Let's start with: Genesis 2:7
Genesis 2:7 [ASV] (American Standard Version)
And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Alright, Let's start this study by taking a look at the word "soul":
[Soul]
H5315 (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance)
נֶפֶשׁ
nephesh
neh'-fesh
From H5314; properly a breathing creature, that is, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental): - 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, mortality, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.
Total KJV occurrences: 753
[soul] = mortal breathing physical body
Are you with me so far? It is clear here that the word "Soul", means a mortal breathing body.
There are 753 occurrence in the "KJV" canon. Throughout the old testament, this is what soul means. Let's get a witness by going to Exodus 12:15 (ASV)
- Exodus 12:15 (ASV)
- 15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
Here the word soul has the exact same meaning. That being a mortal breathing physical body again, throughout the old testament, this is the case.
Now, let's go to the New Testament.We are about to discover a twist within the Scriptures English Translation. Most English Translations have this twist, and of course, the twists are not limited to English. Let's go to Matthew 10:28 for more information.
- Matthew 10:28 (ASV)
- 28And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Alright. Have you noticed anything odd, or wrong, here? Indeed there is. This translation, like most, is basically telling you as we will see here:
- Matthew 10:28 (ASV)
- 28And be not afraid of them that kill the soul, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and soul in hell.
Alright, I guess another way to look at this twisted translation would be as follows:
- Matthew 10:28 (ASV)
- 28And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the body: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both body and body in hell.
Alright.... Enough of that silly stuff... Let's go to the Greek Strong's to look for the real meaning of the word "soul". We already know that Yah has made clear to us in the old testament, that "soul", in the Hebrew is H5314; properly a breathing creature, that is, animal. Let's go to the Greek Strong's to look up the word "Soul".
(Strong's Exhaustive Concordance)
ψυχή
[soul]
psuchē
psoo-khay'
From G5594; breath, that is, (by implication) spirit,
With this in mind, is there anything odd going on with most western translations of Matthew 10:28? and Many, Many, Many, other verses throughout Most English New Testament Translations? Yes! "soul" Here, in the Greek, really interprets to "spirit", Not "Body". Therefore the true interpretation of Matthew 10:28 Should be as follows:
- Matthew 10:28 (ASV)
- 28 And be not afraid of them that kill the body (soul), but are not able to kill the spirit: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both spirit and body (soul) in hell.
There, that wasn't too hard, was it? Please, don't think for a minute that this, and many other blunders is by accident. It is not. The words have purposefully been twisted by those that do not have your best interest at heart. Additionally, Yah is allowing this to happen. Why? to give us the opportunity to find it for ourselves, by studying to be approved, and then, giving us the opportunity to come out of Babylon. Here is Scripture to backup this claim. 1 Enoch 104:10-13.
- 1 Enoch 104:10-13 [Yah Scriptures]
- 10 And now I know this mystery, that sinners will change and pervert the Words of righteousness in many ways, and will speak wicked words, and lie, and practice great deceits, and write books concerning their words.
- 11 But when they write down truthfully all my words in their languages, and do not change or diminish ought from my words but write them all down truthfully - all that I first witnessed concerning them.
- 12 Then, I know another mystery, that books will be given to the righteous and the wise to become a cause of joy and uprightness and much wisdom.
- 13 “And to them shall the books be given, and they shall believe in them and rejoice over them, and then all the righteous who have learned from them - all the paths of uprightness - shall be recompensed.”
I do not believe we have yet received the books that Enoch has just told us the righteous will receive, as we believe this will happen after the first resurrection. That is a study for another time. I do think, however, that we can practice what Enoch has just taught us concerning properly translating scripture, which will truly please our Heavenly Father in the Shamayim. With this being said, Lets again go to Matthew 10:28, and this time we will go to a couple of translations which can help us understand that there are some, that care about giving a proper translation, so that we will not be led astray.
- Matthew 10:28 [fbv2008eb] (Free Bible Version)
- Don't be afraid of those who can kill you physically, but can't kill you spiritually. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy you physically and spiritually in Gehenna.
Truly, is a sound translation. Let's take a look at another translation which also drives home that fact that Spirit, and Body (Soul) are two very different words.
- Matthew 10:28 [nna2010eb] (Nyangumarta English Bible)
- People might kill your body. Don't be afraid of them. They can't kill your spirit. Fear only God. He can burn your spirit and body to ashes in the big fire. People cannot do that. Because of that do not be afraid of them. Your Father above knows of everything. He knows when a zebra finch falls to the ground. Truly he knows of you also. He knows the hair on your head. One by one, all of it. Because of that, stay without fear. God just thinks a bit about the zebra finch, he really thinks about you always.
These two translations are spot on with this topic of understanding the difference between Body (Soul) and Spirit. Now, since we have worked through the true meaning of Soul, which is a living breathing body. Lets take a look at the word Spirit. First, lets backup to Genesis 2:7 [ASV]
- Genesis 2:7 [ASV]
- The LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
- [breath]
- NASB Hebrew Lexicon
- Strongs: H5397
המָשָׁנְ
\neshamah\ (bdb:675c)
Etymology: from H5395
Definition: breath
Usage: blast(2), breath(15), breathes(1), life(1), persons alive(1), spirit (2), who breathed(3).
Clearly we can see here a true interpretation of the word breath Now, as we talked about a few minutes ago concerning dictionaries and translations. Most of the dictionaries or Lexicons we use were derived by Who? Yup! Men that do not have your best interest at heart. The same scribes that translated the scriptures to English also made lexicons and dictionaries for us to use to interpret the scriptures. Let's give an example of a blunder on words, which causes much confusion:
- Strongs Exhaustive Concordance: H5397
5397
נשׁמה
[neshâmâh] \nesh-aw-maw'\
From 5395; a {puff} that {is} {wind} angry or vital {breath} divine {inspiration} intellect or (concretely) an animal: - {blast} (that) breath ({-eth}) {inspiration} {soul} spirit.
Do you see anything not so funny in this interpretation? I do! the word Soul, and also the usage of An Animal are in this description; confusing any and all that are not well studied on the topic. Yah breathed His Spirit into the body, and the breath gave the body the ability to live and breathe. I am going to tell you here that it is much safer to use the NASB Hebrew Lexicon, to gain your proper interpretation of the word spirit. I think you get the picture now.
Lets now discuss what we are made of. We have a Spirit, and we have a Body or Soul, and we have Yahuah's Spirit that makes the Body Live. That spirit that is lent to us that keeps the body breathing will keep us alive until Yahuah takes that Spirit of Live away from us and our Bodies or Souls die. When your soul dies and Yah takes back his Spirit that keeps us breathing and alive, all that is left of us is our own spirit. Yes, we are indeed Spirit when without our Bodies. Please allow me to explain. It may surprise you that to learn that man's spirit was created even before the Heavens and Earth were created, and our Maker, Yahuah, Met with Each and Every One of us to receive our appointed place in the family of the shamayim (heaven), and earth. Let's go to our "Yah Scriptures" and pick up with the "Writings of Elijah" or ĔLIYAHU, which is also known as the "Order of the Ancients". We will pick up at Chapter 8, verse 1, and here we go.
- WRITINGS OF ĔLIYAHU
- 1 Yahuah is Elohim of knowledge.
- 2 By His Word was everything made which was made and He governeth all things according to His infinite foreknowledge.
- 3 Even before He created the shamayim and the earth, He counseled with the hosts of the shamayim and planned a plan wherein the spirit of every man should have his appointed role, for the spirit of every man appeared before the Elohim of the Ruaḥoth in the beginning and received a place appointed in the family of the shamayim and earth.
Yes, Yah Met with Every Single One of us before the heavens and earth were created. Wow! We were not taught this in sunday school, were we? Also, looking back at verse 3, it is telling us that the spirit of every man, meaning every single one of us was spirit, and did not have a body. It was not until Elohim breathed the Ruach, or Breath of Life into us that we became living Souls.
Lets recap to get a perspective. You are a spirit, Elohim, gave you a body, and put his spirit within you so that your body can breathe and function; Your Spirit + Yah's Spirit of Life, and your body became a living soul.
Now, since we are on the topic of spirit. There are several more items of concern here. First, when you Love Yahuah by keeping His Commands, and also regard His Son, Yahusha, our Messiah and High Priest, Yah will indeed give you Yet Another Spirit. That's Right, the Set-Apart Spirit of Truth; which gives you Wisdom to become set-apart unto Him. Lets get a witness from John 14:15-17.
- John 14:15-17
- 15 “If you love Me, you shall guard My Commands.
- 16 “And I shall ask the Father, and He shall give you another Helper, to stay with you forever -
- 17 the Ruaḥ of the Truth, whom the world is unable to receive, because it does not see Him or know Him. But you know Him, for He stays with you and shall be in you.
Lets slide down to John 14:23-26 for even more truth concerning the Ruach and what the Ruach will do for those that Love our Elohim and our Messiah.
- John 14:23-26
- 23 Yahusha answered him, “If anyone loves Me, he shall guard My Word. And My Father shall love him, and We shall come to him and make Our stay with him.
- 24 “He who does not love Me does not guard My Words. And the Word which you hear is not Mine but of the Father who sent Me.
- 25 “These I have spoken to you while still with you.
- 26 “But the Helper, the Ruaḥ ha’Qodesh, whom the Father shall send in My Name, He shall teach you all, and remind you of all that I said to you.
Truthfully, without the Set-Apart Spirit of Yahuah our Elohim, we simply would not have a chance. And since we are still on the topic of Spirit. Let's discover why I made this statement of not having a chance without the Set-Apart Spirit, by discovering even more concerning spirits. In fact, did you know, that our souls, yes, our bodies are housing even more than the breath of life, our spirit, and the potentially the Set-Apart Spirit of Yah. our very souls consist of even 7, no 8 spirits. That's right. Reuben explains just exactly what we are talking about in the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, Reuben 1:11-33.
Reuben 1:11-33
11 And now hear me, my children, what things I saw concerning the seven spirits of deceit, when I repented.
12 Seven spirits therefore are appointed against man, and they are the leaders in the works of youth.
13 And seven other Ruaḥoth are given to him at his creation, that through them should be done every work of man.
14 The first is the ruaḥ of ḥai (life), with which the constitution of man is created.
15 The second is the sense of sight, with which ariseth desire.
16 The third is the sense of hearing, with which cometh teaching.
17 The fourth is the sense of smell, with which tastes are given to draw air and breath.
18 The fifth is the power of speech, with which cometh knowledge.
19 The sixth is the sense of taste, with which cometh the eating of meats and drinks; and by it strength is produced, for in food is the foundation of strength.
20 The seventh is the power of procreation and sexual intercourse, with which through love of pleasure sins enter in.
21 Wherefore it is the last in order of creation, and the first in that of youth, because it is filled with ignorance, and leadeth the youth as a blind man to a pit, and as a beast to a precipice.
22 Besides all these there is an eighth ruaḥ of sleep, with which is brought about the trance of nature and of death.
23 With these Ruaḥoth are mingled the spirits of error.
24 First, the spirit of fornication is seated in the nature and in the senses;
25 The second, the spirit of insatiableness in the belly;
26 The third, the spirit of fighting, in the liver and gall.
27 The fourth is the spirit of obsequiousness and chicanery, that through officious attention one may be fair in seeming.
28 The fifth is the spirit of pride, that one may be boastful and arrogant.
29 The sixth is the spirit of lying, in perdition and jealousy to practise deceits, and concealments from kindred and friends.
30 The seventh is the spirit of injustice, with which are thefts and acts of rapacity, that a man may fulfill the desire of his heart; for injustice worketh together with the other spirits by the taking of gifts.
31 And with all these the spirit of sleep is joined which is that of error and fantasy.
32 And so perisheth every young man, darkening his mind from the truth, and not understanding the Torah of Elohim, nor obeying the admonitions of his fathers, as befell me also in my youth.
33 And now, my children, love the truth, and it will preserve you: hear ye the words of Re’uḇĕn your father.
All of the above mentioned spirits can work with you, or against you. Mosheh put it this way in Deuteronomy 11:26-28:
- Deuteronomy 11:26-28
- 26 ‘See, I am putting before you today a beraḵah and a curse:
- 27 the beraḵah, when you obey the Commands of Yahuah your Elohim which I command you today;
- 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the Commands of Yahuah your Elohim, but turn aside from the Way which I command you today, to go after other mighty ones which you have not known.
And Mosheh gives further details as we go to Deuteronomy 30:19
- Deuteronomy 30:19
- 19 “I have called the shamayim and the earth as witnesses today against you: I have put before you ḥai and death, the beraḵah and the curse. Therefore you shall choose ḥai, so that you live, both you and your seed,
Each and Every one of us has a choice. We can keep the commands of Yah and Live, or we can put aside the commands of Yah and perish. Choose this day who you will serve.
I hope this has helped you to understand the differences between Spirit, Body, or Soul, and With this knowledge under our belts, We charge you to go out and Help our Loved ones, by telling them the truth concerning the spirit, and the body, or soul., by giving True Interpretations to the gift of Scripture, that has been given to us by our Maker, Yah, that we love so very much. Praising Yahuah Elohim, and Yahusha, our High Priest and Messiah.



