Can the definition of a soul found in Genesis 2:7 maintain its integrity throughout the Scriptures?

[Charlie744]

NAS........Genesis 2:7  Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

I believe the above verse is the First Mention in Scriptures giving us the definition of a Living Soul. That is, God formed man from the earth, He then breathed His Spirit into the form and this BECAME a living soul. To me, this is a rather simple equation of A + B = C, where, A = the body (earth), B = the Spirit given by God breathed into him, and C = the creation of man or the Living Soul. 

iF this is the definition of a soul, then all subsequent verses throughout the 66 books must honor this definition. If one believes this is NOT the definition, then where is it to be found? And if it is to be found elsewhere, does it conflict or contradict 2:7.

Everyone agrees Scripture can not contradict Scripture, whether a verse is found in ANY of the books in the Scriptures - and no one book is superior to another and the NT is not superior to the OT. It is ALL God's Word! 

So, if I have not offended anyone at this time or if there is no real disagreement with the above (whatever "real disagreement" means is up to you), then I would respectfully ask if members interested in this topic would like to bring forward a verse to bounce against the above definition in 2:7 to either confirm its definition, or more likely (due to the responses to this subject noted in a similar post), to challenge this definition. This could mean there are 3 parts to man - body, spirit and a soul, or there are 2 parts to a man - with those 2 parts being different than the two mentioned above.

If possible, and if you folks do not mind, because there is so much "fire power" within this forum (as evidenced throughout the some 42 pages of posts / responses in "What is a soul", perhaps we could take each submitted verse and compare / contrast it to 2:7 before we move on to another's offered verse....

Thank you in advance for your participation.... Charlie

[johnthebaptist]

18 hours ago, Charlie744 said:

NAS........Genesis 2:7  Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

I believe the above verse is the First Mention in Scriptures giving us the definition of a Living Soul. That is, God formed man from the earth, He then breathed His Spirit into the form and this BECAME a living soul. To me, this is a rather simple equation of A + B = C, where, A = the body (earth), B = the Spirit given by God breathed into him, and C = the creation of man or the Living Soul. 

iF this is the definition of a soul, then all subsequent verses throughout the 66 books must honor this definition. If one believes this is NOT the definition, then where is it to be found? And if it is to be found elsewhere, does it conflict or contradict 2:7.

Everyone agrees Scripture can not contradict Scripture, whether a verse is found in ANY of the books in the Scriptures - and no one book is superior to another and the NT is not superior to the OT. It is ALL God's Word! 

So, if I have not offended anyone at this time or if there is no real disagreement with the above (whatever "real disagreement" means is up to you), then I would respectfully ask if members interested in this topic would like to bring forward a verse to bounce against the above definition in 2:7 to either confirm its definition, or more likely (due to the responses to this subject noted in a similar post), to challenge this definition. This could mean there are 3 parts to man - body, spirit and a soul, or there are 2 parts to a man - with those 2 parts being different than the two mentioned above.

If possible, and if you folks do not mind, because there is so much "fire power" within this forum (as evidenced throughout the some 42 pages of posts / responses in "What is a soul", perhaps we could take each submitted verse and compare / contrast it to 2:7 before we move on to another's offered verse....

Thank you in advance for your participation.... Charlie

It doesn't seem to me Genesis 2:7 defines "soul."

[missmuffet]

Question: "How are human souls created?"

Answer: There are two biblically plausible views on how the human soul is created. Traducianism is the theory that a soul is generated by the physical parents along with the physical body. Support for Traducianism is as follows: (A) In Genesis 2:7, God breathed the breath of life into Adam, causing Adam to become a “living soul.” Scripture nowhere records God performing this action again. (B) Adam had a son in his own likeness (Genesis 5:3). Adam’s descendants seem to be “living souls” without God breathing into them. (C) Genesis 2:2-3 seems to indicate that God ceased His creative work. (D) Adam’s sin affects all men—both physically and spiritually—this makes sense if the body and soul both come from the parents. The weakness of Traducianism is that it is unclear how an immaterial soul can be generated through an entirely physical process. Traducianism can only be true if the body and soul are inextricably connected.

Creationism is the view that God creates a new soul when a human being is conceived. Creationism was held by many early church fathers and also has scriptural support. First, Scripture differentiates the origin of the soul from the origin of the body (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Isaiah 42:5; Zechariah 12:1; Hebrews 12:9). Second, if God creates each individual soul at the moment it is needed, the separation of soul and body is held firm. The weakness of Creationism is that it has God continually creating new human souls, while Genesis 2:2-3 indicates that God ceased creating. Also, since the entire human existence—body, soul, and spirit—are infected by sin and God creates a new soul for every human being, how is that soul then infected with sin?

A third view, but one that lacks biblical support, is the concept that God created all human souls at the same time, and “attaches” a soul to a human being at the moment of conception. This view holds that there is sort of a “warehouse of souls” in heaven where God stores souls that await a human body to be attached to. Again, this view has no biblical support, and is usually held by those of a “new age” or reincarnation mindset.

Whether the Traducianist view or the Creationist view is correct, both agree that the soul does not exist prior to conception. This seems to be the clear teaching of the Bible. Whether God creates a new human soul at the moment of conception, or whether God designed the human reproductive process to also reproduce a soul, God is ultimately responsible for the creation of each and every human soul.

https://www.gotquestions.org/souls-created.html

Edited December 28, 2020 by missmuffet

[Charlie744]

1 hour ago, missmuffet said:

Question: "How are human souls created?"

Answer: There are two biblically plausible views on how the human soul is created. Traducianism is the theory that a soul is generated by the physical parents along with the physical body. Support for Traducianism is as follows: (A) In Genesis 2:7, God breathed the breath of life into Adam, causing Adam to become a “living soul.” Scripture nowhere records God performing this action again. (B) Adam had a son in his own likeness (Genesis 5:3). Adam’s descendants seem to be “living souls” without God breathing into them. (C) Genesis 2:2-3 seems to indicate that God ceased His creative work. (D) Adam’s sin affects all men—both physically and spiritually—this makes sense if the body and soul both come from the parents. The weakness of Traducianism is that it is unclear how an immaterial soul can be generated through an entirely physical process. Traducianism can only be true if the body and soul are inextricably connected.

Creationism is the view that God creates a new soul when a human being is conceived. Creationism was held by many early church fathers and also has scriptural support. First, Scripture differentiates the origin of the soul from the origin of the body (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Isaiah 42:5; Zechariah 12:1; Hebrews 12:9). Second, if God creates each individual soul at the moment it is needed, the separation of soul and body is held firm. The weakness of Creationism is that it has God continually creating new human souls, while Genesis 2:2-3 indicates that God ceased creating. Also, since the entire human existence—body, soul, and spirit—are infected by sin and God creates a new soul for every human being, how is that soul then infected with sin?

A third view, but one that lacks biblical support, is the concept that God created all human souls at the same time, and “attaches” a soul to a human being at the moment of conception. This view holds that there is sort of a “warehouse of souls” in heaven where God stores souls that await a human body to be attached to. Again, this view has no biblical support, and is usually held by those of a “new age” or reincarnation mindset.

Whether the Traducianist view or the Creationist view is correct, both agree that the soul does not exist prior to conception. This seems to be the clear teaching of the Bible. Whether God creates a new human soul at the moment of conception, or whether God designed the human reproductive process to also reproduce a soul, God is ultimately responsible for the creation of each and every human soul.

https://www.gotquestions.org/souls-created.html

Thank you very much for that!!! 

Ok, would you be willing to share your views on this? 

Do you agree with the above definition of the soul?

We all understand the physical body, and if the body and His Breath = a soul (a product of the two), how and where does man’s spirit come to be? 

Is that His Spirit or is it a man’s spirit?

Thank you, Charlie 

[Frits]

On 12/27/2020 at 8:37 PM, Charlie744 said:

NAS........Genesis 2:7  Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

I believe the above verse is the First Mention in Scriptures giving us the definition of a Living Soul. That is, God formed man from the earth, He then breathed His Spirit into the form and this BECAME a living soul. To me, this is a rather simple equation of A + B = C, where, A = the body (earth), B = the Spirit given by God breathed into him, and C = the creation of man or the Living Soul. 

iF this is the definition of a soul, then all subsequent verses throughout the 66 books must honor this definition. If one believes this is NOT the definition, then where is it to be found? And if it is to be found elsewhere, does it conflict or contradict 2:7.

Everyone agrees Scripture can not contradict Scripture, whether a verse is found in ANY of the books in the Scriptures - and no one book is superior to another and the NT is not superior to the OT. It is ALL God's Word! 

So, if I have not offended anyone at this time or if there is no real disagreement with the above (whatever "real disagreement" means is up to you), then I would respectfully ask if members interested in this topic would like to bring forward a verse to bounce against the above definition in 2:7 to either confirm its definition, or more likely (due to the responses to this subject noted in a similar post), to challenge this definition. This could mean there are 3 parts to man - body, spirit and a soul, or there are 2 parts to a man - with those 2 parts being different than the two mentioned above.

If possible, and if you folks do not mind, because there is so much "fire power" within this forum (as evidenced throughout the some 42 pages of posts / responses in "What is a soul", perhaps we could take each submitted verse and compare / contrast it to 2:7 before we move on to another's offered verse....

Thank you in advance for your participation.... Charlie

Hello Charlie,
Nice that you started a "soul" topic based on Gen.2: 7.

This is what I can conclude about the human soul:

1) Clearly body and soul can be separated, this happens when you die.

2) The body returns to the earth as dust, but the soul remains in the unseen world. The soul of an unconverted does not return to God because 'in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.'
So Ecc.12:7 does not apply to sinners.

3) For the spiritual body (soul and spirit), when the natural body dies, it is especially important whether it is 'clothed' and not found 'naked'!

4) The nakedness of the soul is caused by the absence of the righteousness of God, and
is cause for "shame" in heaven, and results in severe pain in Hades.  (Luke 16)
The reflection of this tragedy was the "nakedness" of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

5) The thought "there cannot be a soul without a body", is therefore logical and normal. However, because of contact with the powers of sin, the sinner lacks justice and is 'naked' when he dies. He does not have the covering of the 'robe of righteousness', which he could have received by calling upon the Lord Jesus as Savior.

6) The 'covering' with the garment of righteousness, by virtue of the blood of the Lord Jesus shed for our iniquity, signifies to the saved soul that he has a shelter, a dwelling, a safe house in the kingdom of heaven. (John 14:2)

7) Because of the 'likeness' with God the soul of man has an eternal destination, either with Him in the Kingdom of His Son Jesus Christ, or in the outer darkness.

When the Lord God in Genesis connected life to matter through His word, the grass and the trees arose. Precious, fertile life, which passes on life through seed formation. (v11)
In v20-25, God creates the animal world, a higher life form, living souls with an ability of their own to make decisions. Animals can move wherever they want, choose their own food, their habitat and their mate.  But their souls cannot rise up to God, their destination is the earth and not the heavenly places. The life of the animals ends when they die.
But as the crown on His creation, God speaks in v26, 'And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness'.
This was the highest form of life ever created from matter by God: A living soul similar to Him, with 'he hath set the world in their heart', the possibility to live eternally.

The soul of man differs in many ways from animals, but the main difference is to worship and love the Lord God.  (Mt.22:37)
It says at the end of Genesis 4, "Then began men to call on the name of the LORD."
Raising the soul to God by calling (prayer) does not occur in animals, but only in spiritual beings like man.

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness"
(Isa.61:10)
 

God bless you all.

Edited December 29, 2020 by Frits

[Guest kingdombrat]

On 12/27/2020 at 12:37 PM, Charlie744 said:

NAS........Genesis 2:7  Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

KJV Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

 

The Soul as a vital part has to come into play somewhere between these 2 Verses for them to connect.

[Dennis1209]

On 12/27/2020 at 1:37 PM, Charlie744 said:

NAS........Genesis 2:7  Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

I believe the above verse is the First Mention in Scriptures giving us the definition of a Living Soul. That is, God formed man from the earth, He then breathed His Spirit into the form and this BECAME a living soul. To me, this is a rather simple equation of A + B = C, where, A = the body (earth), B = the Spirit given by God breathed into him, and C = the creation of man or the Living Soul. 

iF this is the definition of a soul, then all subsequent verses throughout the 66 books must honor this definition. If one believes this is NOT the definition, then where is it to be found? And if it is to be found elsewhere, does it conflict or contradict 2:7.

Everyone agrees Scripture can not contradict Scripture, whether a verse is found in ANY of the books in the Scriptures - and no one book is superior to another and the NT is not superior to the OT. It is ALL God's Word! 

So, if I have not offended anyone at this time or if there is no real disagreement with the above (whatever "real disagreement" means is up to you), then I would respectfully ask if members interested in this topic would like to bring forward a verse to bounce against the above definition in 2:7 to either confirm its definition, or more likely (due to the responses to this subject noted in a similar post), to challenge this definition. This could mean there are 3 parts to man - body, spirit and a soul, or there are 2 parts to a man - with those 2 parts being different than the two mentioned above.

If possible, and if you folks do not mind, because there is so much "fire power" within this forum (as evidenced throughout the some 42 pages of posts / responses in "What is a soul", perhaps we could take each submitted verse and compare / contrast it to 2:7 before we move on to another's offered verse....

Thank you in advance for your participation.... Charlie

It's a little more complicated than that...

Genesis 2:7 (KJV) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  [soul = נֶפֶשׁ nephesh]

Genesis 1:21 (KJV) And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. [Creature = נֶפֶשׁ nephesh = Soul]

So, animals have souls too.

Genesis 7:15 (KJV) And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

All animals with nostrils also have the breath of life. 

[Charlie744]

38 minutes ago, Dennis1209 said:

It's a little more complicated than that...

Genesis 2:7 (KJV) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  [soul = נֶפֶשׁ nephesh]

Genesis 1:21 (KJV) And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. [Creature = נֶפֶשׁ nephesh = Soul]

So, animals have souls too.

Genesis 7:15 (KJV) And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

All animals with nostrils also have the breath of life. 

Dennis, thanks for your response!  Before I respond I need some assistance here.... of both words are the same in Hebrew (exactly the same spelling), why were they translated differently?

I definitely agree they / we both have bodies and are living creatures but God did not breath into the creatures- only Adam. But what else was breathed into Adam? Did God breath His Spirit (not THE Holy Spirit), into Adam? Was this the / a tangible thing He imparted? Is / was this the “Spirit” which also shown itself as a “covering” that was lost after they disobeyed God and had to be removed from Eden?

Look forward to your thoughts, Charlie 

[Michael37]

On 12/28/2020 at 8:37 AM, Charlie744 said:

NAS........Genesis 2:7  Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

I believe the above verse is the First Mention in Scriptures giving us the definition of a Living Soul. That is, God formed man from the earth, He then breathed His Spirit into the form and this BECAME a living soul. To me, this is a rather simple equation of A + B = C, where, A = the body (earth), B = the Spirit given by God breathed into him, and C = the creation of man or the Living Soul. 

iF this is the definition of a soul, then all subsequent verses throughout the 66 books must honor this definition. If one believes this is NOT the definition, then where is it to be found? And if it is to be found elsewhere, does it conflict or contradict 2:7.

Everyone agrees Scripture can not contradict Scripture, whether a verse is found in ANY of the books in the Scriptures - and no one book is superior to another and the NT is not superior to the OT. It is ALL God's Word! 

So, if I have not offended anyone at this time or if there is no real disagreement with the above (whatever "real disagreement" means is up to you), then I would respectfully ask if members interested in this topic would like to bring forward a verse to bounce against the above definition in 2:7 to either confirm its definition, or more likely (due to the responses to this subject noted in a similar post), to challenge this definition. This could mean there are 3 parts to man - body, spirit and a soul, or there are 2 parts to a man - with those 2 parts being different than the two mentioned above.

If possible, and if you folks do not mind, because there is so much "fire power" within this forum (as evidenced throughout the some 42 pages of posts / responses in "What is a soul", perhaps we could take each submitted verse and compare / contrast it to 2:7 before we move on to another's offered verse....

Thank you in advance for your participation.... Charlie

Hi Charlie744,

I prefer not to editorialise about the forum when addressing a subject so I'll skip to my working definition of a soul, which is "the breath of life that activates the body and gives it sentience of self, substance, and essence so that it is the inner being of a person without which they no vitality."

1Pe 2:11-12  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;  (12)  Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

[Charlie744]

7 minutes ago, Michael37 said:

Hi Charlie744,

I prefer not to editorialise about the forum when addressing a subject so I'll skip to the my working definition of a soul, which is "the breath of life that activates the body and gives it sentience of self, substance, and essence so that it is the inner being of a person without which they no vitality."

1Pe 2:11-12  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;  (12)  Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Thank you for responding! Certainly God breathed into Adam and he BECAME a living soul but do you think there was more to, or included in that breath other than air?

What was lost when A&E sinned? Was it “His Spirit” (not THE Holy Spirit) that was also imparted into Adam through that breath? 

Where did Adam’s “spirit” (perhaps evidenced by his “covering”) come from if not from His Breath?

 Thank you and I hope to hear back from you tomorrow on this, Charlie