(From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)
 

(From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)
 

SOUL; SELF; LIFE
A. Noun.
nepesh OT:5315, "soul; self; life; person; heart." This is a very common term in both ancient and modern Semitic languages. It occurs over 780 times in the Old Testament and is evenly distributed in all periods of the text with a particularly high frequency in poetic passages.
The basic meaning is apparently related to the rare verbal form, napash. The noun refers to the essence of life, the act of breathing, taking breath. However, from that concrete concept, a number of more abstract meanings were developed. In its primary sense the noun appears in its first occurrence in Gen 1:20: "the moving creature that hath life," and in its second occurrence in Gen 2:7: "living soul."
However, in over 400 later occurrences it is translated "soul." While this serves to make sense in most passages, it is an unfortunate mistranslation of the term. The real difficulty of the term is seen in the inability of almost all English translations to find a consistent equivalent or even a small group of high-frequency equivalents for the term. The KJV alone uses over 28 different English terms for this one Hebrew word. The problem with the English term "soul" is that no actual equivalent of the term or the idea behind it is represented in the Hebrew language. The Hebrew system of thought does not include the combination or opposition of the terms "body" and "soul," which are really Greek and Latin in origin. The Hebrew contrasts two other concepts which are not found in the Greek and Latin tradition: "the inner self" and "the outer appearance" or, as viewed in a different context, "what one is to oneself" as opposed to "what one appears to be to one's observers." The inner person is nepesh, while the outer person, or reputation, is shem, most commonly translated "name." In narrative or historical passages of the Old Testament, nepesh can be translated as "life" or "self," as in Lev 17:11: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for [yourselves]...." Needless to say, the reading "soul" is meaningless in such a text.
But the situation in the numerous parallel poetic passages in which the term appears is much more difficult. The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate both simply use the Greek and Latin equivalent "soul," especially in the Psalms. The first occurrence is in Ps 3:2: "Many are saying of my soul, There is no deliverance for him in God" (NASB). The next occurrence is in Ps 6:3: "And my soul is greatly dismayed; But Thou, O Lord-- how long?" (NASB). In both passages the parallel contrast is between nepesh and some aspect of the self, expressed as "him" in Ps 3:2 and not expressed but understood in Ps 6:3. There is no distinction as to whether it appears as an "A" or "B" word in the parallelism. However, since Hebrew rejects repeating the same noun in both halves of a poetic line, nepesh is often used as the parallel for the speaker, primary personal subject, and even for God, as in Ps 11:5: "The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence [he himself] hateth." Such passages are frequent, and a proper understanding of the word enlightens many wellknown passages, such as Ps 119:109: "My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Thy law" (NASB).
The versions vary widely in their readings of nepesh, with the more contemporary versions casting widely for meanings.
B. Verb.
Napash means "to breathe; respire; be refreshed." This verb, which is apparently related to the noun nepesh, appears 3 times in the Old Testament Ex 23:12; 31:17. The other appearance is in 2 Sam 16:14: "And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary and refreshed themselves there."

(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

New Testament

SOUL
psuche NT:5590 denotes "the breath, the breath of life," then "the soul," in its various meanings. The NT uses "may be analyzed approximately as follows:
(a) the natural life of the body, Matt 2:20; Luke 12:22; Acts 20:10; Rev 8:9; 12:11; cf. Lev 17:11; 2 Sam 14:7; Est 8:11; (b) the immaterial, invisible part of man, Matt 10:28; Acts 2:27; cf. 1 Kings 17:21; (c) the disembodied (or "unclothed" or "naked," 2 Cor 5:3,4) man, Rev 6:9; (d) the seat of personality, Luke 9:24, explained as "own self," v. 25; 19; 10:39; cf. Isa 53:10 with 1 Tim 2:6; (e) the seat of the sentient element in man, that by which he perceives, reflects, feels, desires, Matt 11:29; Luke 1:46; 2:35; Acts 14:2,22; cf. Ps 84:2; 139:14; Isa 26:9; (f) the seat of will and purpose, Matt 22:37; Acts 4:32; Eph 6:6; Phil 1:27; Heb 12:3; cf. Num 21:4; Deut 11:13; (g) the seat of appetite, Rev 18:14; cf. Ps 107:9; Prov 6:30; Isa 5:14 ("desire"); 29:8; (h) persons, individuals, Acts 2:41,43; Rom 2:9; James 5:20; 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:14; cf. Gen 12:5; 14:21 ("persons"); Lev 4:2 ('any one'); Ezek 27:13; of dead bodies, Num 6:6, lit., "dead soul"; and of animals, Lev 24:18, lit., "soul for soul"; (i) the equivalent of the personal pronoun, used for emphasis and effect:-- 1 st person, John 10:24 ("us"); Heb 10:38; cf. Gen 12:13; Num 23:10; Judg 16:30; Ps 120:2 ("me"); 2 nd person, 2 Cor 12:15; Heb 13:17; James 1:21; 1 Peter 1:9; 2:25; cf. Lev 17:11; 26:15; 1 Sam 1:26; 3 rd person, 1 Peter 4:19; 2 Peter 2:8; cf. Ex 30:12; Job 32:2, Heb. "soul," Sept. "self"; (j) an animate creature, human or other, 1 Cor 15:45; Rev 16:3; cf. Gen 1:24; 2:7,19; (k) "the inward man," the seat of the new life, Luke 21:19 (cf. Matt 10:39); 1 Peter 2:11; 3 John 2.
"With (j) compare a-psuchos, "soulless, inanimate," 1 Cor 14:7.
"With (f) compare di-psuchos, "two-souled," James 1:8; 4:8;¶ oligo psuchos, "feeble-souled," 1 Thess 5:14;¶ iso-psuchos, "like-souled," Phil 2:20;¶ sum-psuchos, "joint-souled" ("with. one accord"), Phil 2:2.
"The language of Heb 4:12 suggests the extreme difficulty of distinguishing between the soul and the spirit, alike in their nature and in their activities. Generally speaking the spirit is the higher, the soul the lower element. The spirit may be recognized as the life principle bestowed on man by God, the soul as the resulting life constituted in the individual, the body being the material organism animated by soul and spirit....
"Body and soul are the constituents of the man according to Matt 6:25; 10:28; Luke 12:20; Acts 20:10; body and spirit according to Luke 8:55; 1 Cor 5:3; 7:34; James 2:26. In Matt 26:38 the emotions are associated with the soul, in John 13:21 with the spirit; cf. also Ps 42:11 with 1 Kings 21:5. In Ps 35:9 the soul rejoices in God, in Luke 1:47 the spirit.
"Apparently, then, the relationships may be thus summed up 'Soma, body, and pneuma, spirit, may be separated, pneuma and psuche, soul, can only be distinguished' (Cremer)."
From Notes on Thessalonians, by Hogg and Vine pp. 205-207.

(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

SPIRIT; BREATH (Vine's Expository Dictionary)

     ruach ^7307^, "breath; air; strength; wind; breeze; spirit; courage; temper;
Spirit." This noun has cognates in Ugaritic, Aramaic, and Arabic. The word occurs
about 378 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew.
     First, this word means "breath," air for breathing, air that is being
breathed. This meaning is especially evident in <Jer. 14:6>: "And the wild asses
did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons...." When one's
"breath" returns, he is revived: "...when he [Samson] had drunk [the water], his
spirit [literally, "breath"] came again, and he revived..." <Judg. 15:19>.
Astonishment may take away one's "breath": "And when the queen of Sheba had
seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the home that he had built, And the meat of his
table,... there was no more spirit in her [she was overwhelmed and breathless]" <1
Kings 10:4-5>. Ruach may also represent speaking, or the breath of one's mouth:
"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the
breath of his mouth" Ps. 33:6>; cf. <Exod. 15:8; Job 4:9; 19:17>.
     Second, this word can be used with emphasis on the invisible, intangible,
fleeting quality of "air": "O remember that my life is wind: mine eyes shall no
more see good" <Job 7:7>. There may be a suggestion of purposelessness,
uselessness, or even vanity (emptiness) when ruach is used with this significance:
"And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them..." <Jer. 5:13>.
"Windy words" are really "empty words" <Job 16:3>, just as "windy knowledge" is
"empty knowledge" <Job 15:2;> cf. <Eccl. 1:14,17>--" meaningless striving". In
<Prov. 11:29> ruach means "nothing": "He that troubleth his own house shall
inherit the wind...." This nuance is especially prominent in <Eccl. 5:15-16>: "And
he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and
shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. And this
also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit
hath he that hath labored for the wind?"
     Third, ruach can mean "wind." In <Gen. 3:8> it seems to mean the gentle,
refreshing evening breeze so well known in the Near East: "And they heard the
voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool [literally, "breeze"] of the
day...." It can mean a strong, constant wind: "...and the Lord brought an east wind
upon the land all that day, and all that night..." <Exod. 10:13>. It can also signify
an extremely strong wind: "And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind..."
<Exod. 10:19>. In <Jer. 4:11> the word appears to represent a gale or tornado (cf.
<Hos. 8:7>). God is the Creator <Amos 4:13> and sovereign Controller of the
winds <Gen. 8:1; Num. 11:31; Jer. 10:13>.
     Fourth, the wind represents direction. In <Jer. 49:36> the four winds
represent the four ends of the earth, which in turn represent every quarter: "And
upon Elam will I bring the four winds [peoples from every quarter of the earth]
from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds;
and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come."
Akkadian attests the same phrase with the same meaning, and this phrase begins
to appear in Hebrew at a time when contact with Akkadian-speaking peoples was
frequent.
     Fifth, ruach frequently represents the element of life in a man, his natural
"spirit": "And all flesh died that moved upon the earth,... All in whose nostrils was
the breath of life..." <Gen. 7:21-22>. In these verses the animals have a "spirit" (cf.
<Ps. 104:29>). On the other hand, in <Prov. 16:2> the word appears to mean more
than just the element of life; it seems to mean "soul": "All the ways of a man are
clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits [NASB, "motives"]." Thus,
Isaiah can put nepesh, "soul," and ruach in synonymous parallelism: "With my
soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek
thee early..." <26:9>. It is the "spirit" of a man that returns to God <Eccl. 12:7>.
     Sixth, ruach is often used of a man's mind-set, disposition, or "temper":
"Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose
spirit there is no guile" <Ps. 32:2>. In <Ezek. 13:3> the word is med of one's mind
or thinking: "Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirits, and have
seen nothing" (cf. <Prov. 29:11>). Ruach can represent particular dispositions, as
it does in <Josh. 2:11>: "And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did
melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you..." (cf.
<Josh. 5:1; Job 15:13>). Another disposition represented by this word is "temper":
"If the spirit [temper] of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place..."
<Eccl. 10:4>. David prayed that God would "restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit" <Ps. 51:12>. In this verse "joy of
salvation" and "free Spirit" are parallel and, therefore, synonymous terms.
Therefore, "spirit" refers to one's inner disposition, just as "joy" refers to an inner
emotion.
     Seventh, the Bible often speaks of God's "Spirit," the third person of the
Trinity. This is the use of the word in its first biblical occurrence: "And the earth
was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the
Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" <Gen. 1:2>. <Isa. 63:10-11> and
<Ps. 51:12> specifically speak of the "holy or free Spirit."
     Eighth, the non-material beings (angels) in heaven are sometimes called
"spirits": "And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will
persuade him" <1 Kings 22:21>; cf. <1 Sam. 16:14>.
     Ninth, the "spirit" may also be used of that which enables a man to do a
particular job or that which represents the essence of a quality of man: "And
Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his
hands upon him..." <Deut. 34:9>. Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion of his
"spirit" <2 Kings 2:9> and received it.
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
 
 

New Testament

SPIRIT (Vine's Expository Dictionary)

     pneuma ^4151^ primarily denotes "the wind" (akin to pneo, "to breathe,
blow"); also "breath"; then, especially "the spirit," which, like the wind, is 

invisible,
immaterial and powerful. The NT uses of the word may be analyzed
approximately as follows:
     "(a) the wind, <John 3:8> (where marg. is, perhaps, to be preferred); <Heb.
1:7>; cf. <Amos 4:13>, Sept.; (b) the breath, <2 Thes. 2:8; Rev. 11:11; 13:15>; cf.
<Job 12:10>, Sept.; (c) the immaterial, invisible part of man, <Luke 8:55; Acts
7:59; 1 Cor. 5:5; Jas. 2:26>; cf. <Eccl. 12:7>, Sept.; (d) the disembodied (or
`unclothed,' or `naked,' <2 Cor. 5:3,4>) man, <Luke 24:37,39; Heb. 12:23; 1 Pet.
4:6>; (e) the resurrection body, <1 Cor. 15:45; 1 Tim. 3:16; 1 Pet. 3:18>; (f) the
sentient element in man, that by which he perceives, reflects, feels, desires, <Matt.
5:3; 26:41; Mark 2:8; Luke 1:47,80; Acts 17:16; 20:22; 1 Cor. 2:11; 5:3,4; 14:4,15; 2
Cor. 7:1>; cf. <Gen. 26:35; Isa. 26:9; Ezek. 13:3; Dan. 7:15>; (g) purpose, aim, <2
Cor. 12:18; Phil. 1:27; Eph. 4:23; Rev. 19:10>; cf. <Ezra 1:5; Ps. 78:8; Dan. 5:12>;
(h) the equivalent of the personal pronoun, used for emphasis and effect: 1st
person, <1 Cor. 16:18>; cf. <Gen. 6:3>; 2nd person, <2 Tim. 4:22; Philem. 25>; cf.
<Ps. 139:7>; 3rd person, <2 Cor. 7:13>; cf. <Isa. 40:13>; (i) character, <Luke 1:17;
Rom. 1:4>; cf. <Num. 14:24>; (j) moral qualities and activities: bad, as of bondage,
as of a slave, <Rom. 8:15>; cf. <Isa. 61:3>; stupor, <Rom. 11:8>; cf. <Isa. 29:10>;
timidity, <2 Tim. 1:7>; cf. <Josh. 5:1>; good, as of adoption, i. e., liberty as of a
son, <Rom. 8:15>; cf. <Ps. 51:12>; meekness, <1 Cor. 4:21>; cf. <Prov. 16:19>;
faith, <2 Cor. 4:13>; quietness, <1 Pet. 3:4>; cf. <Prov. 14:29>; (k) the Holy Spirit,
e. g., <Matt. 4:1> (see below); <Luke 4:18>; (l) `the inward man' (an expression
used only of the believer, <Rom. 7:22; 2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 3:16>); the new life, <Rom.
8:4-6,10,16; Heb. 12:9>; cf. <Ps. 51:10>; (m) unclean spirits, demons, <Matt. 8:16;
Luke 4:33; 1 Pet. 3:19>; cf. <1 Sam. 18:10>; (n) angels, <Heb. 1:14>; cf. <Acts
12:15>; (o) divine gift for service, <1 Cor. 14:12,32>; (p) by metonymy, those who
claim to be depositories of these gifts, <2 Thes. 2:2; 1 John 4:1-3>; (q) the
significance, as contrasted with the form, of words, or of a rite, <John 6:63; Rom.
2:29; 7:6; 2 Cor. 3:6>; (r) a vision, <Rev. 1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10>."
     From Notes on Thessalonians, by Hogg and Vine, pp. 204, 205.
     Notes: (1) For phantasma, rendered "spirit," <Matt. 14:26; Mark 6:49>,
KJV, see APPARITION. (2) For the distinction between "spirit" and "soul," see
under SOUL, last three paragraphs.
     The Holy Spirit
     The "Holy Spirit" is spoken of under various titles in the NT ("Spirit" and
"Ghost" are renderings of the same word, pneuma; the advantage of the rendering
"Spirit" is that it can always be used, whereas "Ghost" always requires the word
"Holy" prefixed.) In the following list the omission of the definite article marks its
omission in the original (concerning this see below): "Spirit, <Matt. 22:43>;
Eternal Spirit, <Heb. 9:14>; the Spirit, <Matt. 4:1>; Holy Spirit, <Matt. 1:18>; the
Holy Spirit, <Matt. 28:19>; the Spirit, the Holy, <Matt. 12:32>; the Spirit of
promise, the Holy, <Eph. 1:13>; Spirit of God, <Rom. 8:9>; Spirit of (the) living
God, <2 Cor. 3:3>; the Spirit of God, <1 Cor. 2:11>; the Spirit of our God, <1 Cor.
6:11>; the Spirit of God, the Holy, <Eph. 4:30>; the Spirit of glory and of God, <1
Pet. 4:14>; the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead (i. e., God),
<Rom. 8:11>; the Spirit of your Father, <Matt. 10:20>; the Spirit of His Son, <Gal.
4:6>; Spirit of (the) Lord, <Acts 8:39>; the Spirit of (the) Lord, <Acts 5:9>; (the)
Lord, (the) Spirit, <2 Cor. 3:18>; the Spirit of Jesus, <Acts 16:7>; Spirit of Christ,
<Rom. 8:9>; the Spirit of Jesus Christ, <Phil. 1:19>; Spirit of adoption, <Rom.
8:15>; the Spirit of truth, <John 14:17>; the Spirit of life, <Rom. 8:2>; the Spirit of
grace, <Heb. 10:29>."
     From Notes on Galatians, by Hogg and Vine, p. 193.
     The use or absence of the article in the original where the "Holy Spirit" is
spoken of cannot always be decided by grammatical rules, nor can the presence or
absence of the article alone determine whether the reference is to the "Holy
Spirit." Examples where the Person is meant when the article is absent are <Matt.
22:43> (the article is used in <Mark 12:36>); <Acts 4:25>, RV (absent in some
texts); <19:2,6; Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 2:4; Gal. 5:25> (twice); <1 Pet. 1:2>. Sometimes
the absence is to be accounted for by the fact that Pneuma (like Theos) is
substantially a proper name, e. g., in <John 7:39>. As a general rule the article is
present where the subject of the teaching is the Personality of the Holy Spirit, e.
g., <John 14:26>, where He is spoken of in distinction from the Father and the
Son. See also <15:26> and cf. <Luke 3:22>.
     In <Gal. 3:3>, in the phrase "having begun in the Spirit," it is difficult to
say whether the reference is to the "Holy Spirit" or to the quickened spirit of the
believer; that it possibly refers to the latter is not to be determined by the absence
of the article, but by the contrast with "the flesh"; on the other hand, the contrast
may be between the "Holy Spirit" who in the believer sets His seal on the perfect
work of Christ, and the flesh which seeks to better itself by works of its own.
There is no preposition before either noun, and if the reference is to the quickened
spirit it cannot be dissociated from the operation of the "Holy Spirit." In <Gal.
4:29> the phrase "after the Spirit" signifies "by supernatural power," in contrast to
"after the flesh," i. e., "by natural power," and the reference must be to the "Holy
Spirit"; so in <5:17>.
     The full title with the article before both pneuma and hagios (the
"resumptive" use of the article), lit., "the Spirit the Holy," stresses the character of
the Person, e. g., <Matt. 12:32; Mark 3:29; 12:36; 13:11; Luke 2:26; 10:21> (RV);
<John 14:26; Acts 1:16; 5:3; 7:51; 10:44,47; 13:2; 15:28; 19:6; 20:23,28; 21:11;
28:25; Eph. 4:30; Heb. 3:7; 9:8; 10:15>.
     The Personality of the Spirit is emphasized at the expense of strict
grammatical procedure in <John 14:26; 15:26; 16:8,13,14>, where the emphatic
pronoun ekeinos, "He," is used of Him in the masculine, whereas the noun pneuma
is neuter in Greek, while the corresponding word in Aramaic, the language in
which our Lord probably spoke, is feminine (rucha, cf. Heb. ruach). The rendering
"itself" in <Rom. 8:16,26>, due to the Greek gender, is corrected to "Himself" in
the RV.
     The subject of the "Holy Spirit" in the NT may be considered as to His
divine attributes; His distinct Personality in the Godhead; His operation in
connection with the Lord Jesus in His birth, His life, His baptism, His death; His
operations in the world; in the church; His having been sent at Pentecost by the
Father and by Christ; His operations in the individual believer; in local churches;
His operations in the production of Holy Scripture; His work in the world, etc.
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

OT:5315
nephesh (neh'-fesh); from OT:5314; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental):

KJV - any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead (-ly), desire, X [dis-] contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart (-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thyself-), them (your)- selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

New Testament

NT:5590
psuche (psoo-khay'); from NT:5594; breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from NT:4151, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from NT:2222, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew OT:5315, OT:7307 and OT:2416):

KJV - heart (+-ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
 

OT:7307
ruwach (roo'-akh); from OT:7306; wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions):

KJV - air, anger, blast, breath, X cool, courage, mind, X quarter, X side, spirit ([-ual]), tempest, X vain, ([whirl-]) wind (-y).

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

NT:4151
pneuma (pnyoo'-mah); from NT:4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit:

KJV - ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Compare NT:5590.

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

When Godde created the first human being (in Hebrew ha'adam, the person), Godde 
gave the human life by breathing into its nostrils (Gen. 2:4). Even earlier in the book 
of Genesis, we hear (in the Hebrew) that the Spirit of Godde breathed over the chaos 
that existed before humans were created (Gen. 1:2). The spirit, in other words, is that 
little spark of Godde within us that keeps us alive.

Soul: The ancient Hebrews had no conception of the soul; that is an idea the ancient 
Greeks came up with. For millennia it was thought that when one died, one’s spirit went 
to an underground place called Sheol, or in Greek Hades, where it had a sort of shadowy 
half-existence devoid of thought, sensation, or anything much at all. In a late addition 
to the Nicene Creed, we are told that Jesus descended not into Hell — an invention of 
the Middle Ages — but into Hades. When in the myth Orpheus went down to Hades to bring
his beloved Eurydice back from death, she didn’t much want to leave the blessed freedom 
from fear, insecurity, and worry. When Saul had a medium conjure up the spirit of Samuel 
to get his advice, the spirit of Samuel was irritated as hell (so to speak) at having 
his rest interrupted (1 Samuel 28:7-20). 

But yet, we each know we have a soul, even if we can’t explain how or why we know, even
if it can’t be identified in a laboratory, dissected, created by human means. Here is an analogy that may help you understand the various distinctions: the human mind comprises the brain and all its workings — memory, perception, reason, the stew of hormones that results in our emotions. It is, in other words, the “hardware” of human existence. The human soul is what governs the human hardware — the “software” of human existence, our very own “operating system,” unique to each of us. The human spirit is the “electricity” that animates us.

· The soul (pyche or psuche in the Greek) is the combination of faculties that 
consists of the mind, intellect, will, and emotions.  The soul performs rational and 
intellectual functions.  The rational will never capture the wind!   This is why we are 
unable to discern God with our souls alone.
 
 

·The soul, as I said earlier, is a combination of our mind, will, intellect and 
emotions.  Its function contrary to the spirit is not to reveal, but to actively work 
and choose.  It is the mediator between our bodies and our spirits.  The soul is 
constantly involved in a struggle to choose between the promptings of the Holy Spirit 
and the promptings of our carnal flesh, our un renewed minds, the world, and the 
trickeries of Satan.  The Spirit of the living God within us, must become manifested 
enough to win the battle for the soul.
 
 

...

the human mind comprises the brain and all its workings — memory, perception, reason, the stew of hormones that results in our emotions. It is, in other words, the “hardware” of human existence. The human soul is what governs the human hardware — the “software” of human existence, our very own “operating system,” unique to each of us. The human spirit is the “electricity” that animates us.
 

The greek of the New Testament makes things a little more clear. We know there is a difference between the soul (psyche) and the spirit (pneuma) by looking at Hebrews 4:12- "For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit..." . 

The spirit is always referred to as the immaterial part of man. Man is not a spirit, he has a spirit. I believe the soul (psyche) is just what the greek word implies... the makeup of man. You are different from every other person. The thing that makes Raymond Raymond is the soul. The soul is how you relate to others and how you understand yourself. The spirit is how you relate to God. When you are reborn, you are born of spirit (John 3:5-6). The spirit is part of the soul, much like the mind is part of the soul. It is the soul, though, that comprises who you are.

Animals don't have a spirit per se- they don't seek God. Plants have a body, animals have a body and soul (they are capable of relating to man and other animals), but only man has a spirit. Both the soul and spirit pass when man dies, thus you will be recognizable as Raymond in the coming resurrection (ref Matt 17:3) and you will as a believer forever be able to fellowship with God. You will be given a new body (1 Cor 15:51-55), but you will be you.