Lightseeker, I had asked you before whether you have read any material on this Bible Truths, you told me you had. So I can only guess you missed this one; http://bible-truths.com/lake16-C.htmlIt is right on top of Ray's page, here is a portion of it;DR. STRONG’S USE OF CONTRADICTIONS AND SQUARE CIRCLES
I personally use Dr. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. It is a most helpful book. However, when it comes to the major "damnable heresies" of Christendom, Dr. Strong plays the same game of contradictions and square circles, as do the pastors and theologians.
Next, let’s study Strong’s definition of soul in the Hebrew and soul in the Greek:
In the Hebrew Scriptures, soul is translated from, H5315 nephesh = neh'-fesh
From H5314; properly a breathing creature, that is, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental): - any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead (-ly), desire, X [dis-] contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart (-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortality, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.
Say, did you catch that one word Dr. Strong used to define the soul—nephesh?
He used as a definition of "soul," the word "MORTALITY." How pray tell, can pastors, teachers, and theologians tell us that man’s soul is IMMORTAL, when the very definition of "soul—nephesh" is "MORTAL." Yes, of course, Godly men inspired by God’s Holy Spirit have always known that man is "mortal"—"Shall MORTAL man be more just than God…" (Job 4:17).
And so, what kind of a "living soul" did Adam become? Why a "living [mortal] soul," of course. Maybe that’s why Jesus also stated that "souls" can be "destroyed." We cannot separate the man from his soul in two different parts, as though the soul were something that existed independently of the body. For this reason, when the Bible speaks of "people" dying or being destroyed, it sometimes refers to them as "souls," for the soul is the person. Adam himself was the "living soul." (See: Joshua 10:28,35,37,39).
In the Greek Scriptures, soul is translated from, G5590 psuche¯ = psoo-khay'
"From G5594; breath, that is, (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from G4151, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from G2222, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew [H5315], [H7307] and [H2416]: - heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you."0
Next notice this statement in Strong’s definition of psuche above: "G4151, which is the rational and IMMORTAL SOUL." Oh really? Just like that? Noticed how casually Dr. Strong just dropped that little gem into his definition of soul. First he confirms the fact that the soul of man is MORTAL, but then quickly asserts that there is, however, another, different Greek word, which really does mean immortal soul, and it is the Greek word # 4151—pnuma.
Even though Dr. Strong knew the Hebrew word nephesh meant "mortal," and not "immortal" he nonetheless must be quick to inform us of his own personal heresy, and tell us that although the nephesh/soul of man is mortal, nevertheless man also possesses an "immortal" soul. And in so doing, we must conclude that that (‘mortal’ Job 4:17) man possesses two souls: one mortal and one immortal. Do Christians ever think about all these unscriptural heresies? Of course not. As we learned in the Army—"Ours is not to reason why; ours is but to do or die."
So the Greek word #4151 = pnuma, is the "immortal soul?" I would have never guessed: I always thought pnuma meant "spirit." You all know, I hope, that in the King James Version, the words "spirit" and "ghost" are translated from the exact same Greek word "pnuma," don’t you? Well, now you do.
Now, get this: pnuma is used in the Greek Scriptures approximately 360 times. And Dr. Strong tells us that this word pnuma IS the word for "immortal soul." So just how many times do you think this word is translated "immortal soul" out of the 360 verses which contain the Greek word pnuma?" Oh, go ahead—guess? Three hundred? Two hundred? Fifty? Ten? Three? One? Would you believe not even once? What about the "soul" by itself. How many times is pneuma translated "soul?" Three hundred? Two hundred? Fifty? Ten? Three? One? Would you believe none?
That’s right, none. Not once is this word pnuma, which Dr. Strong tells us is the proper word for "immortal soul," actually translated "immortal soul." It is always translated "spirit" [sometimes, ‘ghost’], but never "immortal soul." Nor is it even translated "soul" even without the prefix, "immortal."
No one here believes Strong (or even any translation is perfect) that is why we are admonished to compare spiritual to spiritual and to gather at least 2 witnesses.
Joe