What does נֶפֶשׁ · ψυχή mean in the Bible?
נֶפֶשׁ · ψυχή is a Hebrew phrase meaning "life or inner being".
Hebrew · H5315, G5590
נֶפֶשׁ
Properly, a breathing creature , i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality ; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental) · soul
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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant
נֶפֶשׁ H5315 properly, a breathing creature , i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality ; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)
Pronunciation nafsho
Vitality or lifeforce of a creature; ranges from physical breath to desire, appetite, and personal identity or selfhood.
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ψυχή G5590 soul
Pronunciation psychḗ
The animating life-principle that encompasses will, desires, and affections as the seat of personal identity
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What does נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh) mean in the Bible?
נֶפֶשׁ · ψυχή is a Hebrew phrase meaning "life or inner being".
Full entry for נֶפֶשׁ (H5315, G5590) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How many biblical occurrences are listed for H5315, G5590?
H5315, G5590 is connected to 757 lexical occurrence verses in the lexicon data.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew phrase. life or inner being
Strong's H5315, G5590
Lexical occurrences 757 verses Source Gloss
life or inner being
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
נֶפֶשׁ is built from this root:
Cross-Language Connections
Greek words that correspond to or develop the meaning of this Hebrew word in the New Testament.
ψυχή psychḗ G5590 LXX equivalent Greek
soul
נֶפֶשׁ nafsho H5315 Related Hebrew
properly, a breathing creature , i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality ; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)
רוּחַ rûaḥ H7307 Related Hebrew
wind ; by resemblance breath , i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation ; figuratively, life , anger , unsubstantiality ; by extension, a region of the sky ; by resemblance spirit , but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions)
חַי ḥay H2416 Related Hebrew
alive ; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong ; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain