Understanding the Terminology
Summary:
Learn the Hebrew words for some of the concepts surrounding death in the Bible.
Breath, Life, and Spirit
The origins of life and death are a mystery that even the scientific world cannot solve. The Scriptures, however, provide clear-cut answers on the origin of life and the origin and state of death. According to the Creation account, humanity received the gift of life from God:
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 (Genesis 2:7).
The Hebrew word for "breath" in Genesis 2:7 is neshamah: the life-giving principle. The breath is equivalent to life itself (Isaiah 2:22). Another Hebrew word which is translated 28 times as "breath" in the King James Version is ruach, which can also mean "wind," "disposition," or "spirit." It is translated 237 times as "spirit" in the KJV. In Genesis 2:7, God's breath makes the inanimate material come to life, and transforms it into a living soul.
Job correlates the usage of breath and the spirit, saying, "All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils" (Job 27:3).
Moses reported that the breath of life was in Adam's nostrils, whereas Job referred to both terms, saying that the spirit of the Lord was in his nostrils. Hence, the Hebrew terms neshamah and ruach are used here in a similar context—namely life itself. According to the Scriptures, all living creatures received life in the same way from God, and are subject to the same fate (Genesis 2:19; 7:15).
Both human and beast "have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast" (Ecclesiastes 3:19). And since humans and beasts have one breath, they also die the same way. "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts...as the one dieth, so dieth the other (Ecclesiastes 3:19)." Both humans and animals were created from dust. When they die they return again to dust; the reverse of Creation (Genesis 3:19).
The Hebrew for "soul" is nephesh, and both the terms ruach and nephesh have frequently been misapplied to suit unBiblical positions about death.
Read more about the soul in the next article, A Biblical Understanding of Death
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Liberty of Conscience Threatened
The Impending Conflict
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