1 Kings 17:21

Stretched himself. This does not mean that the prophet was resorting to some natural means of reviving the dead. Only God, who gave life, can restore life. Elijah prayed earnestly to God that He would bring the child back to life.

Soul. Heb. nephesh. This Hebrew word occurs more than 700 times in the OT and has been variously translated “soul” (Gen. 2:7; 12:5, 12; etc.), “creature” (Gen. 1:21, 24; 2:19; Lev. 11:46; etc.), “person” (Gen. 14:21; Joshua 20:9; Jer. 43:6; etc.), “life” (Gen. 9:4; Ex. 4:19; Joshua 2:14; etc.), “dead” (Lev. 19:28; Num. 9:6, 7, 10; etc.), “self” (Lev. 11:43; 1 Kings 19:4; Isa. 46:2; etc.), and a number of other ways. Of all the various renderings, the translation “life” would probably be the most suitable in the text under consideration. The translation “soul” is misleading and conveys to many the idea of an immortal entity, capable of a conscious existence separate from the body. This idea is not resident in the word nephesh. In all of the more than 700 occurrences of the word, never once is such an idea attached to it or even implied. Not once is a nephesh called immortal. To translate nephesh “life” is in harmony with what the translators of our Bible have done in 119 other instances. A notable example is 1 Kings 19:4, in which Elijah declares: “O Lord, take away my life [Heb. nephesh].” Here the translators have correctly employed the word “life.” For a further discussion of the problem see on Gen. 35:18.