Technically, what is a soul?

[tonychanyt]

The Hebrew word "nephesh" (soul), the Greek words "psyche" (soul) and "pneumatic" (spirit), and the English word 'soul" are polysemantic. Their lexical meanings overlap. For precision and argumentation, I define spirit as a non-baryonic (invisible) substance that houses a person's conscience. I define the soul as the collective faculties of volition, emotion, intellect, and memory. These definitions are based on Watchman Nee's The Spiritual Man. They correspond to the functions of the frontal lobe. Let me use a computer analogy.

English Revised Version, Genesis 2:

7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground,

i.e., the hardware

and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;

i.e., animation power to give Adam a conscience, and he became conscious

and man became a living soul.

When the breath of life contacted the physical body, Adam's soul was formed, and he became aware. His soul grew gradually in terms of subroutines and memories daily. Our brain's programs/codes/neural networks change and develop dynamically based on our experiences/inputs. Our soul uniquely identifies you. It is your personality.

Could the soul exist before the body?

No.

Could the soul exist after the body?

See What is our state of being after we die?.

A person's volitional faculty uniquely identifies him. That's the minimal identification of him. No other person has your volitional organ. Ultimately, his volition makes his decisions. The volition is like the helm of a ship.

His conscience, emotion, intellect, memory, and spirit are closely associated with his volition. These faculties grow and develop, supplying input to the volition that allows the person to make decisions.

Let me compare a human to a computer robot. The body is analogous to the physical hardware. The soul is the software code plus the data. The non-physical spirit provides the electricity supply.

The human soul + the human spirit = the inner man

Berean Literal Bible Ephesians 3:

16 that He might give you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power by His Spirit in the inner man

This is one possible technical definition of the soul.

 

[TahitiRun]

The Hebrew word "nephesh" (soul), the Greek words "psyche" (soul) and "pneumatic" (spirit), and the English word 'soul" are polysemantic. Their lexical meanings overlap. For precision and argumentation, I define spirit as a non-baryonic (invisible) substance that houses a person's conscience. I define the soul as the collective faculties of volition, emotion, intellect, and memory. These definitions are based on Watchman Nee's The Spiritual Man.

Perhaps the best way for myself to understand the Hebrew term "nephesh" is how scripture presents it in the Genesis account that you started with:

Gen 2:7 Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

My own understanding of this text is that man does not "have" a soul, but rather man "became" a living soul, or perhaps better yet: a living being.

And that soul, or living being, consists of a body formed from the dust of the earth, united with the breath of God, that God breathed into the nostrils of that body. And, the uniting of those two elements "became" a living being, or soul "nephesh".

Regarding the spirit of man: Job gives us some insight as to what the breath of God is, by using poetry or Hebrew parallelism, shown here:

Job 27:3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,

Job 32:8 But it is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty, that giveth them understanding.

Job 33:4 The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty given me life.

Job 34:14 If He set His heart upon man, if He gather unto Himself his spirit and his breath;

From Job's perspective, and as stated in scripture, Job's own spirit/breath is the very breath and spirit of God. Which I find to be an amazing concept too lofty for my simple mind to comprehend...lol. From this perspective, God is already in each person that walks the earth.

Man's spirit is none other than the very spirit and breath of God within us.

On the other hand, man's humble but wonderfully formed body is really just dust of the earth, to which it returns to the earth when the soul is divided (body from spirit) at death.

Ecc 12:7 And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.

A simple way to understand the term "soul" is to think of it as a compound consisting of two elements that are joined together. Those two elements of the soul being Body + Spirit.

An analogy to further this idea would be to consider common table salt or water.

Table salt is a compound of sodium + chloride. The elements by themselves are not salt but when joined together they "become" salt. And when the two elements are divided, the salt as we knew it ceases to exist.

In similar fashion, water is also a compound consisting of hydrogen and oxygen, though the elements are used in different proportions. When joined together, they become drinkable water, and when they're divided the drinkable water ceases to exist.

Understanding the soul from this perspective will also have a major impact on how one understands the rest of scripture from Gen 2:7 going forward. This, in my mind, is the Hebrew way of understanding the "soul".

The Greek/Hellenistic/Augustinian views of the soul that are generally accepted by most Christian denominations are decidedly different and consequently will yield different interpretations of scripture.

 

[tonychanyt]

My own understanding of this text is that man does not "have" a soul, but rather man "became" a living soul, or perhaps better yet: a living being.

See You don’t have a soul; you are a soul? and follow up there

 

[KevinT]

Based on your stored soul data and genetic information, your body will be reconstructed on the last day. When a person dies, his soul is stored in a secure place.

See also Where was Jesus between his death and resurrection?

I fully agree. I have used a very similar analogy with others as well -- with tepid results unfortunately. I try to explain that just like when I turn my computer off, the running programs don't "go" anywhere. They just aren't running on the hardware anymore. Most smile politely and seem to effect charitable view on my crazy, nerdy speculations. Ha!

 

[Diamond72]

I try to explain that just like when I turn my computer off, the running programs don't "go" anywhere.

If you turn off the computer the program is turned off and you have to restart it. You must be talking about sleep mode.

Sleep mode is a power saving state that stops all actions on the computer. Any open documents and applications are moved to the system memory (RAM) and the computer goes to a low-power state. This is similar to pausing a movie DVD. The computer is still powered on, but uses less power.

 

[tonychanyt]

You essentially defined it, in this link ("it becomes unconscious"

Well, when one sleeps, he does not lose his consciousness completely. I rather not use the term soul sleep. Soul zip is different.

 

[Grip Docility]

Well, when one sleeps, he does not lose his consciousness completely. I rather not use the term soul sleep. Soul zip is different.

I respect the wording, but the inference appears to be the same. The actual doctrine goes by another name. Do you currently agree with this?
Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is "sleeping" after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the intermediate state.

 

[tonychanyt]

I respect the wording, but the inference appears to be the same. The actual doctrine goes by another name. Do you currently agree with this?
Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is "sleeping" after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the intermediate state.

Sure, I agree. However, I would try to avoid terms like Christian motalism and intermediate state as much as possible. I prefer to stick to words in the Bible when I can.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

From my studies, a soul is the union of a spirit and a body.

Genesis 2:7 KJV
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

breathed = spirit

There are three elements or parts:

1 Thessalonians 5:23 KJV
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The spirit and soul can be separated and, therefore, distinguished from each other. They are not the same:

Hebrews 4:12 KJV
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Watchmen Nee has an excellent study on this topic in his book "The Spiritual Man."

Most teachers hold that the spirit is the identity of a man.
"I am a spirit, I have a soul, I live in a body."

I believe it the soul is seat of your identity
"I am a soul, I have a spirit and a body."

 

[nalex1066]

From my studies, a soul is the union of a spirit and a body.

Genesis 2:7 KJV
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

breathed = spirit

There are three elements or parts:

1 Thessalonians 5:23 KJV
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The spirit and soul can be separated and, therefore, distinguished from each other. They are not the same:

Hebrews 4:12 KJV
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Watchmen Nee has an excellent study on this topic in his book "The Spiritual Man."

Most teachers hold that the spirit is the identity of a man.
"I am a spirit, I have a soul, I live in a body."

I believe it the soul is seat of your identity
"I am a soul, I have a spirit and a body."

Thank you so much for the gem of thruth

 

[Qubit]

This is what the Bible teaches...

Soul = Genome

It is just that simple.

 

[Qubit]

From my studies, a soul is the union of a spirit and a body.

This is incorrect.

A living organism's Soul is its Genome.

When said Genome is combined with a Spirit, it becomes a Living Soul, which you show here in this verse...

Genesis 2:7 KJV
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

God created a Genome from the 'Dust' (organic compounds) of the ground.

God then breathed Spirit into said Genome to 'quicken' it and make it come alive.

Note there was no physical Body at that point. Adam was 'naked', meaning he was not clothed with a Tabernacle yet.

breathed = spirit

Correct.

There are three elements or parts:

1 Thessalonians 5:23 KJV
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Correct.

The spirit and soul can be separated and, therefore, distinguished from each other. They are not the same:

Hebrews 4:12 KJV
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Correct.

The Twoedged Sword represents DNA in Scripture.

DNA is where the Soul (Genome) and the Spirit (Electromagnetism) are combined to create a Living Soul.

DNA is where Soul and Spirit are divided.

'Joints and marrow' are part of the Body that the DNA creates.

The Tables of the Heart is also representative of the Genome.

I believe it the soul is seat of your identity

Correct.

DNA is what identifies any living organism.

As a side note, the Mark of the Beast is a *new* identity. In other words, it will be a Genome modification (Transhumanism).