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Greek and Latin in origin. The Hebrew contrasts two other concepts which are not found
in the Greek and Latin tradition: “the inner self” and “the outer appearance” or, as viewed
in a different context, “what one is to oneself” as opposed to “what one appears to be to
one’s observers.” The inner person is
while the outer person, or reputation, is
, most commonly translated “name.” In narrative or historical passages of the Old
Testament,
can be translated as “life” or “self,” as in Lev. 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 [yourselves].…” Needless to say, the reading “soul” is meaningless in such a text.
But the situation in the numerous parallel poetic passages in which the term appears is
much more difficult. The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate both simply use the
Greek and Latin equivalent “soul,” especially in the Psalms. The first occurrence is in Ps.
3:2: “Many are saying of my soul, // There is no deliverance for him in God” (
NASB
). The
next occurrence is in Ps. 6:3: “And my soul is greatly dismayed; // But Thou, O Lord—
how long?” (
NASB
). In both passages the parallel contrast is between
and some
aspect of the self, expressed as “him” in Ps. 3:2 and not expressed but understood in Ps.
6:3. There is no distinction as to whether it appears as an “A” or “B” word in the
parallelism. However, since Hebrew rejects repeating the same noun in both halves of a
poetic line,
is often used as the parallel for the speaker, primary personal subject,
and even for God, as in Ps. 11:5: “The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked // and
him that loveth violence [he himself] hateth.” Such passages are frequent, and a proper
understanding of the word enlightens many wellknown passages, such as Ps. 119:109:
“My life is continually in my hand, // Yet I do not forget Thy law” (
NASB
). The versions
vary widely in their readings of
with the more contemporary versions casting
widely for meanings.
B. Verb.
:
means “to breathe; respire; be refreshed.” This verb, which is apparently
related to the noun
, appears 3 times in the Old Testament (Exod. 23:12; 31:17).
The other appearance is in 2 Sam. 16:14: “And the king, and all the people that were with
him, came weary and refreshed themselves there.”
TO SOW
A. Verb.
(
, 2232), “to sow, scatter seed, make pregnant.” Common throughout the
history of the Hebrew language, this root is found in various Semitic languages, including
ancient Akkadian. The verb is found approximately 60 times in the Hebrew Old
Testament. It occurs first in Gen. 1:29 in the summary of the blessings of creation which
God has given to mankind: “… In the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed.…”
In an agricultural society such as ancient Israel,
would be most important and
very commonly used, especially to describe the annual sowing of crops (Judg. 6:3; Gen.
26:12). Used in the figurative sense, it is said that Yahweh “will sow” Israel in the land
(Hos. 2:23); in the latter days, Yahweh promises: “… I will sow the house of Israel and
the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast” (Jer. 31:27). Of
great continuing comfort are the words, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Ps.