"The Scriptures recognize man as composed of two elements, body and spirit. These two produce soul, sentient being, intelligence, the man himself, the being, or soul. When God had formed man of the dust of the ground, and had communicated to him the breath (spirit of life), the record is, "Man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7) Many, however, reverse the Scriptural statement and instead of speaking of man as being a soul, they speak of man as having a soul, which is a very different thought." 
The Atonement Between God and Man, pp. 308, 320

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What is the Soul?

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Bible Question: what is the breath of God in Genesis 2 ?

Thank you for your question. Genesis 2:7 says "And God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." The Hebrew word for breath is neshamah and it means the life power. When God breathed into Adam this "breath," Adam then became a living conscious being. This word in no way conveys the idea of giving Adam immortality after death. Adam did not receive a "soul" but became a "living soul" or living being. If you think of a movie and picture this verse of the Bible, man was dust, God breathed in life, man was living. Now play the movie in reverse: the breath of life is gone, man ceases to exist, is returned to the dust of the ground. Ecclesiastes 3:20 says "All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again."
This lead to the question, ’What happens to a person after he/she dies?’ To learn about that please go to:
http://www.biblestudents.com/soul.cfm

Bible Question: IS YOUR SPIRIT BURIED WITH YOU WHEN YOU DIE?

In order to answer your question it is important to understand what a soul is according to the Bible. The Scriptures define a soul is in Genesis 2:7: "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground (body), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." So we see that body + breath of life (spirit) = soul. A soul is a living being. Numbers 3:28 tells us that even the lower animals are considered souls; they also are living beings: "...one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves (cattle), and of the asses, and of the sheep."

Having seen that the soul is the body + spirit, we now need to ask, What is the spirit? The word "spirit" in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word "ruach" or "neshamah," which primarily means breath or wind. The word can have slightly different meanings depending what it’s referring to. It sometimes can mean the mind or will of a person since the mind is an invisible power or influence similar to the wind, such as Psalm 77:3, "My spirit [ruach - mind] was overwhelmed." But when referring to man’s creation, the "breath of life" in Gen. 2:7 is the same as the "spirit of life." This spirit of life is the spark of life that God gave to Adam. Once the spark of life was given, it was supported by breathing. All of us, the children of Adam, receive the spirit of life from our fathers.

When the breath of life is taken away, the man dies. Therefore, the soul dies. Many have falsely concluded that the soul is immortal and cannot die. But this is not what the Scriptures teach. Ezekiel 18:20 says, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Isaiah 53:12 tells us that Jesus "poured out his soul unto death."

When the dead are raised to life, they will be given a new body. Those who will receive a heavenly reward will be given a new spiritual body; those who will be raised to life on the earth will be given a new earthly body. (1 Cor. 15:38-40) God will then give them again the breath of life. Once the new body is given the breath of life, they will again be a living being, a soul. God will retain the memory of every individual, and in the resurrection he will put the memory back in everyone so they will be the same person they were before they died. We are told that the soul will be raised to life from the dead in Psalm 49:15: "But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me."

When a man dies, the body returns to the dust, and the spirit of life, which is the privilege or power of living, returns to God who gave that privilege. The spirit of life is NOT an intelligence or a person. It is just the power or privilege given to live. When the man dies, the soul has died.

Bible Question: What does the Old Testament teach about the soul? Do angels have a soul? Havard.

Dear Havard,
Thank you for your thoughtful questions. We are glad that you have found our website of interest.
So, what does the Old Testament teach about the soul? The Hebrew word translated "soul" is nephesh, which simply means "a breathing creature." Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words defines nephesh as "the essence of life, the act of breathing, taking breath... The Hebrew system of thought does not include the combination or opposition of the "body" and "soul" which are really Greek and Latin in origin." (1985, p. 237-238, emphasis added) Even though the Hebrew language may not include the thought it is included in the context of Genesis 2:7, 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. " Here the word nephesh is defined as body and breath becoming a (nephesh) soul.

The Hebrew words nephesh caiyah mean "living soul" and these words apply not only to man but to all of God’s living creatures. "To every beast of the earth and to every fowl of the air and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is life."

But what about the angels? They are not souls! They live in heaven and do not breath and have no body like you and me... We do not need a soul to get to heaven... And the Bible says that the spirit goes back to God, when we die.
A Soul Is a sentient being. With this definition we could include the spiritual realm. The breath of life implies more than just oxygen it also implies life energy. If a lifeless body was had oxygen pumped into it but it wouldn’t lbe alive for there would be no life force in it. The definition of a soul has to be reasoned upon and expanded beyond a simple formula of breath and body even though this definition is generally correct in its simple form. A spirit being has a spiritual body and the life principle which makes it a soul. I Cor. 15:45, 40 implies this although it doesn’t directly call spirit beings souls. "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit....There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial (spirit being) is one, and the glory of the terrestrial (earthly being)is another."

See the following for further reading: http://www.biblestudents.com/htdbv5/htdb0136.htm
http://www.biblestudents.com/whyareyouachristian_01.cfm

Sincerely, JS