Getting to the Soul of the Matter
“He restores my soul.”
The word “soul” defines our future within the Judeo-Christian tradition. According to Richard Schlimm, in his book 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know, the word “soul” appears about 750 times in the Scriptures. Our faith benefits from learning the Biblical understanding of the soul.
Many people of faith believe that after we die, the soul goes to heaven or hell. Schlimm argues, “While that’s a commonly held belief, the Bible doesn’t tend to talk about souls in this way.” The New Testament talks about a bodily resurrection. Many English translations interpret the Hebrew word nephesh as “soul.” Yet, the different Bible translations interpret the word nephesh as “soul,” but you can also define nephesh as “life.”
While the King James Bible (early 1600’s) uses the word “soul” over 500 times, the Common English Bible (2011), which I had a minor role in interpreting, uses the word “soul” only 9 times. Consider the difference in the Hebrew word makes on our Biblical understanding. Look at the famous 23rd Psalm, v. 3, “He restores my soul” as opposed to “He restores my life.” Likewise, Deuteronomy 6:5 could state, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Or, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your life, and with all your might.”
The reason I prefer the translation “life” rather than “soul” is that, as a Christian, “soul” makes little room for the body. Without the body, our resurrection would be different than Jesus’s. Further, we are made in God’s image, and diminishing the body often leads to treating others less respectfully because the human body doesn’t matter. If we translate nephesh as “life,” each life is valued, and neglect, abuse, and injustice are harder to rationalize. Thank God for your life, and ask God to give you the wisdom and compassion to affirm every created life as a divine gift. When we affirm life, we get to the soul of God’s intention.
