Self

Self - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

SELF, a. or pron. plu. selves; used chiefly in composition.

1. In old authors, this sometimes signifies particular, very, or same. ""And on tham sylfan geare;"" in that same year, that very year. Sax. Chron. A.D. 1052, 1061.

Shoot another arrow that self way. Shak.

On these self hills. Raleigh.

At that self moment enters Palamon. Dryden.

In this sense, self is an adjective, and is now obsolete, except when followed by same; as on the self-same day; the self-same hour; the self-same thing; which is tautology.

2. In present usage, selfis united to certain personal pronouns and pronominal adjectives, to express emphasis or distinction; also when the pronoun is used reciprocally. thus, for emphasis, I myself will write; I will examine for myself; Thou thyself shalt go; thou shalt see for thyself; You yourself shall write; you shall see for yourself. He himself shall write; he shall examine for himself. She herself shall write; she shall examine for herself. The child itself shall be carried; it shall be present itself.

Reciprocally, I abhor myself; thou enrichest thyself; he loves himself; she admires herself; it pleases itself; we value ourselves; ye hurry yourselves; they see themselves. I did not hurt him, he hurt himself; he did not hurt me, I hurt myself.

Except when added to pronouns used reciprocally, self serves to give emphasis to the pronoun, or to render the distinction expressed by it more emphatical. ""I myself will decide,"" not only expresses my determination to decide, but the determination that no other shall decide.

Himself, herself, themselves, are used in the nomnative case, as well as in the objective.

Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples. See Mat 23:4.

3. Self is sometimes as a noun, noting the individual subject to his own contemplation or action, or noting identity of person. Consciousness makes everyone to be what he call self.

A man's self may be the worst fellow to converse with in the world. Pope.

4. It also signifies personal interest, or love of private interest; selfishness.

The fondness we have for self- furnishes anothe long rank of prejudices. Watts.

Self is much used in composition.

Soul - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

SOUL, n.

1. The spiritual, rational and immortal substance in man, which distinguishes him from brutes; that part of man which enables him to think and reason, and which renders him a subject of moral government. The immortality of the soul is a fundamental article of the christian system. Such is the nature of the human soul that it must have a God, an object of supreme affection.

2. The understanding; the intellectual principle. The eyes of our soul then only begin to see, when our bodily eye are closing.

3. Vital principle. Thou son, of this great world both eye and soul.

4. Spirit; essence; chief part; as charity, the soul of all the virtues. Emotion is the soul of eloquence.

5. Life; animation principle or part; as, an able commander is the soul of an army.

6. Internal power. There is some soul of goodness in things evil.

7. A human being; a person. There was no a soul present. In Paris there are more than seven hundred thousand souls. London, Westminster, Southwark and the suburbs, are said to contain twelve hundred thousand souls.

8. Animal life. To deliver their soil from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Psa 33:7.

9. Active power. And heaven would fly before the driving soul.

10. Spirit; courage; fire; grandeur of mind. That he wants caution he must needs confess, but not a soul to give our arms success.

11. Generosity; nobleness of mind; a colloquial use.

12. An intelligent being. Every soul in heav'n shall bend the knee.

13. Heart; affection. The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David. I Sam. 18.

14. In Scripture, appetite; as the full soul; the hungry soul. Prov 27. Job 33.

15. A familiar compellation of a person, but often expressing some qualities of the mind; as alas, poor soul; he was a good soul.

SOUL, v.t. To endure with a soul. [Not in use.]

SOUL, SOWL, v.i. To afford suitable sustenance. [Not in use.]

sol (nephesh; psuche; Latin anima):

1. Shades of Meaning in the Old Testament:

(1) Soul, like spirit, has various shades of meaning in the Old Testament, which may be summarized as follows: "Soul," "living being," "life," "self," "person," "desire," "appetite," "emotion" and "passion" (BDB under the word). In the first instance it meant that which breathes, and as such is distinguished from basar, "flesh" (Isa 10:18; De 12:23); from she'er, "the inner flesh," next the bones (Pr 11:17, "his own flesh"); from beTen, "belly" (Ps 31:10, "My soul and my belly are consumed with grief"), etc.

(2) As the life-breath, it departs at death (Ge 35:18; Jer 15:2). Hence, the desire among Old Testament saints to be delivered from Sheol (Ps 16:10, "Thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol") and from shachath, "the pit" (Job 33:18, "He keepeth back his soul from the pit"; Isa 38:17, "Thou hast .... delivered it (my soul) from the pit of corruption").

(3) By an easy transition the word comes to stand for the individual, personal life, the person, with two distinct shades of meaning which might best be indicated by the Latin anima and animus. As anima, "soul," the life inherent in the body, the animating principle in the blood is denoted (compare De 12:23,24, `Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the soul; and thou shalt not eat the soul with the flesh'). As animus, "mind," the center of our mental activities and passivities is indicated. Thus we read of `a hungry soul' (Ps 107:9), `a weary soul' (Jer 31:25), `a loathing soul' (Le 26:11), `a thirsty soul' (Ps 42:2), `a grieved soul' (Job 30:25), `a loving soul' (So 1:7), and many kindred expressions. Cremer has characterized this use of the word in a sentence: "Nephesh (soul) in man is the subject of personal life, whereof pneuma or ruach (spirit) is the principle" (Lexicon, under the word, 795).

(4) This individuality of man, however, may be denoted by pneuma as well, but with a distinction. Nephesh or "soul" can only denote the individual life with a material organization or body. Pneuma or "spirit" is not so restricted. Scripture speaks of "spirits of just men made perfect" (Heb 12:23), where there can be no thought of a material or physical or corporeal organization. They are "spiritual beings freed from the assaults and defilements of the flesh" (Delitzsch, in the place cited.). For an exceptional use of psuche in the same sense see Re 6:9; 20:4, and (irrespective of the meaning of Ps 16:10) Ac 2:27.

2. New Testament Distinctions:

(1) In the New Testament psuche appears under more or less similar conditions as in the Old Testament. The contrast here is as carefully maintained as there. It is used where pneuma would be out of place; and yet it seems at times to be employed where pneuma might have been substituted. Thus in Joh 19:30 we read: "Jesus gave up his pneuma" to the Father, and, in the same Gospel (Joh 10:15), Jesus gave up His "psuche for the sheep," and in Mt 20:28 He gave His psuche (not His pneuma) as a ransom--a difference which is characteristic. For the pneuma stands in quite a different relation to God from the psuche. The "spirit" (pneuma) is the outbreathing of God into the creature, the life-principle derived from God. The "sour" (psuche) is man's individual possession, that which distinguishes one man from another and from inanimate nature. The pneuma of Christ was surrendered to the Father in death; His psuche was surrendered, His individual life was given "a ransom for many." His life "was given for the sheep"

(2) This explains those expressions in the New Testament which bear on the salvation of the soul and its preservation in the regions of the dead. "Thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades" (the world of shades) (Ac 2:27); "Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil" (Ro 2:9); "We are .... of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul" (Heb 10:39); "Receive ..... the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (Jas 1:21).

The same or similar expressions may be met with in the Old Testament in reference to the soul. Thus in Ps 49:8, the King James Version "The redemption of their soul is precious" and again: "God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol" (Ps 49:15). Perhaps this may explain--at least this is Wendt's explanation--why even a corpse is called nephesh or soul in the Old Testament, because, in the region of the dead, the individuality is retained and, in a measure, separated from God (compare Hag 2:13; Le 21:11).

3. Oehler on Soul and Spirit:

The distinction between psuche and pneuma, or nephesh and ruach, to which reference has been made, may best be described in the words of Oehler (Old Testament Theology, I, 217): "Man is not spirit, but has it: he is soul. .... In the soul, which sprang from the spirit, and exists continually through it, lies the individuality--in the case of man, his personality, his self, his ego." He draws attention to the words of Elihu in Job (33:4): `God's spirit made me,' the soul called into being; `and the breath of the Almighty animates me,' the soul kept in energy and strength, in continued existence, by the Almighty, into whose hands the inbreathed spirit is surrendered, when the soul departs or is taken from us (1Ki 19:4). Hence, according to Oehler the phrases naphshi ("my soul"), naphshekha ("thy soul") may be rendered in Latin egomet, tu ipse; but not ruchi ("my spirit"), ruchakha ("thy spirit")--soul standing for the whole person, as in Ge 12:5; 17:14; Eze 18:4, etc.

See PSYCHOLOGY.

J. I. Marais

Definition

The term “soul” can either refer generally to the non-physical part of a person or refer specifically to a person’s awareness of themselves as a person distinct from others.

• In the Bible, the terms “soul” and “spirit” may be two different concepts, or they may be two terms that refer to the same concept.
• When a person dies, his soul leaves his body.
• In contrast to the body, the “soul” can be spoken of as the part of a person that “relates to God.”

Translation Suggestions

• The term “soul” could also be translated as “inner self” or “inner person.”
• In some contexts, “my soul” could be translated as “I” or “me.”
• Usually the phrase “the soul” can be translated as “the person” or “he” or “him,” depending on the context.
• Some languages might only have one word for the concepts “soul” and “spirit.”
• In Hebrews 4:12, the figurative phrase “dividing soul and spirit” could mean “deeply discerning or exposing the inner person.”

(See also: spirit)

Bible References

• 2 Peter 2:8
• Acts 2:27-28
• Acts 2:41
• Genesis 49:6
• Isaiah 53:10-11
• James 1:21
• Jeremiah 6:16-19
• Jonah 2:7-8
• Luke 1:47
• Matthew 22:37
• Psalms 19:7
• Revelation 20:4

Word Data

• Strong’s: H5082, H5315, H5397, G55900