Verses¶

Question¶

What does Scripture explicitly say about the nature and composition of human beings (biblical anthropology)? Focus on nephesh (soul), ruach (spirit), neshamah (breath), the creation of man, whether humans ARE souls or HAVE souls, and what happens at death.

Priority 1 -- Core Creation/Anthropology¶

Genesis 1:20-31 (Creation of living creatures and man)¶

1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl [that] may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good. 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 1:27 So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein [there is] life, [I have given] every green herb for meat: and it was so.

Note: "living creature" in 1:20,21,24 is nephesh chayyah -- the SAME term used for man in 2:7. Note: "life" in 1:30 is nephesh -- applied to animals.

Genesis 2:7 (The Creation Formula)¶

2:7 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.

Context (Genesis 2:4-9):

2:4 These [are] the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and [there was] not a man to till the ground. 2:6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 2:7 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. 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Note: Gen 2:17 follows: "in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" -- death as consequence of sin. Note: Gen 2:19 uses the same verb (yatsar, "formed") for animals as for man.

Genesis 3:19 (Dust to dust)¶

3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.

Context (Genesis 3:17-24):

3:17 ...cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life; 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden... 3:24 ...he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Note: Gen 3:22 -- man was barred from the tree of life LEST he "live for ever" -- implying he was NOT inherently immortal.

Genesis 5:1-2 (Created in likeness of God)¶

5:1 This [is] the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; 5:2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Genesis 7:22 (Breath of life -- all creatures)¶

7:22 All in whose nostrils [was] the breath of life, of all that [was] in the dry [land], died.

Note: "breath of life" (neshamah of ruach of chayyim) applied to ALL creatures, not just humans.

Genesis 9:6 (Image of God)¶

9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Job 4:17,19 (Mortal man)¶

4:17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? 4:19 How much less [in] them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation [is] in the dust, [which] are crushed before the moth?

Job 32:8 (Spirit in man)¶

32:8 But [there is] a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

Note: "spirit" = ruach; "inspiration" = neshamah. Both terms together.

Job 33:4 (God's breath gives life)¶

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

Note: "Spirit" = ruach; "breath" = neshamah. Parallel construction: God's ruach/neshamah is the source of life.

Psalm 8:5 (Lower than the angels)¶

8:5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Psalm 139:14 (Fearfully and wonderfully made)¶

139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully [and] wonderfully made: marvellous [are] thy works; and [that] my soul knoweth right well.

Isaiah 42:5 (God gives breath and spirit)¶

42:5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

Note: "breath" = neshamah; "spirit" = ruach. Both are GIVEN by God, not inherent.

Isaiah 43:7 (Created for God's glory)¶

43:7 [Even] every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

Isaiah 64:8 (Clay and potter)¶

64:8 But now, O LORD, thou [art] our father; we [are] the clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work of thy hand.

Zechariah 12:1 (God forms the spirit)¶

12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

Malachi 2:10 (One Creator)¶

2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

Priority 2 -- Nephesh/Ruach/Neshamah Key Verses¶

Leviticus 17:11,14 (Life is in the blood)¶

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 your souls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonement for the soul. 17:14 For [it is] the life of all flesh; the blood of it [is] for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh [is] the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.

Note: "life" in both verses = nephesh. The blood IS the nephesh/soul.

Leviticus 21:11 (Nephesh = dead body)¶

21:11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;

Note: "dead body" = nephesh meth. Nephesh here means CORPSE.

Numbers 6:6 (Nephesh = dead body)¶

6:6 All the days that he separateth [himself] unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.

Note: "dead body" = nephesh meth. Same usage as Lev 21:11.

Job 27:3 (Breath and spirit in nostrils)¶

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

Note: "breath" = neshamah; "spirit" = ruach. Both are present in the living person.

Job 34:14-15 (God gathers spirit and breath, man returns to dust)¶

34:14 If he set his heart upon man, [if] he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; 34:15 All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.

Note: "spirit" = ruach; "breath" = neshamah. If God withdraws them, man perishes and returns to dust. Reversal of Gen 2:7.

Proverbs 20:27 (Spirit of man is candle of the LORD)¶

20:27 The spirit of man [is] the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

Note: "spirit" = neshamah (NOT ruach). God-given consciousness/understanding.

Isaiah 26:9 (Soul and spirit)¶

26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments [are] in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Note: "soul" = nephesh; "spirit" = ruach. Parallel usage (not necessarily distinct entities).

Ecclesiastes 3:19-21 (One breath for man and beast)¶

3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all [is] vanity. 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

Note: "breath" in 3:19 = ruach. Same ruach for man and beast. Same death. Same dust. 3:21 is a rhetorical question (lit. "who knows whether...").

Ecclesiastes 12:7 (Spirit returns to God)¶

12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Note: "spirit" = ruach. Dust returns to earth; ruach returns to God. Direct reversal of Gen 2:7 creation formula.

Psalm 104:29 (Breath taken, they die)¶

104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

Note: "breath" = ruach. Universal: applies to all creatures (context: Ps 104:27-30).

Psalm 146:4 (Thoughts perish at death)¶

146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

Note: "breath" = ruach. When ruach departs, the person returns to earth and thoughts PERISH "in that very day."

Ezekiel 18:4,20 (Soul that sins shall die)¶

18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Note: "soul" = nephesh throughout. The nephesh DIES -- it is not inherently immortal.

Priority 3 -- Death and Consciousness¶

Psalm 6:5 (No remembrance in death)¶

6:5 For in death [there is] no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

Psalm 30:9 (Dust cannot praise)¶

30:9 What profit [is there] in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

Psalm 88:10-12 (The dead cannot praise)¶

88:10 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise [and] praise thee? Selah. 88:11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? [or] thy faithfulness in destruction? 88:12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

Psalm 115:17 (Dead go into silence)¶

115:17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.

Ecclesiastes 9:5-6,10 (Dead know nothing)¶

9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. 9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any [thing] that is done under the sun. 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; for [there is] no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

Isaiah 38:18-19 (Grave cannot praise)¶

38:18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can [not] celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. 38:19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I [do] this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

Job 3:13-19 (Death as rest/sleep)¶

3:13 For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, 3:14 With kings and counsellers of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; 3:17 There the wicked cease [from] troubling; and there the weary be at rest. 3:18 [There] the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. 3:19 The small and great are there; and the servant [is] free from his master.

Job 14:10-14,21 (Man dies and does not know)¶

14:10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where [is] he? 14:11 [As] the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: 14:12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens [be] no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. 14:13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14:14 If a man die, shall he live [again]? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. 14:21 His sons come to honour, and he knoweth [it] not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth [it] not of them.

Note: 14:12 -- man does NOT rise "till the heavens be no more." 14:21 -- the dead man knows NOTHING of his sons' affairs.

Job 17:13-14 (Grave is my house)¶

17:13 If I wait, the grave [is] mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness. 17:14 I have said to corruption, Thou [art] my father: to the worm, [Thou art] my mother, and my sister.

Daniel 12:2-3,13 (Resurrection from dust)¶

12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlasting contempt. 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 12:13 But go thou thy way till the end [be]: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

Note: "sleep in the dust" -- death is sleep; future life requires AWAKENING (resurrection).

Priority 4 -- Immortality and Mortality¶

1 Timothy 6:16 (God ONLY has immortality)¶

6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom [be] honour and power everlasting. Amen.

Note: "only" = monos. "hath" = echo (present active). God ALONE possesses immortality.

Romans 2:7 (Seek for immortality)¶

2:7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

Note: "immortality" = aphtharsia. If humans already possessed it, why must it be SOUGHT?

1 Corinthians 15:42-55 (Resurrection and immortality)¶

15:42 So also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit. 15:46 Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 15:47 The first man [is] of the earth, earthy: the second man [is] the Lord from heaven. 15:48 As [is] the earthy, such [are] they also that are earthy: and as [is] the heavenly, such [are] they also that are heavenly. 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 15:55 O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory?

Note: 15:45 quotes Gen 2:7. 15:53-54: immortality is something that MUST BE PUT ON -- not something already possessed.

2 Timothy 1:10 (Christ brought immortality to light)¶

1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

Note: "immortality" = aphtharsia. It was BROUGHT TO LIGHT -- not already in human possession.

Matthew 10:28 (God can destroy soul and body)¶

10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Note: "soul" = psyche. "destroy" = apollymi. God is ABLE to destroy the psyche -- it is not indestructible.

Priority 5 -- NT Anthropology and State at Death¶

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (Spirit, soul, body)¶

5:23 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.

Note: Lists three components (pneuma, psyche, soma). The context is preservation unto Christ's COMING -- not a technical anatomy lesson.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 (The dead in Christ)¶

4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 4:17 Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Note: Dead believers are "asleep" (4:13,14,15). They RISE at Christ's coming (4:16). Being with the Lord requires resurrection (4:17).

Hebrews 4:12 (Dividing soul and spirit)¶

4:12 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.

Note: "soul" = psyche; "spirit" = pneuma. The point is the Word's penetrating power, not anatomical division.

Hebrews 9:27 (Appointed to die)¶

9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Luke 1:46-47 (Soul and spirit in parallel)¶

1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Note: "soul" = psyche; "spirit" = pneuma. Hebrew poetic parallelism: same idea expressed two ways.

Luke 12:4-5 (Parallel to Matt 10:28)¶

12:4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Luke 23:43 (Paradise)¶

23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Note: Punctuation question -- "I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise" vs. "I say unto thee, today thou shalt be with me in paradise." Compare John 20:17 where Jesus says he has NOT YET ascended.

Luke 23:46 (Father, into thy hands)¶

23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Note: "spirit" = pneuma. Jesus commits his pneuma to God (echoing Ecc 12:7; Ps 31:5).

John 11:11,14 (Death as sleep)¶

11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

Note: Jesus equates death with sleep. "Awake him out of sleep" = resurrection.

John 20:17 (Not yet ascended)¶

20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God.

Note: On resurrection morning, Jesus says he has NOT YET ascended to the Father. Relevant to Luke 23:43.

Acts 7:59-60 (Stephen)¶

7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon [God], and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Note: Stephen commits his pneuma (7:59) and then "fell asleep" (7:60). His death is described as sleep.

Acts 17:25 (God gives life and breath)¶

17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

Note: "life" = zoe; "breath" = pnoe. God GIVES both. Echoes Gen 2:7 and Isa 42:5.

2 Corinthians 5:1-9 (Earthly tabernacle / absent from body)¶

5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of [this] tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 5:2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 5:3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 5:4 For we that are in [this] tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing [is] God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 5:6 Therefore [we are] always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 5:8 We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 5:9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

Note: Paul's desire is to be "clothed upon" (5:2,4) -- new body, not disembodied state. "Mortality might be swallowed up of life" (5:4) echoes 1 Cor 15:53-54.

Philippians 1:23 (Depart and be with Christ)¶

1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

Note: Paul sees death and resurrection as one event from his subjective perspective (no consciousness in between). Compare 1 Thess 4:16-17.

James 2:26 (Body without spirit is dead)¶

2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Note: "spirit" = pneuma. The body-spirit relationship illustrates faith-works. The body without pneuma = dead.

Deuteronomy 31:16 (Sleep with fathers)¶

31:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land...

Note: Death described as "sleep" -- one of the earliest uses of this metaphor.

Ezekiel 37:5-6,9-10,14 (Valley of dry bones)¶

37:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 37:6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD. 37:9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 37:14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken [it], and performed [it], saith the LORD.

Note: Resurrection as re-creation: God puts breath/spirit back into dead bodies, and they LIVE. Reversal of death paralleling Gen 2:7.

Additional Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 15:45 Quotation Source¶

Genesis 2:7 (quoted in 1 Cor 15:45)¶

Paul quotes Gen 2:7 in 1 Cor 15:45, adding the interpretive contrast: - First Adam = "a living soul [psyche]" (from Gen 2:7 LXX) - Last Adam = "a quickening spirit [pneuma]" (Paul's addition)

The first Adam was MADE (ginomai) a living soul; the last Adam was made a life-GIVING spirit. The contrast is between natural/psychikos (soul-powered) and spiritual/pneumatikos (spirit-powered) existence.

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