Psalms 16:10

Leave. Heb. ‘azab, “abandon.” The sentence reads literally, “Thou wilt not abandon my soul to she’ol.”

Soul. Heb. nephesh, a word occurring 755 times in the OT, 144 times in the psalms, most frequently translated “soul.” This translation is unfortunate, for “soul” conveys to many English readers ideas that do not properly belong to nephesh. A brief analysis of the Hebrew word will help to clarify what the Bible writers meant when they used this word.

Nephesh comes from the root naphash, a verb occurring only three times in the OT (Ex. 23:12; 31:17; 2 Sam. 16:14), each time meaning “to revive oneself” or “to refresh oneself.” The verb seems to go back to the basic meaning of breathing.

A definition for nephesh may be derived from the Bible account of the creation of man (Gen. 2:7). The record declares that when God gave life to the body He had formed, the man literally “became a soul of life.” The “soul” had not previously existed, but came into existence at the creation of Adam. A new soul comes into existence every time a child is born. Each birth represents a new unit of life uniquely different and separate from other similar units. The new unit can never merge into another unit. It will always be itself. There may be countless individuals like it but none that is actually that unit. This uniqueness of individuality seems to be the idea emphasized in the Hebrew term nephesh.

Nephesh is applied not only to men but also to animals. The clause, “let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life” (Gen. 1:20), is literally, “let the waters swarm swarms of souls of life [individuals of life].” Beasts and fowl are called “living creatures” literally, “souls of life,” better, “individuals of life” (Gen. 2:19). Hence animals as well as human beings are “souls.”

This basic idea of “soul” being the individual rather than a constituent part of the individual, seems to underlie the various occurrences of nephesh. It is therefore better to say a certain person or a certain animal is a soul than to say he or it has a soul.

From the basic idea of a nephesh being an individual, or a person, springs the idiomatic use of nephesh for the personal pronoun. Expressions like “my soul” are idiomatic for “I,” “me”; “thy soul” for “you”; “their soul” for “they,” “them.”

Since each new nephesh represents a new unit of life, nephesh is often used synonymously with “life”. In 119 instances the KJV translates nephesh by “life,” and there are other instances where “life” would have been a more accurate translation (see on 1 Kings 17:21).

The majority of the occurrences of nephesh may be appropriately translated by “person,” “individual,” “life,” or by the appropriate personal pronoun. “The souls that they had gotten in Haran” (Gen. 12:5) is simply “the persons that they had gotten in Haran.” “My soul shall live because of thee” (Gen. 12:13) is simply, “I shall live because of thee.” “That soul shall be cut off” (Lev. 19:8) is simply, “he shall be cut off.”

Hell. Heb. she’ol, the figurative dwelling place of the dead, where those who have departed from this life are represented as sleeping together (see on Prov. 15:11). See the fulfillment of this prediction in the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:25–31). On principles of OT prophetic interpretation, see on Deut. 18:15.

Holy One. Heb. chasid, frequently translated “saint” (see Ps. 30:4; 31:23; 50:5; 79:2; etc.; see Additional Note on Ps. 36).

Corruption. Heb. shachath. “Pit,” as the word is frequently translated (Job 33:18, 24, 28, 30; etc.); shachath is also translated “ditch” (Job 9:31), “corruption” (Job 17:14), “grave” (Job 33:22), “destruction” (Ps. 55:23).