“And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.” (1 Kings 17:21)
[T]he word nephesh, which is in [the Authorized Version is] rendered “soul,” is frequently used for life. The word is translated life in the following places (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:11; Deuteronomy 19:93), where you will see it cannot have any other meaning. The Greek word psuche, which means the same as nephesh in the Hebrew, occurs in Matthew 9:20, where it is said, “They are dead which sought the young child’s life to destroy it.” The word life is from psuche also in Matthew 6:25, “Take no thought for your life.” In these cases, as in all others, the context shows how absurd it is to attach the meaning of “immortal soul” to the words. Just imagine the Saviour saying, “Take no thought for your immortal soul,” and you will at once see that believers in the popular notions have not thought out the subject. “Soul” in these texts clearly means life.
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Author: Thomas Williams
Keywords: Immortality of the soul, Soul, Soul's immortality, Immortal soul, Kill the soul, Immortal spirit, Undying spirit, Undieing spirit, Life after death, Undying soul, Undieing soul, Soul was departing, Departure of the soul, Soul life, Departing soul, Return of the soul, Elijah raises the dead, Dead child, Stretched three times, Stretched himself
Bible reference(s): 1 Kings 17:21
Source: The Great Salvation (Englewood: Advocate and Gleaner Pub. House, 1893?).
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.