What is the difference between the spirit and the soul? (Biblical linguistics)

 

What is the difference between the spirit and the soul?

 

Based on the books of the Bible translated from Hebrew and Greek, it can be clearly shown that there is a difference between the spirit and the soul, and even as Hebrews 4:12 shows, they can be separated:

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

Here you can check the shortcomings of the translation: Ζῶν γὰρ ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἐνεργὴς καὶ τομώτερος ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν μάχαιραν δίστομον καὶ διϊκνούμενος ἄχρι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς καὶ πνεύματος, ἁρμῶν τε καὶ μυελῶν, καὶ κριτικὸς ἐνθυμενος καὶ ἐννοιῶν καρδίας.

Zōn gar ho logos tou Theou kai energēs kai tomōteros hyper pasan machairan distomon kai diiknoumenos achri merismou psychēs kai pneumatos, harmōn te kai myelōn, kai kritikos enthymēseōn kai ennoiōn kardias;

Text by Eberhard Nestle, 1904-1913

 

https://sites.google.com/site/nestle1904/hebrews

 

The truth from Hebrews 4:12 explained

In the whole Bible is three words: body, spirit, soul: Why can't the Greek word pneuma be called soul?

Because soul ("psyché" in Greek) and spirit ("pneuma" in Greek) are not one and the same concept.

In Greek, these two words psyche = soul and pneuma = spirit mean two different concepts.

Neither of these two Greek words means life, because the Greeks called this concept zoé. The Greeks interpreted all three of these concepts separately. The life consciousness was named "zoé", the sensuous consciousness "psyché" and the intellectual consciousness "pneuma".

So the term "Holy Soul" is not a proper translation of the Greek "pneumatos estin agiou" (see the Greek words in Matthew 1:20). The term Holy Spirit is the perfect translation.

http://interlinearbible.org/matthew/1.htm

Neither the Hebrew nor the Greek text identifies the spirit of man with the soul of man. These are two separate concepts in both languages.

1 Thessalonians 5.23: May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In a Greek-English parallel, this is the following rendering: "umon to (your) pneuma (spirit) kai e (and your) psuche (soul) kai to (and your) soma (body)"

Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of the soul and spirit, the taste and the marrow, and is able to discern the passions and thoughts of the heart." From Reformed pastor Lajos Csia

This is the following rendering in Greek-English parallel: "merismou psuches (soul) kai (and) pneumatos (spirit)"

http://interlinearbible.org/hebrews/4.htm

Did you understand?

Soul (psyché) and spirit (pneuma)

 

The Bible makes a clear distinction between the soul (psyché) and the spirit (pneuma):

 

Luke 1:46 "Then said Mary, My soul (psyché) magnifies the Lord,"

 

Luke 1:47 "And my spirit (pneuma) rejoices in God who keeps me."

 

Luke 12:19 "And [this] I say to my soul (psyche): My soul (psyche), you have many goods laid up for many years; make yourself comfortable, eat, drink, enjoy yourself!"

 

John 12:27 "Now my soul (psyché) is troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But that is why I have come to this hour."

 

Luke 23:46 "And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (pneuma). And having said these things, he died."

 

Acts 2:27 "For you will not leave my soul (psyché) in the grave (hades), nor will you allow your holy one to see decay."

 

Hebrews 10:38 "And the righteous liveth by faith. And he that draweth back, my soul hath no pleasure in him (psyche)."

 

Genesis 2:7 "And the LORD (YHWH) God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Thus man became a living soul (nephes in Hebrew, psyche in Greek)"

 

Ecclesiastes 12:9 "And the dust shall become earth as it was before; and the spirit ("ha ruach") shall return to God who gave it."

 

Summary

It is clear that in Greek "psyché" and "pneuma" are not one and the same concept. In Greek, these two words mean two different concepts. Neither of these two Greek words means life, because the Greeks called this concept zoé. The Greeks interpreted all three of these concepts separately. The life consciousness was named "zoé", the sensuous consciousness "psyché" and the intellectual consciousness "pneuma". The meaning of zoe in John 3:16 is clear. In Luke 1:46, the meaning of psyche is clear: Mary gives voice to her feeling, so psyche is connected to the emotional world and to this expression. But in the next verse we also find the word pneuma, which expresses Mary's inexpressible joy. This is also clear: Mary is happy because she understood what happened to her. So the pneuma is connected to the human intellectual world and to this expression. In Luke 12:19, the world of human senses is clear: in other words, "feel good", but in John 12:27 it is clear that if a person does not feel good, his soul is troubled. In Luke 23:46, our Lord Jesus sums it up: he places his consciousness, i.e. his world of reason, in the hands of his heavenly Father (until the resurrection).