The Hebrew word that gets used for SOUL is "neh-fesh," and we find that word gets used to describe animals as well. Scripture doesn't seem to support the idea that animals don't have a SOUL. I found this quite surprising when I was studying this. It doesn't clearly say that God GAVE the man a SOUL. But rather that God BREATHED into his nostrils the BREATH OF LIFE (which is the SPIRIT) and the BECAME a living SOUL. An interesting parallel in the new testament here is in John 20:22.... And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Now I think (but I'm sure) that the scriptures might use spirit/soul/heart interchangeably at times which can make it a little confusing..... but it's not to be confused, I don't think, with the BREATH OF LIFE (Spirit) When 2 things come together in unity then there is the creation of a 3rd thing which is neither thing 1 or thing 2 nor is it thing 3 in itself but rather it is the combination of thing 1 and thing 2 coming together in perfect unity producing thing 3 i.e. the SOUL.
The Hebrew word that gets used for SOUL is "neh-fesh," and we find that word gets used to describe animals as well. Scripture doesn't seem to support the idea that animals don't have a SOUL. I found this quite surprising when I was studying this.
It doesn't clearly say that God GAVE the man a SOUL. But rather that God BREATHED into his nostrils the BREATH OF LIFE (which is the SPIRIT) and the BECAME a living SOUL. An interesting parallel in the new testament here is in John 20:22.... And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Now I think (but I'm sure) that the scriptures might use spirit/soul/heart interchangeably at times which can make it a little confusing..... but it's not to be confused, I don't think, with the BREATH OF LIFE (Spirit)
When 2 things come together in unity then there is the creation of a 3rd thing which is neither thing 1 or thing 2 nor is it thing 3 in itself but rather it is the combination of thing 1 and thing 2 coming together in perfect unity producing thing 3 i.e. the SOUL.