.37:5), as well as vital essence. Biblical writers do not normally combine the two terms to designate the totality of human nature. The body/soul dichotomy that so fascinated Greek philosophy is not generally presupposed, even when the two terms occur in close proximity
(Bruce M. Metzger & Micheal D. Coogan, editors of The Oxford Companion To The Bible, C.1993, page 231)
Life in the 'Old Testament' -- Terms and Concepts
1. Inherent in 'life' (hayyim) is the idea of activity. Life is 'that which moves' (Gn.7:21 f.; Ps.69:34) in contrast to the relaxed, dormant, or inert state of non-life. Running water is 'living' (Gn.26:19), and rapid labor in childbirth indicates the mother's 'aliveness' (Ex.1:19). The word's frequently used plural form emphasizes the intensity of the concept. Life is associated with light, gladness, fullness, order, and active being (Ps.27:1; Jb.33:25 ff.; Pr.3:16; Gn.1) and contrasted with the darkness, sorrow, emptiness, chaos, and silence which are characteristic of death and inanimate being (Ec.11:8; Ps.115:17).
2. Soul (nepes), as 'being' or 'self,' is common to man and beast, living and dead (Lv.21:11; Job.12:10). But its meaningful state is 'living soul' (nepes hayya, Gn.2:7) and, therefore, may simply mean 'life.' To die is to breathe out one's soul, and to revive is to have it return (Je.15:9; 1Ki17:21); or, seated in the blood, it is 'poured out' at death (Lv.17:11; La.2:12; Is. 53:12).
'life' and 'self' are so closely parallel that to lose one's life means literally to lose one's self (Pedersen, Israel, I, 1926, 151 ff.; Jb.2:4; Ezk.18).
3. Similarly, spirit (ru'ah) or breath (nesama), as the principle which distinguishes the living from the dead, often may be rendered life (1 Sa.30:12; Jb.27:3 f.). To die is to lose one's breath or spirit (Jb.27:3; Ps.104:29f.); to revive is to 'have it come again'.
4. Life is given to man as a psycho-somatic unity in which 'our own distinctions between physical, intellectual, and spiritual life do not exist' (von Allmen, pp. 231 f.); and the Old Testament view of man my be described as 'animated body' (Robinson, p.27). Thus soul may be paralleled with flesh (Ps. 63:1), life (Jb.33:28), or spirit (Ps. 77:2f.), and all terms viewed as the self or 'I'. It is the 'I' which lives - and which dies (cf. Gn.7:21; Ezk.18:4). (J.D. Douglas, editor of The New Bible Dictionary, C.1962, page 735)
The Nature of Man in the 'Old Testament'
2. Creation of man. There are two distinct accounts in Genesis of the creation of man. The first (1:26-30) is attributed to the P source, and may represent the fruit of centuries of priestly reflection. Man is represented as the climax of creation. The word ---- is not the proper name Adam. Neither is it collective, so as to lay the emphasis on men as a group. Rather is the word generic ("man"). The words "Male and female he created them" (vs.27) imply at least two individuals, but not necessarily only two. What interests the author is primarily man's nature when summoned into being by God.
The creation of man is signalized by an introductory reference to the divine deliberation: "Let us make man." This is usually now regarded as referring to the divine court, beings subordinate to God but superhuman and along with God forming the category ----. Perhaps, however, we have merely the equivalent of an impersonal construction. God deliberates: "Let us make man in our image { ---- }, after our likeness { ---- }". The usage in the OT of ---- suggests a concrete meaning here, as does the appearance of the same two words in Gen.5:3 with reference to the resemblance between Adam and his son Seth. Yet perhaps the use of two words in Gen.1:26; 5:3 (though not in 1:27; 9:6) suggests the effort to express a difficult idea or to guard against misunderstanding. Moreover, Hebrew thought did not distinguish sharply between physical and spiritual. Yet, even though "image" has a concrete meaning, this need not exclude a reference to the dignity of man as in a certain respect like God. Man is a being who can be given authority and responsibility.
The second account of the creation of man (Gen.2:7-8, 18-23) is attributed to the J source. We are told that God created man as the center of creation. Man is referred to generically in vs.7, but immediately, in the naive manner found also in fables (e.g. Aesop's fables), the generic passes into the individual use, until finally (3:20-21; 4:1) the first pair are named Adam and Eve. In this account God does not "make" or "create" man; he forms him -- the word used is that which describes the activity of the potter. Cf. the vivid descriptions in Job 10:8-11; Ps.139:13-16
The creation of the woman as partner of the man is preceded by the creation of the animals and birds. The man names them, thus asserting his authority (cf.1:28), but none of the lower creatures meets man's need of a Thou. The primitive idea that the woman was fashioned from a rib taken from the man's side, while he lay in a magic sleep which preserved the mystery of creation, may have etiological significance, but this is not the chief interest of the story for the author. (p243)
3. Constitution of man. The second account of creation not only tells us how God formed man, but makes a classic statement on the constitution of man which is basic to the Hebrew view of man's nature. We read (Gen.2:7): "Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." The expression "living being" ( ---- ) signifying a living individual, is here unique. (Contrast the usage in Gen.1:20,21,24.) Actually ---- alone would have meant the same thing (see Soul). Man's uniqueness is also implied by God's direct action in communicating the breath of life ( ---- ). By God's communication of the vitalizing breath to the earthen man he had fashioned, we are not to conclude that man is compounded of two separate entities, body and soul -- the view characteristic of Orphism and Platonism.
the Hebrew conceived of man as an animated body, not as an incarnated soul. The material of which man is made is called "flesh" ( ) as soon as he is a living being (see Flesh). But neither ---- nor ---- is the soul conceived of as able to exist in separation from the flesh. ---- is both the vital principle which gives form to the flesh and the living being itself (see Soul). It is not pre-existent, and it cannot survive the body. Man is a psychophysical organism made up of many parts forming a unity or totality. (pages 243,244)
In other words, "life" designates the concrete existence of a being; it is not an energy operating in, or upon, a body. (page 125) The Old Testament thinks of man as a psychophysical organism
there is in man no immortal part which can survive death on its own account. (page 242)
Curiously enough, Hebrew has no word meaning "body" apart from several words which properly signify "corpse" (----, ----, -----, -----, the last named occasionally denoting the living body). Yet there is a clear awareness that all the different members cohere in a unity. Hebrew makes do with the word "flesh," while New Testament Greek has both ---- and ----. The Hebrew did not think of the soul as having a body but as being a body which was alive, and this he called ---- with the emphasis on its "livingness."
OT thought had at its disposal a rich vocabulary to describe the functions of the self. It is a natural extension of the meaning of the word ---- to make it the subject of the sentient and emotional life in all its different shades and expressions.
Hebrew can express a remarkable number of psychological shades of meaning by the use of this or that term denoting a part of the body. These terms can represent the self by synecdoche. The suggestion that the Hebrews believed in a diffusion of personality throughout the body is to be rejected. It is not surprising that, related as they are to the totality, the terms tend to overlap in meaning.
The Hebrews had no knowledge of the nervous or muscular or respiratory systems or of the circulation of the blood. The significance of the brain as the center of the nervous system was completely overlooked by them. The word "heart" (----), however, plays a very large part in descriptions of man's inner life, often in association with the words already referred to. Occasionally used with reference to the emotions, it more often occurs where we would speak of the mind or will or conscience, knowledge and action (following upon volition) being closely associated in Hebrew thought. To express emotion, the word "bowels" (----) is employed and to a much lesser extent the word "liver" (----). The kidneys or reins (----) too are regarded as the seat of the emotions and affections, and, in conjunction with the heart (in Psalms and Jeremiah), describe the inmost character exposed to the testing scrutiny of God. ----, the plural of ---- ("womb"), is used to signify "compassion." Further, the head and certain of its parts (face, eye, ear, nostrils, mouth, tongue, etc.), the limbs and their parts (especially the hand), serve to express a great variety of psychological shades of meaning. This, however, in no way implies diffusion of personality. (George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, C.1962, page 244)
Soul (is)
The translation of several words in the Bible. In the KJV (King James Version) of the OT (Old Testament) (the clue is partly obliterated in modern translations) "soul" represents almost exclusively the Hebrew ----. The word "soul" in English, though it has some extent naturalized the Hebrew idiom, frequently carries with it overtones, ultimately coming from philosophical Greek (Platonism) and from Orphism and Gnosticism, which are absent in ----. In the OT it never means the immortal soul, but is essentially the life principle, or the living being, or the self as the subject of appetite and emotion, occasionally of volition.
1. In the OT. a. Etymology of ----. The Hebrew word is probably from Akkadian napasu, "expand," giving napistu, "throat, neck," with a possible meaning "breath" (cf. Arabic) and then "breath-soul." The meaning "throat, neck," is suggested, not always convincingly, for sundry passages of the OT -- e.g., Isa.5:14; 29:8; Jonah 2:6; the clearest case is possibly Ps.105:18. The meaning "breath" in the OT is doubtful.
b. Hebrew idea of "soul." Hebrew thought could distinguish soul from body as material basis of life, but here was no question of two separate, independent entities
The word ---- designates the life principle, which always appears in some form or manifestation without which it would not exist. This is not contradicted by passages like Gen.35:18; I Kings 17:21-22, which speak of the ---- as departing or returning. The Hebrew could not conceive of a disembodied ----, though he could use ---- with or without the adjective "dead," for "corpse" (e.g., Lev.19:28; Num.6:6).
c. Locus classicus. In Gen.2:7 we read that "the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (----); and man became a living being (----)." This latter expression is used collectively of the animals in Gen.1. The qualification "living" in Gen.2:7 emphasizes the contrast with the inert dust. The writer might have written ---- instead of ---- for "breath" (see Gen.7:15).
d. Usage of ----. The Hebrew could speak of his flesh as we would say "body,' but often he spoke of his (----) -- i.e., himself as a psychophysical organism. He did not have a body but was an animated body, a unit of life manifesting itself in a fleshly form. The life principle in man was sometimes linked with the blood (e.g., Gen.9:4; Lev.17:11, 17; Deut.12:23). The word ---- frequently means "life" (e.g., saving life {Josh.2:13}; taking life {I Kings 19:4}; risking life {Judg.5:18; II Sam.23:17}; fear for life {Ezek.32:10}). Life is always a totality, which may express itself in the body as a whole or concentrate itself in some part, member, or organ of the body (tongue, eye, ear, hand, heart, etc.), which by synecdoche can represent the whole in a certain respect. To speak of a 'diffused personality' is misleading. The use of the personal pronouns implies a sense of the unity of the self. The phrase acquires a profounder meaning in Isa.53:12 (cf.vs.11) in view of the value of what is surrendered (cf. II Sam. 23:13-17). The word ---- often means "self," "person," and with pronominal suffixes can form an emotional substitute for the personal pronouns. It can express the reflexive idea and is used for "persons" in enumerations. (George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, C.1962, page 428 & 429)
when The Jewish Publication Society of America issued a new translation of the Torah, or first five books of the Bible, the editor-in-chief, H.M. Orlinsky of Hebrew Union College, stated that the word "soul" had been virtually eliminated from this translation because, "the Hebrew word in question here is 'Nefesh.'" He added: "Other translators have interpreted it to mean 'soul,' which is completely inaccurate. The Bible does not say we have a soul. 'Nefesh' is the person himself, his need for food, the very blood in his veins, his being." -- The New York Times, October 12, 1962.
The difficulty lies in the fact that the meanings popularly attached to the English word "soul" stem primarily, not from the Hebrew or Christian Greek Scriptures, but from ancient Greek philosophy, actually pagan religious thought. Greek philosopher Plato, for example, quotes Socrates as saying: "The soul,
if it departs pure, dragging with it nothing of the body,
goes away into that which is like itself, into the invisible, divine, immortal, and wise, and when it arrives there it is happy, freed from error and folly and fear
and all the other human ills, and
lives in truth through all the time with the gods." -- Phaedo, 80,D,E; 81,A.
In direct contrast with the Greek teaching of the psykhe (soul) as being immaterial, intangible, invisible, and immortal, the (Hebrew and Christian Greek) Scriptures show that both psykhe and nephesh, as used with reference to earthly creatures, refer to that which is material, tangible, visible, and mortal.
The New Catholic Encyclopaedia says: "Nepes [Nepesh] is a term of far greater extension than our `soul,' signifying life (Ex21:23; Dt19:21) and its various vital manifestations: breathing (Gn35:18; Jb41:13[21], blood (Gn9:4; Dt12:23; Ps140(141):8), desire (2 Sm3:21; Prv23:2). The soul in the Old Testament means not a part of man, but the whole man -- man as a living being." -- 1967, Vol. XIII, page 467.
Nephesh evidently comes from a root meaning "breathe" and in a literal sense nephesh could be rendered as "a breather"
(page 1004)
Nephesh occurs 754 times in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Scriptures, while psykhe appears by itself 102 times in the Wescott and Hort text of the Christian Greek Scriptures
(Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania & International Bible Students, Insight on the Scriptures I & II, page 1005)
Earth's First Souls
The initial occurrences of nephesh are found at Genesis 1:20-23. On the fifth creative "day" God said: 'Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls (nephesh) and let flying creatures fly over the earth
' And God proceeded to create the great sea monsters and every living soul (nephesh) that moves about, which the waters swarmed forth according to their kinds, and every winged flying creature according to its kind." Similarly on the sixth creative "day" nephesh is applied to the "domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth" as "living souls". -- Ge1:24
After man's creation, God's instruction to him again used the term nephesh with regard to the animal creation, "everything moving upon the earth in which there is life as a soul [literally, in which there is living soul (nephesh)]." (Ge1:30) Other examples of animals being so designated are found at Genesis 2:19; 9:10-16; Leviticus 11:10,46; 24:18; Numbers 31:28; Ezekiel 47:9.
Thus, the (Hebrew and Christian Greek) Scriptures clearly show that nephesh and psykhe are used to designate the animal creation lower than man. The same terms apply to man. (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania & International Bible Students, Insight on the Scriptures I & II, page 1005)
The Human Soul
Precisely the same Hebrew phrase used of the animal creation, namely, nephesh chaiyah (living soul), is applied to Adam, when, after God formed man out of dust from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, "the man came to be a living soul." (Ge2:7) Man was distinct from the animal creation, but that distinction was not because he was a nephesh (soul) and they were not.
man's organism was more complex, as well as more versatile, than that of the animals.
It is true that the account says that 'God proceeded to blow into the man's nostrils the breath (form of neshamah) of life,' whereas this is not stated in the account of the animal creation. Clearly, however, the account of the creation of man is much more detailed than that of the creation of animals. Moreover, Genesis 7:21-23, in describing the Flood's destruction of "all flesh" outside the ark, lists the animal creatures along with mankind and says: "Everything in which the breath (form of neshamah) of the force of life was active in its nostrils, namely, all that were on the ground, died." Obviously, the breath of life of the animal creatures also originally came from
God.
So, too, the "spirit" (Hebrew, ruach; Greek, pneuma), or life-force, of man is not distinct from the life-force in animals, as is shown by Ecclesiastes 3:19-21, which states that "they all have but one spirit (uruach)." (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania & International Bible Students, Insight on the Scriptures I & II, page 1005)
Soul -- A Living Creature
As stated, man "came to be a living soul"; hence man was a soul, he did not have a soul as something immaterial, invisible, and intangible residing in him.
The Genesis account shows that a living soul results from the combination of the earthly body with the breath of life. The expression "breath of the force of life [literally, breath of the spirit, or active force (ruach), of life]" (Ge7:22) indicates that it is by breathing air (with its oxygen) that the life-force, or "spirit", in all creatures, man and animals, is sustained. This life-force is found in every cell of the creature's body
Since the term nephesh refers to the creature itself, we should expect to find the normal physical functions or characteristics of fleshly creatures attributed to it. This is exactly the case. Nephesh (soul) is spoken of as eating flesh, fat, blood, or similar material things (Le7:18,20,25,27; 17:10,12,15; De23:24); being hungry for or craving food and drink (De 12:15,20,21; Ps 107:9; Pr 19:15; 27:7; Isa29:8; 32:6; Mic7:1); being made fat (Pr 11:25); fasting (Ps 35:13); touching unclean things, such as a dead body (Le5:2; 7:21; 17:15; 22:6; Nu19:13); being `seized as a pledge' or being `kidnapped' (De 24:6,7); doing work (Le23:30); being refreshed by cold water when tired (Pr 25:25); being purchased (Le22:11; Eze27:13); being given as a vow offering (Le27:2); being put in irons (Ps 105:18); being sleepless (Ps 119:28); and struggling for breath (Jer15:9). (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania & International Bible Students, Insight on the Scriptures I & II, page 1005-1006)
Represents Life as a Creature
Both nephesh and psykhe are also used to mean life -- not merely as an abstract force or principle -- but life as a creature, human or animal.
Thus when Rachel was giving birth to Benjamin, her nephesh ("soul," or life as a creature) went out from her and she died. (Ge35:16-19) She ceased to be a living creature.
Because the creature's life is so inseparably connected with and dependent on blood (shed blood standing for the life of the person or creature, Ge4:10; 2Ki9:26; Ps9:12; Isa26:21), the Scriptures speak of the nephesh (soul) as being "in the blood." (Ge9:4; Le17:11,14; De12:23). This, obviously, not meant literally, inasmuch as the Scriptures also speak of the "blood of your souls" (Ge9:5; compare Jer2:34) and the many references already considered could not reasonably be applied solely to the blood or its life-supporting qualities.
Nephesh (soul) is not used with reference to the creation of vegetable life on the third creative "day" (Ge1:11-13) or thereafter, since vegetation is bloodless. (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania & International Bible Students, Insight on the Scriptures I & II, page 1006)
Vegetation has life, the life principle operating in it, but not life as a soul. (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania & International Bible Students, Insight on the Scriptures I & II, pages 245-246)
Breath; Breath of Life; Life-Force.
The account of the creation of man states that God formed man from the dust of the ground and proceeded to "blow [form of naphach] into his nostrils the breath [form of neshamah] of life, and the man came to be a living soul [nephesh]." (Gen2:7) Nephesh may be translated literally as "a breather," that is, "a breathing creature," either human or animal. Neshamah is, in fact, used to mean "breathing thing [or creature]" and as such is used as a virtual synonym of nephesh, "soul." (Compare De 20:16; Jos10:39-40; 11:11; 1 Kings 15:29.) The record at Genesis 2:7 uses neshamah in describing God's causing Adam's body to have life so that the man became "a living soul." Other texts, however, show that more was involved that simple breathing of air, that is, more than the mere introduction of air into the lungs and its expulsion therefrom. Thus, at Genesis 7:22, in describing the destruction of human and animal life outside the ark at the time of the Flood, we read: "Everything in which the breath [form of neshamah] of the force [or, 'spirit' (ruach)] of life was active was active in its nostrils, namely, all that were on the dry ground, died." Neshamah, "breath," is thus directly associated or linked with ruach, which here describes the spirit, or life-force, that is active in all living creatures -- human and animal souls.
the neshamah, or "breath," is both the product of the ruach, or life-force, and also a principal means of sustaining that life-force in living creatures.
The Hebrew scriptures
use ruach to denote this vital force that is the very principle of life, and neshamah to represent the breathing that sustains it.
Because breathing is so inseparably connected with life, neshamah and ruach are used in clear parallel in various texts. Job voiced his determination to avoid unrighteousness "while my breath [form of neshamah] is yet whole within me, and the spirit [weruach] of God is in my nostrils." (Job 27:3-5) Elihu said: "If that one's spirit [form of ruach] and breath [form of neshamah] he [God] gathers to himself, all flesh will expire [that is, "breathe out"] together, and earthling man himself will return to the very dust." (Job 34:14-15) Similarly, Psalm 104:29 says of earth's creatures, human and animal: "If you [God] take away their spirit, they expire, and back to their dust they go." At Isaiah 45:5 Jehovah is spoken of as "the One laying out the earth and its produce, the One giving breath to the people on it, and spirit to those walking in it." The breath (neshamah) sustains their existence; the spirit (ruach) energizes and is the life-force that enables man to be an animated creature, to move, walk, be actively alive.
While neshamah (breath) and ruach (spirit; active-force; life-force) are sometimes used in a parallel sense, they are not identical. True, the "spirit," or ruach, is at times spoken of as though it were the respiration (neshamah) itself, but this seems to be simply because breathing is the prime visible evidence of the life-force in one's body.-- Job 9:18; 19:17; 27:3.
when God created man in Eden and blew into his nostrils "the breath (form of neshamah) of life," it is evident that, in addition to filling the man's lungs with air, God caused the life-force, or spirit (ruach), to vitalize all the cells in Adam's body. -- Ge2:7; compare Ps104:30.
This life-force is passed on from parents to offspring through conception. Since Jehovah was the original Source of this life-force for man, and the Author of the procreation process, one's life can properly be attribute to Him, though received not directly but indirectly through one's parents. -- Compare Job 10:9-12; Ps 139:13-16: Ec11:5. (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania & International Bible Students, Insight on the Scriptures I & II, pages 1024-1025)
Life-force, or spirit, is impersonal.
As noted, the Scriptures refer to the ruach, or life-force, as being not only in humans but also in animals. (Ge6:17; 7:15, 22) Ecclesiastes 3:18-22 shows that man dies in the same manner as the beasts, for "they all have but one spirit [weruach], so that there is no superiority of the man over the beast," that is, as to the life-force common to both. This being so, it is clear that the "spirit," or life-force (ruach), as used in this sense is impersonal. As an illustration, one might compare it to another invisible force, electricity, which may be used to make various types of machines operate -- causing stoves to produce heat, fans to produce wind, computers to solve problems, television sets to produce figures, voices and other sounds -- yet which electric current never takes on any of the characteristics of the machines in which it functions or is active.
Thus, Psalm 146:3-4 says that when man's spirit [form of ruach] goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish." The spirit, or life-force, that was active in man's body cells does not retain any of the characteristic of those cells, such as the brain cells and their part in the thinking process.
the personality of the dead individual is not perpetuated in the life-force, or spirit, that stops functioning in the deceased person's body cells.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 states that at death the person's body returns to the dust, "and the spirit itself returns to the true God who gave it." The person himself was never in heaven with God; what "returns" to God is therefore the vital force that enabled the person to live. (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania & International Bible Students, Insight on the Scriptures I & II, page 1025)
The Genesis account shows that a living soul results from the combination of the earthly body with the breath of life. The expression "breath of the force of life [literally, breath of the spirit, or active force (ruach), of life]" (Ge7:22) indicates that it is by breathing air (with its oxygen) that the life-force, or "spirit," in all creatures, man and animals, is sustained. (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania & International Bible Students, Insight on the Scriptures I & II, page 1006)
Genesis 1:29,30 -- Provision made for the food of men (v.29), and other terrestrial animals and birds (v.30): men are to have as food the seed and fruit of plants; terrestrial animals and birds are to have the leaves. The food of men and animals is thus part of a Divine order. The details are however given in only the broadest outline; nothing for instance is said respecting the food of aquatic animals, or of milk and honey; the aim of the verse is simply to define, with reference to v.11f., how the different kinds of plants there mentioned may be utilized for food. (S.R. Driver, The Book of Genesis, C.1904, page 16)
Genesis 1:30 --
the writer portrays an ideal. "Animal food can only be had at the cost of animal life, and the taking of animal life seemed to him to be a breach of the Divine order, which from the beginning provides only for the continuance and maintenance of life" (Perowne, Expositor, Feb.1891, page 129). Hence he represents both men and animals as subsisting at first only on vegetable food. (S.R. Driver, The Book of Genesis, C.1904, page 17)
The idea that in the 'Golden Age' the first men lived only on vegetable food is found also in classical writers: see e.g. Plato, Legg.6.782.c; Ovid, Met.1.103-6, 15.96-103, Fasti4.395ff. (S.R. Driver, The Book of Genesis, C.1904, page 17)
Genesis 1:31 - The closing verdict on the entire work of creation. The work of each particular day is good: the combination of works, each discharging rightly its own function, and at the same time harmonizing as it should do with the rest, is characterized as very good. As has been remarked, a note of Divine satisfaction runs through the whole narrative, and it reaches its climax here; but the severe simplicity and self-control of the writer does not allow it to find any stronger expression than this. Contrast the more exuberant tone of Ps.104:31 Cf.1 Tim.4:4 ('for every creature of God is good,' etc.) (S.R. Driver, The Book of Genesis, C.1904, page 17)
Paradise and work are not incompatible, and
ideas of Paradise as a place where as if by magic all we need falls from the trees and we can sit back in idleness and enjoy it, are not Hebrew ideas. In the Biblical Paradise man is required to work. God has so made us that we cannot be truly human unless we have a job or work to do. (John C.L. Gibson, Genesis Volume I, C.1981, page 111)
The Ancient Hebrew Concepts Of Death & Sheol
The short and sweet of this section is that death is the cessation, or end, of the human animal's life. In simplified form -- the body, which is the soul, is terminated, along with all consciousness of existence. The ancient Hebrew did not imagine or hope for an afterlife. The only life that they knew, thought about, longed and worked for was a healthy, happy and bountiful life on earth with JHVH, their God.
LIFE, DEATH, SHEOL
Notwithstanding the great differences between the OT (Old Testament) and NT (New Testament) views of life, the biblical religion represents a common concept of life which differs conspicuously from all nonbiblical views. Failure to notice this fact has often misled exegetes into reading wrong features into the biblical record. (page 124)
1. The OT View. ... the nephesh (wrongly translated as "soul"), is lost in death, and what remains of the organism disintegrates. The living organism is designated as basar ("flesh"); this term, however, does not indicate a material which is being animated, but rather the individual being in its earthly condition (e.g., Deut.5:26; Ps. 56:4; Isa.31:3). The spontaneity of life is described as "ghost" or "spirit" (ruah), and the latter is said to be "given up" in death (e.g., Gen.25:8, 17; 35:29; 49:33; Job 3:11; 10:18; 11:20; etc. cf.Matt27:50; John19:30). In other places, it is the nephesh which is breathed out (Job 11:20; Jer15:9), or poured out (Isa.53:12). In other words, "life" designates the concrete existence of a being; it is not an energy operating in, or upon, a body. (page 125)
... individual existence is not self-contained. Life is described throughout the OT as co-existence with other individuals of the same kind. This co-existence implies co-operation and mutual dependence, yet not equality. Superior power and authority, on the one hand, and subjection, on the other, are essential features of human life. By co-ordinating the origin of life with the creation story, the OT reminds the reader of the fact that life would not be possible if we were not living in a universe which is so arranged that each individual finds food and shelter (Gen.1:28-30; Pss.104:27-28; 145:15; 147:8-9; cf.Luke12:24). (page 125)
... God is the "God of life" (Num.14:28; Deut.32:40; Judg.8:19; Ruth 3:13; I Sam.14:39; 19:6; Jer5:2; etc.) or the "living God" (Deut.5:26; Josh.3:10; I Sam.17:26; II Kings 19:4; cf. Matt. 26:63; Acts 14:15; Rom.9:26; Rev.7:2). His very nature is life, and thus he is able to impart it to the creatures. For this reason, life is basically the same in all that moves on earth (e.g., Job12:10; Ps.104:30; Isa42:5; cf. Eccl.3:19; Ezek.37:8-10; Acts 17:25). ... when God withholds his "breath" or "spirit," the creatures die (e.g., Job 4:9; 34:14; Ps.104:29; cf. Deut.5:23; Josh. 3:10; II Kings 19;4; Ps.76:11-12; Isa.37:17).
Human sacrifices are not demanded by God (Gen22). The death penalty, which has been fixed by God for certain crimes - e.g., adultery (Lev.20:10; Deut.22:22) - is therefore an indication of the degree to which God abhors them, and the wholesale destruction of sinful mankind by the Flood (Gen.7:21-23) was a sign of its complete corruption. Since life is God's property, blood, as the "vehicle" of life, must be abstained from (Gen.9:4; Lev.3:17; 17:10; Deut.12:23; etc.) The value of life can be seen in God's care for the preservation of the animal realm - e.g., when he commanded Noah to take a pair of each species into the ark (Gen.7:2-3), or in his provision of food for all (e.g., Ps.145:15). It is not surprising, therefore, that in the OT life is valued as the supreme earthly good ... (page 125)
... Life consists in willing and doing things (e.g., Ps90:10), or hating and fighting off dangers and evils. (page 125)
... The divine gift of life and human responsibility are correlative terms in the OT. (page 125)
... The truth is that man, like all the other earthly creatures, is described as having his life from God. Thus he possesses no natural, innate immortality. But being able to do the will of God, he had the opportunity to acquire unending life. However, with the transgression of God's commandment this possibility was destroyed
But
To those who keep God's commandments, long life and happiness are promised (Gen.15:15; Exod.20:12; Lev.18:5; Deut.5:15-16; 16:20; 30:19; Judg.8:32; Ps.91:16; cf. Gen.25:7ff; 35:28ff; Ps.34:12; etc.) so that "life" and "happiness" have become synonymous.
life is blessing (e.g., Deut.30:16-18). While man is tripped all the time by life (Job18:10; Jer.5:26), God is man's refuge from danger (e.g., Deut.33:27; Pss.14:6; 46:1). No wonder that people wish to live until life is exhausted (e.g., Gen.25:8; 35:29; Job 42:17). A good old age is the supreme good (Prov.3:16), and thus people wish one another to live (e.g., Dan.2:4; 3:9; etc.) -- i.e., to enjoy a long and happy life.
In turn, death, which is the result of old age, is accepted without sentimentality as the end willed by God (e.g., II Sam 14:14; Ps.89:48). (page 126)
The idea of an afterlife was originally unknown in ancient Israel. People were interested only in the continuation of the nation (Isa.56:3,5) and/or the family (Ps.37:27-28; note especially vs.28). The later acceptance of the idea of Sheol, in which the individual nephesh survives (e.g., Job3:12-19), was not intended to increase the value of life, as did the Orphic concept of afterlife; on the contrary. Originally it is often emphasized that the dead are cut off from the ... community (Pss.88:11-12; 115:17; cf. Pss.6:5; 30:9; Isa.38:10-11, 18; Ecclus.17:27). The only passage in which resurrection is clearly stated in the OT is in Dan 12:2. Other passages, such as Job14:13; 19:25-27; Pss.16:10; 49:15, which have been interpreted as speaking of individual resurrection, probably use "Sheol" as a metaphor for the affliction in which the individual finds himself, and the return from Sheol means deliverance from the present ills. Isa.25:6-8; Ezek.37 do not speak of individuals, but rather of the recovery of Israel as a nation (see also Isa.26:19). (George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible - An Illustrated Encyclopedia, C.1962)
The Hebrew word for death is mavet, from the root mvt. This term is borrowed from the Canaanites, for whom Mot (Mvt) was the god of the underworld.
Many names are given to this netherworld in the Bible. The most common is she'ol, always written in the feminine form and without a definite article as is usual in proper nouns. This term has no parallels in other ancient languages and is peculiarly Hebraic. Other biblical terms for this region include erez ("earth," "underworld"); kever ("grave"), whose Akkadian parallel gabru normally designates the world of the dead; afar ("dust"); bor ("pit"); shahat nahalei beliyya'al ("the torrents of Belial"). Moreover, this region is said to be in the depths of the earth and is therefore called "the nether parts of the earth," "the depths of the pit" and "the land of darkness." (Steven T. Katz, Jewish Ideas & Concepts, C.1977, page 113)
Conception of Sheol.
The word ----, rarely written defectively, is a feminine noun, as most other nouns are which indicate space, though in a few cases it appears as masculine. Its derivation is uncertain. Some derived it from ----, to ask, believing that Hades is so named from its insatiable craving. But it is improbable that this primitive and ancient name for the underworld should be a mere poetical epithet. Others, with more probability, connect the name with the root ----, to be hollow, in which case it would resemble our word Hell, German Holle, that is, hollow; and the name ----, pit, with which it is interchanged in the Old Testament, and ----, its synonym in the New, favor this derivation. The Old Testament represents Sheol as the opposite of this upper sphere of light and life. It is "deep Sheol," ----, Ps.86:13: "Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell." It is deep down in the earth, Ps.63:9: "Those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go down into the lowest parts of the earth." Corresponding to this it is the region of darkness, as Job, mournfully looking to it, says: "A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness" (10:22,23). Of course, there is no formal topography to be sought for in Sheol. It is in great measure the creation of the imagination, deep down under the earth, even under the waters, and dark, and all within it chaos. The shades tremble "underneath the waters, and their inhabitants," Job 26:5. Hence it is often decked out with the horrors of the grave. The prophet Isaiah, 14:9, represents the king of Babylon as going into Sheol: "Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming. Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee." And so in Ezek.32:21-23: "The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of Sheol
Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword: whose graves are set in the sides of the pit."
That is a representation, according to which Sheol is a vast underground mausoleum, with cells all around like graves. But it may be asserted with some reason that nowhere is Sheol confounded with the grave, or the word used for the place of the dead body. Sheol is the place of the departed personalities the Old Testament neither calls them 'souls' nor 'spirits.' It is the place appointed for all living, the great rendezvous of dead persons;
The generations of one's forefathers are all there, and he who dies is gathered unto his fathers. The tribal divisions of one's race are there, and the dead man is gathered unto his people. Separated from them here, he is united with them there. And if his own descendants had died before him, they are there, and he goes down, as Jacob to his son, mourning. None can hope to escape passing down among that vast assemblage of thin and shadowy personalities: "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? That shall deliver his soul from the hand of Sheol?" (Ps.89:48).
But it may be of use to put under distinct heads a few things about Sheol.
1. The state of those in Sheol. As death consists in the withdrawal by God of the spirit of life, and as this spirit is the source, in general, of energy and vital force, the personality is of necessity left feeble and flaccid. All that belongs to life ceases except existence. Hence Sheol is called ----, perishing, it is called ----, cessation (Isa.38:11). The personalities crowding there are powerless, and drowsy, and still and silent, like those in sleep. Hence they are called ---- (Job26:5; Isa.14:9). The state is called ----, silence: "Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence" (94:17). It is the land of forgetfulness (Ps.83:12); "the living know that they must die: but the dead know not any thing. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished" (Eccles.9:5). (pages 425-427)
2. There seems to be no distinction of good and evil in Sheol. As all must go into Sheol, so all are represented as being there. Sheol is no place of punishment itself, nor one of reward. Neither does it seem divided into such compartments. The state there is neither blessedness nor misery. It is bare existence. "There the wicked cease from troubling, i.e., from the disquietude which their own evil causes them, and the weary are at rest." "The small and great are there alike, and the servant is free from his master" (Job 3:17,19). To-morrow, said Samuel to the king whom God had rejected, "to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me. Then Saul fell straightway all along upon the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel" (1 Sam.28:19). "The dead not know anything," says the Preacher, "neither have they any more a reward" (Eccles.9:5). (page 428)
3. As to connection with the outer world, that is completely broken off. The dead can neither return, nor does he know anything of the things of earth; even the fate, happy or miserable, of those he is most bound up with, is a mystery to him. "His sons come to honor , and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, and he perceiveth it not of them" (Job 14:21). "As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more" (7:9). Yet with the strong belief in the existence of the persons in Sheol, there was naturally a popular superstition that they could be reached, and that they could be interested in human affairs, of the issues of which they must have deeper knowledge than mortal men. This belief among the Hebrews gave rise to the necromancy so sternly proscribed in the law, and ridiculed by Isaiah: "Should not a people seek unto their God?: should they seek for the living to the dead?" (8:19); and the belief isn't extinct among ourselves. That is was not a mere superstition, but an unlawful traffic, was shown by the case of Samuel
At all events the incident bears testimony to the prevalent belief in the existence of those who had died in this life. Yet how far the practice in general was carried on by mere working on the superstitions of the people, one cannot say. There is no other case in the Old Testament but that of Samuel of any dead person appearing and returning to Sheol. The relation between the dead in Sheol and God is not close: "Shall the dead praise Thee?" (Ps.88:10).
The main point is that the relation between the deceased person and God is cut off. This is what gave death its significance to the religious mind, and caused such a revulsion against it, culminating in such protests as that in Ps.16. Fellowship with God ceases: "In death there is no remembrance of Thee: in Sheol who shall give Thee thanks?" (Ps.6:5). "For Sheol cannot praise Thee," says Hezekiah; "thy that go down to the pit cannot hope for Thy truth" (Isa.38:18). And the plaintive singer in Ps.39 pleads for an extension of his earthly life on this ground: "Hold not Thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner," -- the meaning of these words being the opposite of what, with our Christian knowledge, we put into them. The Old Testament saint was a sojourner with God: this life in the body upon the earth was a brief but happy visit paid to Jehovah; but death summoned the visitor away, and it came to an end. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, pages 431-432)
. These convictions
may be seen from Pss.6, 30, and Hezekiah's prayer, Isa.38. In the first it is said, "Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: for in death there is no remembrance of Thee; in Sheol who shall give Thee thanks?" In the second, "I cried unto the Lord, What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise Thee? Shall it declare Thy truth?" And in the last, "For Sheol cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee: they that go down tot the pit cannot hope for Thy truth." And the plaintive singer in Ps.39 pleads, as Job often does, for an extension of his earthly life on this ground: "Hold not Thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner," the meaning being, as has been notice, nearly the opposite of that the Christian mind would read into the words. To the Old Testament saint this life on earth was a brief but happy visit paid to the Lord; but death summoned the visitor away, and it came to an end. This is always the significant element in the popular view of death, that it severed the relation between the person and God. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, pages 502-503)
(Of Hell)
yet the English word Hell is mixed up with numberless associations entirely foreign to the minds of the ancient Hebrews. It would perhaps have been better to retain the Hebrew word Sheol, or else render it always by "the grave" or "the pit"
Passing over the derivations suggested by older writers, it is now generally agreed that the word comes from the root ----, "to make hollow",
and therefore means the vast hollow subterranean resting-place which is common receptacle of the dead. (Sir W. Smith & Rev. J.M. Fuller, editors of Dictionary of the Bible, C.1893, page 1329)
Death is essentially an evil.
.namely, separation from God. It is the greatest possible separation. ((A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, page 518)
The dead are insensible to all that is. Fellowship with the living ceases. Fellowship with all ceases, even with God. The soul exists; but it has no conscious relations. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, pages 519)
To die was to become separate from God; to be dead was to continue in this state of separation. This is the meaning of death in the Old Testament. Hence the terrors that gathered around dying. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, pages 520)
Generally speaking, the Hebrews regarded the grave as the final end of all sentient and intelligent existence, "the land where all things are forgotten" (Ps.6:5; Ps. 88:10-22; Is. 38:9-20; Eccles. 9:10; Eccles. 17:27-28).
The valley of Hinnom, for which Gehenna is the Greek representative, once pleasant with the waters of Siloa, and which afterwards regained its old appearance, was with its horrible associations of Moloch-worship (Jer.7:31; 19:2-6; 2 K. 23:10) so abhorrent to Jewish feeling that they adopted the word as a symbol of disgust and torment. The feeling was kept up by the pollution which the valley underwent at the hands of Josiah, after which it was made the common sink of all the filth and corruption in the city, ghastly fires being kept burning
to preserve it from absolute putrefaction
. The fire and the worms were fit emblems of anguish, and as such had seized hold of the Jewish imagination (is. 66:24; Judith 16:17; Eccles 7:17); hence the application of the word Gehenna and its accessories in Matt.5:22,29,30; Luke 7:5. (Sir W. Smith & Rev. J.M. Fuller, editors of Dictionary of the Bible, C.1893, page 1330)
Sheol was regarded in Israel as the dwelling place of all the dead, independent of their character. Jacob is reported to have said when he believed his son Joseph dead: "I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning" (Gen.37:35) (Other examples: 2Sam.12:12; Isa14:9-11; Pss.6:5; 88:5; 115:17; Job 7:9-10) (Bruce M. Metzger & Micheal D. Coogan, editors of The Oxford Companion to the Bible, C.1993, page 277)
Sheol is 'in the dust' (Jb.17:13ff) and is probably best understood generically as 'the grave'. As a synonym for death it is the common goal and final leveller of all life: man and best, righteous and wicked, wise and foolish (Jb.3:13ff.; Ps.49; Ec.2:14, 3:19). It is a state of sleep, rest, darkness, silence, without thought or memory (Jb.3:16f., 17:13ff.; Ps.6:5; Ex.9:5,10)
the general Old Testament view, which sees life and death in utter opposition
(source unknown)
Although not strictly non-being, Sheol is the end of meaningful existence and is 'virtual annihilation' (Johnson, p.93)
. (J.D. Douglas, editor of The New Bible Dictionary, C.1962, page 736)
Sheol
it was believed that in death the existence of the soul came to an end. So, e.g., in Ps.146:4: "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thought perish"; and in Ps. 39:13: "O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be nor more." And perhaps most strongly of all in Job, e.g., 7:21: "And why dost thou not pardon my transgression? For now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me eagerly, but I shall not be"
(A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the New Testament, C.1904, page 425)
.. Sheol, the receptacle of the departed. There, in that underworld, good and evil, according to the Old Testament, appear alike immured; and the condition in which they subsist is not life, but bare existence, dreary and infelicitous. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the New Testament, C.1904, page 437)
DEATH. The opposite of life.
Since life is characterized by the ----, it is natural that death should sometimes be represented as the disappearance of this nephesh (Gen35:18; I Kings 17:21; Jer15:9; Jonah 4:3). The "departure" of the nephesh must be viewed as a figure of speech, for it does not continue to exist independently of the body, but dies with it (Num31:19; Judg16:30; Ezek13:19). No biblical text authorizes the statement that the "soul" is separated from the body at the moment of death. The ----, "spirit," which makes man a living being (cf. Gen2:7), and which he loses at death, is not, properly speaking, an anthropological reality, but a gift from God which returns to him at the time of death (Eccl12:7). The stoppage of breath, the loss of all movement and of all capacity for relations with others, all make death appear to be the opposite of life. (George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible - An Illustrated Encyclopedia, C.1962, page 802)
The death of the body, in ancient Hebrew perspective, is the death of the soul. Thus death means the termination of the individual's existence.
The Hope of an After-Life in relation to the ideas of Life and Death
1. As to Death. The Old Testament means by that what we ourselves mean when we use the word. It is the phenomenon which we observe, and which we call dying. But in the Old Testament this, so to speak, contains two things, death itself or dying, and the state of the dead. Now, on the one hand, all parts of the Old Testament indicate the prevalence of the view that at death the person who dies is not annihilated. The person who is dead has not ceased to exist, though he has ceased to live. But, on the other hand, death is not merely the separation of body and soul, the body falling into decay and the soul continuing to live. The Old Testament does not direct its attention to the body or the soul so much as to the person, and the person who dies remains dead. Death paralyses the life of the person. The person who has dies continues dead. He descends into the place where all dead persons are congregated, called in the Old Testament Sheol, and in the New Testament Hades. The dead person is there not non-existent, but dead, and all the consequences which we observe to follow death here pursue him there, -- he is cut off from all fellowship with the living, whether the living be man or God.
Of course, the Hebrew view of death is not materialistic. Just as in the history of creation God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, just as the body is represented as complete while not yet inhabited by the soul, which was drawn from elsewhere and entered the body; so the soul leaves the body in death, but does not become extinct. Yet the Old Testament does not call that which descends into Sheol, the place of the dead, either soul or spirit. It is the deceased person.
Again, the Hebrew view is far from being akin to the philosophic theory, which held the body to be the spirit's prison-house, from which when set at liberty the spirit rejoiced in a fuller life, and could expand its faculties to a greater exercise of power than was possible to it when cramped in the narrow material cell. Such a view of the body is far from being Scriptural. But, on the other hand, we must equally dismiss from our minds ideas which Christianity has made familiar to us, -- ideas of a culmination of the spirit at death into moral perfection, and the drifting away of all clouds which obscure the face of God to it here on earth.
Dismissing, then, all these ideas from our mind, we have to adhere to the representations in the Old Testament. And the point that requires to be kept firm hold of is, that the person who dies remains dead, not merely in the sense that he does not live on earth, but in every sense; life is paralyzed in whatever element of our being it may be supposed to reside. The state of the dead is a continuance, a prolongation of death. A few passages may be cited to illustrate what was thought of the state of those dead.
a. There are certain strong expressions used at times in the Old Testament regarding death, from which it might be inferred, indeed, that it was believed that the existence of the person came to an end absolutely, e.g. (Ps.146:4): "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish" ; "O Spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more" (Ps.39:14); "Why dost thou not pardon my transgression ? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me earnestly, but I shall not be" (Job 7:21). "For a tree hath hope, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again; but man dieth, and wasteth away: man giveth up the ghost and where is he? Man lieth down, and riseth not; till the heavens be nor more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep" (Job14:7). But these are merely the strong expressions of despondency and regret over a life soon ended here, and that never returns to be lived on earth again. The very name and conception of Sheol, the place of the dead, is sufficient answer to the first impression that they produce. The word Sheol, as has been said, is of uncertain meaning; but it probably is connected with the root that signifies to gape or yawn, and may mean a chasm or abyss, and thus differ little in meaning from our own word Hell, connected with the word to be hollow. A word often used in parallelism with it is pit and in the New Testament abyss. This place, where dead persons are assembled, is represented as the opposite of this upper world of light and life; it is spoken of as deep down in the earth: "Those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go down into the lower parts of the earth" (Ps.63:9); or it is under the earth, "the shades tremble underneath the waters" (Job26:5). Corresponding to this it is a land of darkness, as Job says: "A land of darkness, as darkness itself; without any order, and where the light is as darkness" (10:22).
Of course there is no formal topography to be sought for Sheol. It is in great measure the creation of the imagination, deep down under the earth, or under the waters of the seas. It is the abode of the departed persons, the place appointed for all living. The generations of one's forefathers are there, and he who dies is 'gathered unto his fathers.' The tribal divisions of one's nation are there, and the dead is gathered unto his people. Separated from them here, he is united to them there; and if even is own descendants had died before him, they are there, and he goes down, as Jacob to his son, to Sheol mourning. None can hope to escape entering among these dead personalities: "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death; what shall deliver his soul from the hand of Sheol?" (Ps.89:48)
b. We have seen that, as death consists in the withdrawal by God of his spirit of life, and as this spirit is the source of energy and vital force, the personality in death is left feeble. All that belongs to life ceases except bare subsistence. Hence Sheol is called Abaddon, 'perishing'; it is called cessation. The persons there are still and silent as in sleep. They are called shades. The condition is called 'silence': "unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had dwelt in silence" (Ps.44:17). It is the land of forgetfulness: "the living know that they must die: but he dead know not anything. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished" (Eccles.9:5)
.
. The grave suggest a deep cavernous receptacle as the place of the dead. The sleep of death causes them to deem it a land of stillness and silence. The flaccid, powerless corpse makes them think of the person as feeble, without energy or power. Only this amount of certainty seems deducible, that the dead persons still in some way subsisted. Death puts an end to the existence of no person.
c. My impression is, as has been stated, that so far as the Old Testament writings are concerned, there appears nowhere any distinction between good and evil in this place of the dead. Sheol is no place of punishment itself nor of reward. Neither is it divided into any distinct, retributive compartments. The state there is not blessedness nor misery. It is subsistence simply.
d. There is one more point in regard to the dead that is of importance. Connection with the world of life is completely broken. The dead man cannot return to earth, nor does he know anything of the things of the earth; even the fate, happy or miserable, of those he was most bound up with, is unknown to him: "His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; they are brought low, and he perceiveth it not of them" (Job 14:21). Yet, with the strong belief in the existence of the personalities in Sheol, there was not unnaturally a popular superstition that they could be reached, and that they could give counsel to the living. The belief probably was not that the dead must have more knowledge than the living, from the mere fact of their having passed into another state. It was not thought that there must be wisdom with great Death. More likely the dead to whom recourse was had were persons who were eminent when living, such as prophets or great ancestors, and whom might still be supposed capable of giving counsel or light to the living in their perplexity. This appears to be the meaning of Saul's desire to consult Samuel. The prophet Isaiah, however, ridicules the idea: "Should not a people seek unto their God? Should they seek for the living unto the dead?" (8:19). But he main point is that the relation between the deceased persons and God was held to be altogether severed. This was what gave death its significance to the religious mind, and caused such a revulsion against it, culminating in such protests as that in Ps.16. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, pages 497-502)
The Israelitish lawgiver could not have been altogether ignorant of the Egyptian or the Babylonian conceptions of the future world. Obviously Israel's prophets and lawgivers deliberately avoided giving any definite expression to the common belief in a future life after death, especially as the Canaanitish magicians and necromancers used this popular belief to carry on their superstitious practices, so dangerous to all moral progress. (See Isa.8:19; 28:15,18; I Sam. 29:7-14) The great task which prophetic Judaism set itself was to place the entire life of men and nations in the service of the God of justice and holiness; there was thus no motive to extend the dominion of JHVH, the God of life, to the underworld, the playground of the forces of fear and superstition. (Dr. K. Kohler, Jewish Theology, C.1918, page 280)
Biblical Judaism evinced such a powerful impetus toward a complete and blissful life with God, that the center and purpose of existence could not be transferred to the hereafter, as in other systems of belief, but was found in the desire to work out the life here on earth to its fullest possible development. Virtue and wisdom, righteousness and piety, signify and secure true life; vice and folly, iniquity and sin, lead to death and annihilation. (Dr. K. Kohler, Jewish Theology, C.1918, page 281)
Job,.. in his affliction longed for death as release from all earthly pain and sorrow, but not to bring him a state of rest and peace like the Nirvana of the Indian beggar-monk, or an outlook into a better world to come. Such an awakening to a new life seems to him unthinkable, -- although many commentators have often endeavored to read such a hope into certain of his expressions. (Dr. K. Kohler, Jewish Theology, C.1918, page 281)
It has always been surprising to readers of the Old Testament that there is so little reference in it in many parts of it no reference at all to what we call a future life. And there is, no doubt, some difficulty in conceiving the modes of thinking that prevailed in Israel. In point of fact, our modes of thinking and theirs form two extremes. We have been taught by many things to feel that a true or perfect religious life with God cannot be lived upon the earth; that only in another sphere can true fellowship with Him be maintained. It is possible that what is true in this idea may have been pursued to an extreme, to the undue depreciation of this life, and the undue limitation of its possibilities in the way of living unto God. The Hebrew stood at the other pole. This life seemed to him the normal condition of man. Life with God was possible here - was indeed life. It was this that gave life its joy "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and my cup" (Ps.16:5). It was this possession of Jehovah that made life to the pious mind of old. The Hebrew saint did not think of the future, because he had in the present all that could ever be received. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, page 505)
Immortality was not inherent in the nature of the original man as a quality of it. Scripture says nothing of such a thing; but in the moral condition of a man as a righteous, religious being, immortality was inherent. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, page 519)
The Hebrew saint called that "life" which made the existence of the complete person in all his parts
. Anything else was not life, but death. And he had this life upon the earth, and God's presence with him filled it with joy; he had life in its perfect meaning. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, page 506)
in earlier times there was a strong feeling of the unity of God and His universal efficiency in the rule of all things; and this carried with it also the feeling of the unity of the world, which was the sphere of His rule, and no distinction was drawn between this world and another. There was one world, as there was one God ruling everywhere. His efficiency and will pervaded the universe; no change of place could make any alteration. Hence the idea, now familiar to us, of heaven as an abode of the righteous, had not
been reached. That which makes the essence of our idea of heaven, the presence of God, they had as much as we. But this presence was enjoyed on earth.
In the perfect state of God's people, when the covenant should be fully realized, when Jehovah should be truly their God and they His people, the saints would not be translated into heaven to be with God, but He would come down to earth and abide among them. The tabernacle of God would be with men. That state of blessedness which we transfer to heaven, they thought would be realized on earth. They were not insensible to the evils that were on the earth, nor did they suppose that God would dwell with men upon the earth, the earth remaining as it is. On the contrary, the coming of the Lord would destroy evil, and the earth would be transformed: "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth" (Isa65:17). Yet it remained the earth; and in the new and transfigured world the principles of God's present rule were but carried to perfection. Hence essentially, though not perfectly , the pious Israelite had, in God's presence with him, what we name heaven , although upon earth; and though he might long and look for the day of the Lord, when God would appear in His glory and transform all things, this change did not create another world, but brought in the religious perfection of the present one. In other words, what we call, and what is to us, heaven, the Israelite called earth, when the Lord had come to dwell in His fullness among men; there was no translation into another sphere. There were not two worlds, but one. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, pages 506-507)
Salvation to (the Hebrew) was a present good. (A.B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament, C.1904, page 529)