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Genesis 2:7

Shakeel

Well-Known Member
He was given a soul and therefore became a living being. I don't see a contradiction.
 

MatthewA

Active Member
Hello Frank, it says in Genesis 2:7

Literal Standard Version G 2:7 - And YHWH God forms the man—dust from the ground, and breathes into his nostrils breath of life, and the man becomes a living creature.

Young's Literal Translation G 2:7 - And Jehovah God formeth the man -- dust from the ground, and breatheth into his nostrils breath of life, and the man becometh a living creature.

World English Bible G 2:7 - Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.​

To me from my understanding that this scripture is explaining.

God formed man (kind of like a person who works on making clay pots, and cups.) God formed man.

God formed the man from the dust of the ground - God formed man from the dust of the ground.

After God had formed the man from the dust of the ground - then God breathes into the now created mans nostrils

God breathes into the mans nostrils - life and the man became a living creature, or a living soul.

Here what the word - soul - means in Hebrew:
Strong's Hebrew: 5315. נָ֫פֶשׁ (nephesh) -- a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

nephesh: a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion
Original Word: נֶפֶשׁ

Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: nephesh
Phonetic Spelling: (neh'-fesh)

Definition: a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Definition
a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

NASB Translation

any (1), anyone (2), anyone* (1), appetite (7), being (1), beings (3), body (1), breath (1), corpse (2), creature (6), creatures (3), dead (1), dead person (2), deadly (1), death (1), defenseless* (1), desire (12), desire* (2), discontented* (1), endure* (1), feelings (1), fierce* (2), greedy* (1), heart (5), heart's (2), herself (12), Himself (4), himself (19), human (1), human being (1), hunger (1), life (146), life* (1), lifeblood* (2), lives (34), living creature (1), longing* (1), man (4), man's (1), men* (2), mind (2), Myself (3), myself (2), number (1), ones (1), others (1), ourselves (3), own (1), passion* (1), people (2), people* (1), perfume* (1), person (68), person* (1), persons (19), slave (1), some (1), soul (238), soul's (1), souls (12), strength (1), themselves (6), thirst (1), throat (2), will (1), wish (1), wishes (1), yourself (11), yourselves (13).

Here is the word for spirit: Strong's Greek: 4151. πνεῦμα (pneuma) -- wind, spirit
Here is the word for body: Strong's Greek: 4983. σῶμα (sóma) -- a body

Believe personally everyone is born with a body, and a soul.

The soul to me is considered the mind/will/emotion of ones own person. Considering each living being has their given body, and soul when they are born or - formed in the belly and born.

Some may disagree and that is okay, all people have to make choices in this life.

Hope this helps thank you for your question.
 
Last edited:

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
From what I remember, JW believes we Are souls (our bodies) not a detached soul. The idea is god breathed into your body and that "breathe" is what livens the soul. Also, I'd read the verse in context. As for the second verse, I'd read that in context not on its own.

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19

Do not quench the Spirit. 20

Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 23

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-23 | BibleRef.com

Spirit as in your motivation to learn about god and test evil and such. Don't give up or don't let your spirit or heart stagnate you from peace and don't let evil quench your spirit.

May god's peace sanctify your soul (give you motivation and fulfill you to above), your soul (who you are in christ/your identity), and your body/flesh. Spirit of life fills your soul and moves your body.

Soul has many context, but I'm not sure if JW sees it like that.
 

nPeace

Veteran Member
Hello Frank, it says in Genesis 2:7

Literal Standard Version G 2:7 - And YHWH God forms the man—dust from the ground, and breathes into his nostrils breath of life, and the man becomes a living creature.

Young's Literal Translation G 2:7 - And Jehovah God formeth the man -- dust from the ground, and breatheth into his nostrils breath of life, and the man becometh a living creature.

World English Bible G 2:7 - Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.​

To me from my understanding that this scripture is explaining.

God formed man (kind of like a person who works on making clay pots, and cups.) God formed man.

God formed the man from the dust of the ground - God formed man from the dust of the ground.

After God had formed the man from the dust of the ground - then God breathes into the now created mans nostrils

God breathes into the mans nostrils - life and the man became a living creature, or a living soul.

Here what the word - soul - means in Hebrew:
Strong's Hebrew: 5315. נָ֫פֶשׁ (nephesh) -- a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

nephesh: a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion
Original Word: נֶפֶשׁ

Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: nephesh
Phonetic Spelling: (neh'-fesh)

Definition: a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Definition
a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

NASB Translation

any (1), anyone (2), anyone* (1), appetite (7), being (1), beings (3), body (1), breath (1), corpse (2), creature (6), creatures (3), dead (1), dead person (2), deadly (1), death (1), defenseless* (1), desire (12), desire* (2), discontented* (1), endure* (1), feelings (1), fierce* (2), greedy* (1), heart (5), heart's (2), herself (12), Himself (4), himself (19), human (1), human being (1), hunger (1), life (146), life* (1), lifeblood* (2), lives (34), living creature (1), longing* (1), man (4), man's (1), men* (2), mind (2), Myself (3), myself (2), number (1), ones (1), others (1), ourselves (3), own (1), passion* (1), people (2), people* (1), perfume* (1), person (68), person* (1), persons (19), slave (1), some (1), soul (238), soul's (1), souls (12), strength (1), themselves (6), thirst (1), throat (2), will (1), wish (1), wishes (1), yourself (11), yourselves (13).

Here is the word for spirit: Strong's Greek: 4151. πνεῦμα (pneuma) -- wind, spirit
Here is the word for body: Strong's Greek: 4983. σῶμα (sóma) -- a body

Believe personally everyone is born with a body, and a soul.

The soul to me is considered the mind/will/emotion of ones own person. Considering each living being has their given body, and soul when they are born or - formed in the belly and born.

Some may disagree and that is okay, all people have to make choices in this life.

Hope this helps thank you for your question.
That's very good research material.
I'm a bit puzzled though.
You rightly said... the man became a living creature, or a living soul, and then you concluded... "The soul to me is considered the mind/will/emotion of ones own person".

Do you mean the man because a mind/will/emotion?
I don't understand the conclusion.
 

MatthewA

Active Member
That is what the soul is considered to me as: the person.

Hello nPeace, and thank you for taking time to read this.

Yes, the Man - who has a soul - which has 3 things Mind/Will/Emotion - in the body.

Yes, the Woman - who has a soul - which has 3 things Mind/Will/Emotion - in the body.

:) Hope that helps clear things up.
 

nPeace

Veteran Member
That is what the soul is considered to me as: the person.

Hello nPeace, and thank you for taking time to read this.

Yes, the Man - who has a soul - which has 3 things Mind/Will/Emotion - in the body.

Yes, the Woman - who has a soul - which has 3 things Mind/Will/Emotion - in the body.

:) Hope that helps clear things up.
Yes I understand that the emotions etc, are in the body, hence when the Bible uses the expression "with your whole soul", I can understand it refers to one's whole being.
However, what I don't understand is how you used Genesis 2:7, which says the man became a living sou l/ creature / being, and take that to mean the man is given a soul - mind / will / emotion.
Should not the definition be taken into account based on the context?
For example, when we read nephesh in a text, do we use all the words it can refer to, in the text, or do we use the appropriate meaning?
Take the statement - "The soul sinned". Do we read that as the emotions sinned... The will sinned... Or do we acknowledge that it is referring to the person sinned.

Your research shows the meanings that can be applied, but we don't use all those meanings wherever we see nephesh.
Do you get what I am saying?
 

MatthewA

Active Member
You decide for yourself, on what is truth, :) I may say all kinds of things and get them wrong, if you desire to know further, may you guided and led by the (spirit -(if you are a believer) and ask God to help you understand (if you are a believer.) - if not my apologies. Just wanna leave it here, and you take care Npeace.

:hugehug:
 

Bree

Active Member
Do you think Genesis 2:7 means man WAS a soul(living being).Or was given a soul?

Look how the bible uses the word for 'soul' in other contexts

Animals that God created are called souls (fish/birds/mammals)
Gen 1:20 Then God said: “Let the waters swarm with living creatures,(nephesh/souls)* and let flying creatures fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.*

Numbers 31: 28 As a tax for Jehovah, you should take from the soldiers who went out into the battle one soul*(nephesh) out of every 500, of the people, the herd, the donkeys, and the flock.

Living People are 'souls'
1Peter 3:20 "... Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls (psykhe) were saved by water. (KJV)


the Bible shows that both neʹphesh and psy·kheʹ, in connection with earthly creatures, refer to that which is material, tangible, visible, and mortal.
It also shows that 'soul' is a persons whole body mind and strength
Deut 6:5 You must love Jehovah your God with all your heart and all your soul(nephesh)+ and all your strength.*+

The bible also describes a 'soul' as a 'dead body'

Numbers 6:6
He should not approach* a dead person (nephesh)* during all the days he remains separated to Jehovah.

This verse shows that the 'body' of a person is a soul whether dead or alive.
Haggai 2:13 Hagʹgai then asked: “If someone who is unclean from contact with a dead body(nephesh))* touches any of these things, will it become unclean?”+ The priests answered: “It will become unclean.”



So Adam was not 'given' a 'soul'.... he became a 'soul' when he was made alive.
 

Elihoenai

Well-Known Member
Do you think Genesis 2:7 means man WAS a soul(living being).Or was given a soul?

Genesis 2:7 Young's Literal Translation

7 And Jehovah God formeth the man -- dust from the ground, and breatheth into his nostrils breath of life, and the man becometh a living creature.

1 Corinthians 15:45 King James Version

45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.


The First Man became a Living Soul. Given that the First Man becomes a Living Soul, do you agree that becoming a Living Soul means that he is Flesh?
 
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