נֶ֫פֶשׁ
soul
also: self, life, creature, person fuller range ↓
H5315
Strong's Hebrew
nephesh
Transliteration
/neh'-fesh/
Pronunciation
Usage in the Hebrew Bible
757
appearances
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
BDB Definition
soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion
- that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man
- living being
- living being (with life in the blood)
- the man himself, self, person or individual
- seat of the appetites
- seat of emotions and passions
- activity of mind
- dubious
- activity of the will
- dubious
- activity of the character
- dubious
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Both
- Attested as both masculine and feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Common, Both, Singular, Construct 537 times (71%)
- Noun, Common, Both, Singular, Absolute 169 times (22%)
- Noun, Common, Both, Plural, Construct 34 times (4%)
- Noun, Common, Both, Plural, Absolute 17 times (2%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 757 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Page 1 of 4 — showing verses 1–200 of 683 distinct verses where H5315 appears, across 31 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Genesis 39 verses
- Genesis 1:20 נֶ֣פֶשׁ n c bs God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of sky."
- Genesis 1:21 נֶ֣פֶשׁ n c bs God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
- Genesis 1:24 נֶ֤פֶשׁ n c bs God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind," and it was so.
- Genesis 1:30 נֶ֣פֶשׁ n c bs To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food." And it was so.
- Genesis 2:7 לְ/נֶ֥פֶשׁ prep + n c bs Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
- Genesis 2:19 נֶ֥פֶשׁ n c bs Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
- Genesis 9:4 בְּ/נַפְשׁ֥/וֹ prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms But flesh with the life of it, the blood of it, you shall not eat.
- Genesis 9:5 לְ/נַפְשֹֽׁתֵי/כֶם֙ נֶ֥פֶשׁ prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp n c bs cs I will surely require your blood of your lives. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man's brother, I will require the life of man.
- Genesis 9:10 נֶ֤פֶשׁ n c bs cs and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every animal of the earth with you. Of all that go out of the ark, even every animal of the earth.
- Genesis 9:12 נֶ֥פֶשׁ n c bs God said, "This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
- Genesis 9:15 נֶ֥פֶשׁ n c bs and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
- Genesis 9:16 נֶ֣פֶשׁ n c bs The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
- Genesis 12:5 הַ/נֶּ֖פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother's son, all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls who they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. Into the land of Canaan they came.
- Genesis 12:13 נַפְשִׁ֖/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you."
- Genesis 14:21 הַ/נֶּ֔פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people, and take the goods to yourself."
- Genesis 17:14 הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs The uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant."
- Genesis 19:17 נַפְשֶׁ֔/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms It came to pass, when they had taken them out, that he said, "Escape for your life! Don't look behind you, neither stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed!"
- Genesis 19:19 נַפְשִׁ֑/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs See now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your loving kindness, which you have shown to me in saving my life. I can't escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die.
- Genesis 19:20 נַפְשִֽׁ/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs See now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh let me escape there (isn't it a little one?), and my soul will live."
- Genesis 23:8 נַפְשְׁ/כֶ֗ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 2mp He talked with them, saying, "If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
- Genesis 27:4 נַפְשִׁ֖/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs Make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, and that my soul may bless you before I die."
- Genesis 27:19 נַפְשֶֽׁ/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done what you asked me to do. Please arise, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me."
- Genesis 27:25 נַפְשִׁ֑/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs He said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless you." He brought it near to him, and he ate. He brought him wine, and he drank.
- Genesis 27:31 נַפְשֶֽׁ/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms He also made savory food, and brought it to his father. He said to his father, "Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that your soul may bless me."
- Genesis 32:30 נַפְשִֽׁ/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, he said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."
- Genesis 34:3 נַפְשׁ֔/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.
- Genesis 34:8 נַפְשׁ/וֹ֙ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Hamor talked with them, saying, "The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.
- Genesis 35:18 נַפְשָׁ/הּ֙ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs It happened, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni, but his father named him Benjamin.
- Genesis 36:6 נַפְשׁ֣וֹת n c bp cs Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, with his cattle, all his animals, and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan, and went into a land away from his brother Jacob.
- Genesis 37:21 נָֽפֶשׁ n c bs Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, "Let's not take his life."
- Genesis 42:21 נַפְשׁ֛/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms They said one to another, "We are most assuredly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we wouldn't listen. Therefore this distress has come on us."
- Genesis 44:30 וְ/נַפְשׁ֖/וֹ בְ/נַפְשֽׁ/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Now therefore when I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the boy's life;
- Genesis 46:15 נֶ֧פֶשׁ n c bs cs These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty-three.
- Genesis 46:18 נָֽפֶשׁ n c bs These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls.
- Genesis 46:22 נֶ֖פֶשׁ n c bs These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.
- Genesis 46:25 נֶ֥פֶשׁ n c bs These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls were seven.
- Genesis 46:26 הַ֠/נֶּפֶשׁ נֶ֖פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs n c bs All the souls who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his direct descendants, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were sixty-six.
- Genesis 46:27 נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַ/נֶּ֧פֶשׁ n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs The sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, who came into Egypt, were seventy.
- Genesis 49:6 נַפְשִׁ֔/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs My soul, don't come into their council; My glory, don't be united to their assembly; For in their anger they killed a man, In their self-will they hamstrung an ox.
Exodus 15 verses
- Exodus 1:5 נֶ֛פֶשׁ נָ֑פֶשׁ n c bs cs n c bs All the souls who came out of the Jacob's body were seventy souls, and Joseph was in Egypt already.
- Exodus 4:19 נַפְשֶֽׁ/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, "Go, return into Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead."
- Exodus 12:4 נְפָשֹׁ֑ת n c bp and if the household be too little for a lamb, then he and his neighbor next to his house shall take one according to the number of the souls; according to what everyone can eat you shall make your count for the lamb.
- Exodus 12:15 הַ/נֶּ֤פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away yeast out of your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
- Exodus 12:16 נֶ֔פֶשׁ n c bs In the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no manner of work shall be done in them, except that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you.
- Exodus 12:19 הַ/נֶּ֤פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs Seven days shall there be no yeast found in your houses, for whoever eats that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a foreigner, or one who is born in the land.
- Exodus 15:9 נַפְשִׁ֔/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'
- Exodus 16:16 נַפְשֹׁ֣תֵי/כֶ֔ם n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: "Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, shall you take it, every man for those who are in his tent."
- Exodus 21:23 נֶ֖פֶשׁ נָֽפֶשׁ n c bs n c bs But if any harm follows, then you must take life for life,
- Exodus 21:30 נַפְשׁ֔/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms If a ransom is laid on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is laid on him.
- Exodus 23:9 נֶ֣פֶשׁ n c bs cs "You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, seeing you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 30:12 נַפְשׁ֛/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms "When you take a census of the children of Israel, according to those who are numbered among them, then each man shall give a ransom for his soul to Yahweh, when you number them; that there be no plague among them when you number them.
- Exodus 30:15 נַפְשֹׁתֵי/כֶֽם n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when they give the offering of Yahweh, to make atonement for your souls.
- Exodus 30:16 נַפְשֹׁתֵי/כֶֽם n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp You shall take the atonement money from the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tent of meeting; that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before Yahweh, to make atonement for your souls."
- Exodus 31:14 הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs You shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
Leviticus 48 verses
- Leviticus 2:1 וְ/נֶ֗פֶשׁ conj + n c bs "'When anyone offers an offering of a meal offering to Yahweh, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it.
- Leviticus 4:2 נֶ֗פֶשׁ n c bs "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'If anyone sins unintentionally, in any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and does any one of them:
- Leviticus 4:27 נֶ֧פֶשׁ n c bs cs "'If anyone of the common people sins unwittingly, in doing any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and is guilty;
- Leviticus 5:1 וְ/נֶ֣פֶשׁ conj + n c bs "'If anyone sins, in that he hears the voice of adjuration, he being a witness, whether he has seen or known, if he doesn't report it, then he shall bear his iniquity.
- Leviticus 5:2 נֶ֗פֶשׁ n c bs "'Or if anyone touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean animal, or the carcass of unclean cattle, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and it is hidden from him, and he is unclean, then he shall be guilty.
- Leviticus 5:4 נֶ֡פֶשׁ n c bs "'Or if anyone swears rashly with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatever it is that a man might utter rashly with an oath, and it is hidden from him; when he knows of it, then he shall be guilty of one of these.
- Leviticus 5:15 נֶ֚פֶשׁ n c bs "If anyone commits a trespass, and sins unwittingly, in the holy things of Yahweh; then he shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh, a ram without blemish from the flock, according to your estimation in silver by shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.
- Leviticus 5:17 נֶ֨פֶשׁ֙ n c bs "If anyone sins, and does any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done; though he didn't know it, yet he is guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.
- Leviticus 6:2 נֶ֚פֶשׁ n c bs "If anyone sins, and commits a trespass against Yahweh, and deals falsely with his neighbor in a matter of deposit, or of bargain, or of robbery, or has oppressed his neighbor,
- Leviticus 7:18 וְ/הַ/נֶּ֛פֶשׁ conj + ptcl def.art + n c bs If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed to him who offers it. It will be an abomination, and the soul who eats any of it will bear his iniquity.
- Leviticus 7:20 וְ/הַ/נֶּ֜פֶשׁ הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ conj + ptcl def.art + n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs but the soul who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that belongs to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from his people.
- Leviticus 7:21 וְ/נֶ֜פֶשׁ הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ conj + n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs When anyone touches any unclean thing, the uncleanness of man, or an unclean animal, or any unclean abomination, and eats some of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which belong to Yahweh, that soul shall be cut off from his people.'"
- Leviticus 7:25 הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs For whoever eats the fat of the animal, of which men offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, even the soul who eats it shall be cut off from his people.
- Leviticus 7:27 נֶ֖פֶשׁ הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs Whoever it is who eats any blood, that soul shall be cut off from his people.'"
- Leviticus 11:10 נֶ֥פֶשׁ n c bs cs All that don't have fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are an abomination to you,
- Leviticus 11:43 נַפְשֹׁ֣תֵי/כֶ֔ם n c bp cs + sfx pers 2cp You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps, neither shall you make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled thereby.
- Leviticus 11:44 נַפְשֹׁ֣תֵי/כֶ֔ם n c bp cs + sfx pers 2cp For I am Yahweh your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy: neither shall you defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth.
- Leviticus 11:46 נֶ֣פֶשׁ נֶ֖פֶשׁ n c bs cs n c bs "'This is the law of the animal, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth,
- Leviticus 16:29 נַפְשֹֽׁתֵי/כֶ֗ם n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp "It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the native-born, or the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you:
- Leviticus 16:31 נַפְשֹׁתֵי/כֶ֑ם n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls; it is a statute forever.
- Leviticus 17:10 בַּ/נֶּ֨פֶשׁ֙ prep det + n c bs "'Any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that soul who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
- Leviticus 17:11 נֶ֣פֶשׁ נַפְשֹׁתֵי/כֶ֑ם בַּ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ n c bs cs n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp prep det + n c bs For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life.
- Leviticus 17:12 נֶ֥פֶשׁ n c bs Therefore I have said to the children of Israel, "No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who lives as a foreigner among you eat blood."
- Leviticus 17:14 נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְ/נַפְשׁ/וֹ֮ נֶ֤פֶשׁ n c bs cs prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms n c bs cs For as to the life of all flesh, its blood is with its life: therefore I said to the children of Israel, "You shall not eat the blood of any kind of flesh; for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off."
- Leviticus 17:15 נֶ֗פֶשׁ n c bs "'Every person that eats what dies of itself, or that which is torn by animals, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening: then he shall be clean.
- Leviticus 18:29 הַ/נְּפָשׁ֥וֹת ptcl def.art + n c bp "'For whoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people.
- Leviticus 19:8 הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs but everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the holy thing of Yahweh, and that soul shall be cut off from his people.
- Leviticus 19:28 לָ/נֶ֗פֶשׁ prep + n c bs "'You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am Yahweh.
- Leviticus 20:6 וְ/הַ/נֶּ֗פֶשׁ בַּ/נֶּ֣פֶשׁ conj + ptcl def.art + n c bs prep det + n c bs "'The person that turns to those who are mediums, and to the wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people.
- Leviticus 20:25 נַפְשֹֽׁתֵי/כֶ֜ם n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp "'You shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the clean: and you shall not make yourselves abominable by animal, or by bird, or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have separated from you as unclean for you.
- Leviticus 21:1 לְ/נֶ֥פֶשׁ prep + n c bs Yahweh said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, 'A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people;
- Leviticus 21:11 נַפְשֹׁ֥ת n c bp cs neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
- Leviticus 22:3 הַ/נֶּ֧פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs Tell them, 'If anyone of all your seed throughout your generations approaches the holy things, which the children of Israel make holy to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from before me. I am Yahweh.
- Leviticus 22:4 נֶ֔פֶשׁ n c bs "'Whoever of the seed of Aaron is a leper or has an issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goes from him;
- Leviticus 22:6 נֶ֚פֶשׁ n c bs the person that touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he bathe his body in water.
- Leviticus 22:11 נֶ֨פֶשׁ֙ n c bs But if a priest buys a slave, purchased by his money, he shall eat of it; and such as are born in his house, they shall eat of his bread.
- Leviticus 23:27 נַפְשֹׁתֵי/כֶ֑ם n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp "However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
- Leviticus 23:29 הַ/נֶּ֨פֶשׁ֙ ptcl def.art + n c bs For whoever it is who shall not deny himself in that same day; shall be cut off from his people.
- Leviticus 23:30 הַ/נֶּ֗פֶשׁ הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs Whoever it is who does any manner of work in that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
- Leviticus 23:32 נַפְשֹׁתֵי/כֶ֑ם n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath."
- Leviticus 24:17 נֶ֣פֶשׁ n c bs cs "'He who strikes any man mortally shall surely be put to death.
- Leviticus 24:18 נֶֽפֶשׁ נֶ֖פֶשׁ נָֽפֶשׁ n c bs cs n c bs n c bs He who strikes a animal mortally shall make it good, life for life.
- Leviticus 26:11 נַפְשִׁ֖/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs I will set my tent among you: and my soul won't abhor you.
- Leviticus 26:15 נַפְשְׁ/כֶ֑ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 2mp and if you shall reject my statutes, and if your soul abhors my ordinances, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant;
- Leviticus 26:16 נָ֑פֶשׁ n c bs I also will do this to you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall consume the eyes, and make the soul to pine away; and you will sow your seed in vain, for your enemies will eat it.
- Leviticus 26:30 נַפְשִׁ֖/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul will abhor you.
- Leviticus 26:43 נַפְשָֽׁ/ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp The land also will be left by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them: and they will accept the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they rejected my ordinances, and their soul abhorred my statutes.
- Leviticus 27:2 נְפָשֹׁ֖ת n c bp "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, 'When a man makes a vow, the persons shall be for Yahweh by your valuation.
Numbers 44 verses
- Numbers 5:2 לָ/נָֽפֶשׁ prep + n c bs "Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and everyone who has an issue, and whoever is unclean by the dead.
- Numbers 5:6 הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs "Speak to the children of Israel: When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against Yahweh, and that soul is guilty;
- Numbers 6:6 נֶ֥פֶשׁ n c bs "All the days that he separates himself to Yahweh he shall not go near a dead body.
- Numbers 6:11 הַ/נָּ֑פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs The priest shall offer one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason of the dead, and shall make his head holy that same day.
- Numbers 9:6 לְ/נֶ֣פֶשׁ prep + n c bs cs There were certain men, who were unclean because of the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.
- Numbers 9:7 לְ/נֶ֣פֶשׁ prep + n c bs cs Those men said to him, "We are unclean because of the dead body of a man. Why are we kept back, that we may not offer the offering of Yahweh in its appointed season among the children of Israel?"
- Numbers 9:10 לָ/נֶ֡פֶשׁ prep + n c bs "Say to the children of Israel, 'If any man of you or of your generations is unclean by reason of a dead body, or is on a journey far away, he shall still keep the Passover to Yahweh.
- Numbers 9:13 הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs But the man who is clean, and is not on a journey, and fails to keep the Passover, that soul shall be cut off from his people. Because he didn't offer the offering of Yahweh in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.
- Numbers 11:6 נַפְשֵׁ֥/נוּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cp but now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all save this manna to look on.
- Numbers 15:27 נֶ֥פֶשׁ n c bs If one person sin unwittingly, then he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin-offering.
- Numbers 15:28 הַ/נֶּ֧פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs The priest shall make atonement for the soul who errs, when he sins unwittingly, before Yahweh, to make atonement for him; and he shall be forgiven.
- Numbers 15:30 וְ/הַ/נֶּ֜פֶשׁ הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ conj + ptcl def.art + n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs But the soul who does anything with a high hand, whether he is home-born or a foreigner, the same blasphemes Yahweh; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
- Numbers 15:31 הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs Because he has despised the word of Yahweh, and has broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.
- Numbers 16:38 בְּ/נַפְשֹׁתָ֗/ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp even the censers of these sinners against their own lives; and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before Yahweh; therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.
- Numbers 19:11 נֶ֣פֶשׁ n c bs He who touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days:
- Numbers 19:13 בְּ/נֶפֶשׁ֩ הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ prep + n c bs cs ptcl def.art + n c bs Whoever touches a dead person, the body of a man who has died, and doesn't purifies himself, defiles the tent of Yahweh; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet on him.
- Numbers 19:18 הַ/נְּפָשׁ֖וֹת ptcl def.art + n c bp and a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the persons who were there, and on him who touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave:
- Numbers 19:20 הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs But the man who shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of Yahweh: the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
- Numbers 19:22 וְ/הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ conj + ptcl def.art + n c bs Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the soul that touches it shall be unclean until even.
- Numbers 21:4 נֶֽפֶשׁ n c bs cs They traveled from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
- Numbers 21:5 וְ/נַפְשֵׁ֣/נוּ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cp The people spoke against God, and against Moses, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loathes this light bread.
- Numbers 23:10 נַפְשִׁ/י֙ n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, Let my last end be like his!
- Numbers 29:7 נַפְשֹׁתֵי/כֶ֑ם n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation; and you shall afflict your souls: you shall do no manner of work;
- Numbers 30:2 נַפְשׁ֔/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms When a man vows a vow to Yahweh, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
- Numbers 30:4 נַפְשָׁ֔/הּ נַפְשָׁ֖/הּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs and her father hears her vow, and her bond with which she has bound her soul, and her father holds his peace at her; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she has bound her soul shall stand.
- Numbers 30:5 נַפְשָׁ֖/הּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs But if her father disallow her in the day that he hears, none of her vows, or of her bonds with which she has bound her soul, shall stand: and Yahweh will forgive her, because her father disallowed her.
- Numbers 30:6 נַפְשָֽׁ/הּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs If she be [married] to a husband, while her vows are on her, or the rash utterance of her lips, with which she has bound her soul,
- Numbers 30:7 נַפְשָׁ֖/הּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs and her husband hear it, and hold his peace at her in the day that he hears it; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds with which she has bound her soul shall stand.
- Numbers 30:8 נַפְשָׁ֑/הּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs But if her husband disallow her in the day that he hears it, then he shall make void her vow which is on her, and the rash utterance of her lips, with which she has bound her soul: and Yahweh will forgive her.
- Numbers 30:9 נַפְשָׁ֖/הּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs But the vow of a widow, or of her who is divorced, [even] everything with which she has bound her soul, shall stand against her.
- Numbers 30:10 נַפְשָׁ֖/הּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs If she vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath,
- Numbers 30:11 נַפְשָׁ֖/הּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs and her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and didn't disallow her; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she bound her soul shall stand.
- Numbers 30:12 נַפְשָׁ֖/הּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs But if her husband made them null and void in the day that he heard them, then whatever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband has made them void; and Yahweh will forgive her.
- Numbers 30:13 נָ֑פֶשׁ n c bs Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.
- Numbers 31:19 נֶ֜פֶשׁ n c bs Encamp you outside of the camp seven days: whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives.
- Numbers 31:28 נֶ֔פֶשׁ n c bs Levy a tribute to Yahweh of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, [both] of the persons, and of the oxen, and of the donkeys, and of the flocks:
- Numbers 31:35 וְ/נֶ֣פֶשׁ נֶ֕פֶשׁ conj + n c bs cs n c bs and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him.
- Numbers 31:40 וְ/נֶ֣פֶשׁ נָֽפֶשׁ conj + n c bs cs n c bs The persons were sixteen thousand; of whom Yahweh's tribute was thirty-two persons.
- Numbers 31:46 וְ/נֶ֣פֶשׁ conj + n c bs cs and sixteen thousand persons),
- Numbers 31:50 נַפְשֹׁתֵ֖י/נוּ n c bp cs + sfx pers 1cp We have brought Yahweh's offering, what every man has gotten, of jewels of gold, ankle-chains, and bracelets, signet-rings, ear-rings, and armlets, to make atonement for our souls before Yahweh.
- Numbers 35:11 נֶ֖פֶשׁ n c bs then you shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.
- Numbers 35:15 נֶ֖פֶשׁ n c bs For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the foreigner living among them, shall these six cities be for refuge; that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.
- Numbers 35:30 נֶ֔פֶשׁ בְ/נֶ֖פֶשׁ n c bs prep + n c bs Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die.
- Numbers 35:31 לְ/נֶ֣פֶשׁ prep + n c bs cs Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.
Deuteronomy 31 verses
- Deuteronomy 4:9 נַפְשְׁ/ךָ֜ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children's children;
- Deuteronomy 4:15 לְ/נַפְשֹׁתֵי/כֶ֑ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp Take therefore good heed to yourselves; for you saw no manner of form on the day that Yahweh spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire.
- Deuteronomy 4:29 נַפְשֶֽׁ/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you shall find him, when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Deuteronomy 6:5 נַפְשְׁ/ךָ֖ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms and you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
- Deuteronomy 10:12 נַפְשֶֽׁ/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms Now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God require of you, but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
- Deuteronomy 10:22 נֶ֔פֶשׁ n c bs Your fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons; and now Yahweh your God has made you as the stars of the sky for multitude.
- Deuteronomy 11:13 נַפְשְׁ/כֶֽם n c bs cs + sfx pers 2mp It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to my commandments which I command you this day, to love Yahweh your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
- Deuteronomy 11:18 נַפְשְׁ/כֶ֑ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 2mp Therefore shall you lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul; and you shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for symbols between your eyes.
- Deuteronomy 12:15 נַפְשְׁ/ךָ֜ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms Notwithstanding, you may kill and eat flesh within all your gates, after all the desire of your soul, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God which he has given you: the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle, and as of the hart.
- Deuteronomy 12:20 נַפְשְׁ/ךָ֖ נַפְשְׁ/ךָ֖ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms When Yahweh your God shall enlarge your border, as he has promised you, and you shall say, I will eat flesh, because your soul desires to eat flesh; you may eat flesh, after all the desire of your soul.
- Deuteronomy 12:21 נַפְשֶֽׁ/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms If the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to put his name there, be too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock, which Yahweh has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates, after all the desire of your soul.
- Deuteronomy 12:23 הַ/נָּ֑פֶשׁ הַ/נֶּ֖פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs Only be sure that you don't eat the blood: for the blood is the life; and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.
- Deuteronomy 13:3 נַפְשְׁ/כֶֽם n c bs cs + sfx pers 2mp you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams: for Yahweh your God proves you, to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Deuteronomy 13:6 כְּ/נַפְשְׁ/ךָ֖ prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend, who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which you have not known, you, nor your fathers;
- Deuteronomy 14:26 נַפְשְׁ/ךָ֜ נַפְשֶׁ֑/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms and you shall bestow the money for whatever your soul desires, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever your soul asks of you; and you shall eat there before Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.
- Deuteronomy 18:6 נַפְשׁ֔/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms If a Levite comes from any of your gates out of all Israel, where he lives as a foreigner, and comes with all the desire of his soul to the place which Yahweh shall choose;
- Deuteronomy 19:6 נָ֑פֶשׁ n c bs lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him mortally; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he didn't hate him in time past.
- Deuteronomy 19:11 נֶ֖פֶשׁ n c bs But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and strike him mortally so that he dies, and he flee into one of these cities;
- Deuteronomy 19:21 נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְּ/נֶ֗פֶשׁ n c bs prep + n c bs Your eyes shall not pity; life [shall go] for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
- Deuteronomy 21:14 לְ/נַפְשָׁ֔/הּ prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs It shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go where she will; but you shall not sell her at all for money, you shall not deal with her as a slave, because you have humbled her.
- Deuteronomy 22:26 נֶ֔פֶשׁ n c bs but to the lady you shall do nothing; there is in the lady no sin worthy of death: for as when a man rises against his neighbor, and kills him, even so is this matter;
- Deuteronomy 23:24 כְּ/נַפְשְׁ/ךָ֖ prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms When you come into your neighbor's vineyard, then you may eat of grapes your fill at your own pleasure; but you shall not put any in your vessel.
- Deuteronomy 24:6 נֶ֖פֶשׁ n c bs No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge; for he takes [a man's] life to pledge.
- Deuteronomy 24:7 נֶ֤פֶשׁ n c bs If a man be found stealing any of his brothers of the children of Israel, and he deal with him as a slave, or sell him; then that thief shall die: so shall you put away the evil from the midst of you.
- Deuteronomy 24:15 נַפְשׁ֑/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms in his day you shall give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down on it; for he is poor, and sets his heart on it: lest he cry against you to Yahweh, and it be sin to you.
- Deuteronomy 26:16 נַפְשֶֽׁ/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms This day Yahweh your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances: you shall therefore keep and do them with all your heart, and with all your soul.
- Deuteronomy 27:25 נֶ֖פֶשׁ n c bs cs Cursed be he who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person. All the people shall say, Amen.
- Deuteronomy 28:65 נָֽפֶשׁ n c bs Among these nations shall you find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of your foot: but Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul;
- Deuteronomy 30:2 נַפְשֶֽׁ/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms and shall return to Yahweh your God, and shall obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul;
- Deuteronomy 30:6 נַפְשְׁ/ךָ֖ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.
- Deuteronomy 30:10 נַפְשֶֽׁ/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms if you shall obey the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law; if you turn to Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul.
Joshua 15 verses
- Joshua 2:13 נַפְשֹׁתֵ֖י/נוּ n c bp cs + sfx pers 1cp and that you will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death.
- Joshua 2:14 נַפְשֵׁ֤/נוּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cp The men said to her, Our life for yours, if you don't utter this our business; and it shall be, when Yahweh gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.
- Joshua 9:24 לְ/נַפְשֹׁתֵ֨י/נוּ֙ prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 1cp They answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told your servants, how that Yahweh your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore we were sore afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
- Joshua 10:28 הַ/נֶּ֨פֶשׁ֙ ptcl def.art + n c bs Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and the king of it: he utterly destroyed them and all the souls who were therein; he left none remaining; and he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
- Joshua 10:30 הַ/נֶּ֨פֶשׁ֙ ptcl def.art + n c bs and Yahweh delivered it also, and the king of it, into the hand of Israel; and he struck it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls who were therein; he left none remaining in it; and he did to the king of it as he had done to the king of Jericho.
- Joshua 10:32 הַ/נֶּ֖פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs and Yahweh delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel; and he took it on the second day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls who were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.
- Joshua 10:35 הַ/נֶּ֣פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs and they took it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword; and all the souls who were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
- Joshua 10:37 הַ/נֶּ֤פֶשׁ הַ/נֶּ֖פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs ptcl def.art + n c bs and they took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and the king of it, and all the cities of it, and all the souls who were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but he utterly destroyed it, and all the souls who were therein.
- Joshua 10:39 נֶ֣פֶשׁ n c bs and he took it, and the king of it, and all the cities of it; and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls who were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king of it; as he had done also to Libnah, and to the king of it.
- Joshua 11:11 הַ/נֶּ֨פֶשׁ ptcl def.art + n c bs They struck all the souls who were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them; there was none left who breathed: and he burnt Hazor with fire.
- Joshua 20:3 נֶ֥פֶשׁ n c bs that the manslayer who kills any person unwittingly [and] unawares may flee there: and they shall be to you for a refuge from the avenger of blood.
- Joshua 20:9 נֶ֖פֶשׁ n c bs These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them, that whoever kills any person unwittingly might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.
- Joshua 22:5 נַפְשְׁ/כֶֽם n c bs cs + sfx pers 2mp Only take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, to love Yahweh your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Joshua 23:11 לְ/נַפְשֹֽׁתֵי/כֶ֑ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp Take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love Yahweh your God.
- Joshua 23:14 נַפְשְׁ/כֶ֗ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 2mp Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing has failed of all the good things which Yahweh your God spoke concerning you; all are happen to you, not one thing has failed of it.
Judges 8 verses
- Judges 5:18 נַפְשׁ֛/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Zebulun was a people that jeopardized their lives to the death, Naphtali, on the high places of the field.
- Judges 5:21 נַפְשִׁ֖/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs The river Kishon swept them away, That ancient river, the river Kishon. My soul, march on with strength.
- Judges 9:17 נַפְשׁ/וֹ֙ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms (for my father fought for you, and adventured his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
- Judges 10:16 נַפְשׁ֖/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms They put away the foreign gods from among them, and served Yahweh; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
- Judges 12:3 נַפְשִׁ֤/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs When I saw that you didn't save me, I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Yahweh delivered them into my hand: why then are you come up to me this day, to fight against me?
- Judges 16:16 נַפְשׁ֖/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms It happened, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was vexed to death.
- Judges 16:30 נַפְשִׁ/י֮ n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were therein. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.
- Judges 18:25 נֶ֔פֶשׁ נַפְשְׁ/ךָ֖ וְ/נֶ֥פֶשׁ n c bs n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms conj + n c bs cs The children of Dan said to him, "Don't let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall on you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household."
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
“soul” is the headline sense of the Hebrew noun נפש (nephesh). It also covers “self”, “life”, and “creature”, alongside “soul” — see its full sense range. With 683 verses in 31 books, it is one of the most common word in the Hebrew Bible. Debuting at Genesis 1:20, it then recurs through the corpus. Related forms include נפש and נפיש. See the sense tree, 683-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
Strong's · 1890
any
Modern gloss
soul
Strong's 1890 sometimes compressed multiple senses — or homonymous roots — under one number, and used 19th-century English phrasing that no longer carries the same connotation. The modern gloss reflects current BDB scholarship; open the Lexicon Entry tab for the full sense breakdown.
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About this word
Strong's H5315 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 683
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 683 distinct verses.
- 31 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 31 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #65
- by frequency
- Top 100 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 65 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 683 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 683 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 269 verses · 39%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 237 verses · 35%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 177 verses · 26%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Soul 314×, Life 73×, Souls 34×
- American Standard Version: Soul 279×, Life 71×, Souls 31×
- Berean Standard Bible: Soul 173×, Life 112×, Lives 31×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Soul 282×, Life 159×, Person 53×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H5315 across 738 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 115 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 15 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H5315 across 737 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 161 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H5315 across 666 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 73 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 85 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H5315 across 751 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 55 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
34 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 34 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
- 1. = that which breathes, the breathing substance or being = ψυχή, anima, the soul, the inner being of man:
- a. disting. from בָּשָׂר: מִנֶּפֶשׁ וְעַד בָּשָׂר Is 10:18; הַנֶּפֶשׁ עִם הַבָּשָׂר Dt 12:23; from שְׁאֵר Pr 11:17; from בֶּטֶן body ψ 31:10. e.g. Isaiah 10:18
- b. both the inner נפשׁ and the outer בשׂר are conceived as resting on a common substratum: אַךְ בְּשָׂרוֹ עָלָיו יִכְאָ֑ב וְנַפְשׁוֹ עָלָיו תֶּאֱבָֽל׃ Jb 14:22 only his flesh upon him is in pain, and his soul upon him mourneth; cf. ψ 42:5, 7; 131:2; Jb 30:16; La 3:20 [v. עַל 1 d], all poetical (cf. 6 c). e.g. Job 14:22
- c. נ׳ departs at death and returns with life: וַיְהִי בְּצֵאת נַפְשָׁהּ כִּי מֵתָה Gn 35:18 (E) and it came to pass when her soul was going forth (for she died); נָֽפְחָה נַפְשָׁהּ Je 15:9 she breathed out her soul, cf. 1 K 17:21, 22; Jb 11:20; 31:39. e.g. Genesis 35:18
- d. often desired that the נפשׁ may be delivered: from Sheʾôl ψ 16:10; 30:4; 49:16; 86:13; 89:49; Pr 23:14; from שַׁחַת, the pit of Sheʾôl, Is 38:17 Jb 33:18, 22, 28, 30. e.g. Psalms 16:10
- 2. The נפשׁ becomes a living being: by God’s breathing נשׁמת חיים into the nostrils of its בשׂר; of man Gn 2:7 (J); by implication of animals also Gn 2:19 (J); so ψ 104:29, 30 cf. 66:9 man is נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה, a living, breathing being Gn 2:7 (J); elsewhere נפשׁ חיּה always of animals Gn 1:20, 24, 30; 9:12, 15, 16 (all P), Ez 47:9; so נפשׁ החיּה Gn 1:21; 9:10 (both P), Lv 11:10, 46 (H); נפשׁ השׁרצת Lv 11:46 (H); נפשׁ כל חי Jb 12:10. נפשׁ is frequently used with the verb חיה: †וחיתה נפשׁ Gn 12:13; 19:20 (both J), 1 K 20:32 (E), ψ 119:175; Je 38:17, 20; †חֵי נַפְשְׁךָ 1 S 1:26; 17:55; 20:3; 25:26 2 S 11:11; 14:19; 2 K 2:2, 4, 6; 4:30 (all JE); cf. †יְחַיֶּה נ׳ 1 K 20:31 (E), Ez 18:27 ψ 22:30; also Gn 19:19 Is 55:3; Pr 3:22. e.g. Genesis 2:7
- 3. The נפשׁ (without חיה noun or verb) is specif.:
- a. a living being whose life resides in the blood [so in Arabic WeSkizzen iii. 217 G. Jacob Arab. Dicht. iv. 9 f.] (hence sacrificial use of blood, and its prohib. in other uses; first in D), Dt 12:23, 24 only be sure that thou eat not the blood, for the blood is the living being (הַדָּם הוּא הַנֶּפֶשׁ); and thou shalt not eat the living being with the flesh (הַנֶּפֶשׁ עִם הַבָּשָׂר); thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water; this enlarged in H, Lv 17:10, 11, 12, 14 and in P Gn 9:4, 5, cf. Je 2:34. e.g. Deuteronomy 12:23
- b. a serious attack upon the life is an attack upon this inner living being 2 S 1:9 Je 4:10; Jon 2:6 ψ 69:2; 124:4, 5; Jb 27:3. e.g. 2 Samuel 1:9
- c. נפשׁ is used for life itself 171 times, of animals Pr 12:10, and of man Gn 44:30 (J); נפשׁ תחת נפשׁ life for life Ex 21:23 (E), Lv 24:18 (H), 1 K 20:39, 42; 2 K 10:24; נפשׁנו תחתיכם Jos 2:14 (J); נפשׁ בנפשׁ Dt 19:21; בנפשׁ for the life of 2 S 14:7 Jon 1:14; שׂם נפשׁ בכף put life in one’s own hand Ju 12:3 1 S 19:5; 28:21 Jb 13:14; חרף נפשׁו למות Ju 5:18 risked his life to die; †בנפשׁ at the risk of life Nu 17:3 (P), 2 S 23:17 = 1 Ch 11:19(×2), 1 K 2:23 Pr 7:23; La 5:9; †בקּשׁ נפשׁ Ex 4:19 (J), 1 S 20:1; 22:23(×2) 23:15; 25:29 2 S 4:8; 16:11; 1 K 19:10, 14; Je 4:30; 11:21; 19:7, 9; 21:7; 22:25; 34:20, 21; 38:16; 44:30(×2) 46:26; 49:37 ψ 35:4; 38:13; 40:15; 54:5; 63:10; 70:3; 86:14; Pr 29:10; †שׁאל נ׳ 1 K 3:11 = 2 Ch 1:11, 1 K 19:4 = Jon 4:8; †הִכָּה נפשׁ smite mortally Gn 37:21 (J), Dt 19:6, 11; Je 40:14, 15; †לקח נ׳ 1 K 19:4; Jon 4:3 ψ 31:14; Pr 1:19; †הִצִּיל נֶפֶשׁ מִמָּוֶת deliver life from death Jos 2:13 ψ 33:19; 56:14; †מלּט נפשׁ 1 S 19:11 2 S 19:6(×4) 1 K 1:12(×2) Je 48:6; 51:6, 45; Ez 33:5; Am 2:14, 15 ψ 89:49; 116:4; †פדה נ׳ 2 S 4:9 1 K 1:29 ψ 34:23; 49:16; 55:19; 71:23; †שׁמר נ׳ ψ 25:20; 97:10; Jb 2:6 Pr 13:3; 16:17; 19:16; 22:5. e.g. Proverbs 12:10
- 4. The נפשׁ as the essential of man stands for the man himself:
- a. paraphrase for pers. pron. especially in poetry and ornate discourse, 70 times; (1) נַפְשִׁי = me: אל תבא נפשׁי Gn 49:6 let me not enter (poem in J); תָּמֹת נ׳ מות ישׁרים Nu 23:10 let me die, etc. (poem); תָּמוֹת נַפְשִׁי Ju 16:30 (J); אמרה נפשׁי La 3:24 I say. (2) נַפְשְׁךָ = thee: לְאֻמִּים תַּחַת נַפְשֶׁ֑ךָ Is 43:4 peoples instead of thee; אָֽמְרוּ לְנַפְשֵׁךְ 51:23. (3) נַפְשׁוֹ = he: נפשׁו בטוב תלין ψ 25:13 he will not dwell in good circumstances. (4) נַפְשֵׁנוּ = we: נַפְשֵׁנוּ כְּצִפּוֹר נִמְלְטָה מִפַּת יוֹקְשִׁים ψ 124:7. (5) נַפְשָׁם = they, them: נַפְשָׁם בַּשְּׁבִי הָלָ֑כָה Is 46:2 they are gone into captivity; אוי לנפשׁם Is 3:9. e.g. Genesis 49:6
- b. = reflexive, self, 53 times: אסר על נפשׁ bind oneself Nu 30:3, 5(×2), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; לְעַנֹּת נ׳ Nu 30:14 to afflict oneself. (1) נַפְשִׁי = myself: לא אדע נ׳ Jb 9:21; Ct 6:12 I know not myself. (2) נַפְשְׁךָ = thyself: שׁמר נ׳ Dt 4:9 keep thyself. (3) נַפְשׁוֹ = himself: אהב כנ׳ 1 S 18:1, 3; 20:17 loved as himself. (4) נַפְשָׁהּ = herself: צדּקה נ׳ Je 3:11 justified herself. (5) נַפְשָׁם = themselves: הציל נ׳ deliver themselves Is 47:14; Ez 14:14, 20. (6) נַפְשְׁכֶם, נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם = yourselves: אַל־תַּשִּׁאוּ נ׳ Je 37:9 deceive not yourselves, also 42:20; 44:7; ענּה נ׳ Lv 16:29, 31; 23:27, 32; Nu 29:7 (P); נשׁמרתם לנ׳ Dt 4:15; Jos 23:11 (D). (7) נַפְשׁוֹתֵינוּ = ourselves: על נ׳ Je 26:19 against ourselves. e.g. Numbers 30:3
- c. = person of man, individual, 144 times, first in D2; especially in H, P, and kindred writers: (1) c. אָדָם: נ׳ אדם Lv 24:17 opp. נ׳ בהמה 24:18 (both H), and so נ׳ אדם human persons Nu 31:35, 40, 46 (P) 1 Ch 5:21; Ez 27:13. Elsewhere without אדם: נ׳ ברכה Pr 11:25 one who blesses; נ׳ רְמִיָּה Pr 19:15 idle person; נ׳ תחת נ׳ person in place of person, Jb 16:4; כפּר על נ׳ Ex 30:15, 16; Nu 15:28; 31:50 (all P) Lv 17:11 (H). †(2) נפשׁ = person, any one: Dt 24:7; 27:25; Pr 28:17; Ez 18:4(×3) 33:6; elsewhere only H P: Lv 2:1; 4:2, 27; 5:1, 2, 4, 15, 17, 21; 7:18, 20, 21, 25, 27; 23:29, 30(×2); Nu 5:6, 15:27, 30; 19:22; 31:19, 28; 35:11, 15, 30(×2); Jos 20:3, 9 (all P), Lv 17:10, 12, 15; 20:6(×2) 22:6, 11 (all H); נכרתה הנ׳ הַהִוא מן that person shall be cut off from: only in Gn 17:14; Ex 12:15, 19; 31:14; Lv 7:20, 21, 27; Nu 9:13; 15:30, 31; 19:13, 20 (all P), Lv 19:8; 22:3 (both H). †(3) נפשׁ coll. for persons, in enumerations: Dt 10:22; Jos 10:28, 30, 32, 35, 37(×2), 39; 11:11 (all D2) Je 43:6; 52:29, 30(×2); Ez 22:25; elsewhere only Gn 12:5; 46:15, 18, 22, 25, 26(×2), 27(×2); Ex 1:5(×2); 12:16; Nu 31:35, 40 (all P). †(4) נְפָשׁוֹת persons Gn 36:6 Ex 12:4; 16:16 Nu 19:18 (all P), Lv 18:29; 20:25; 27:2 (all H), 2 K 12:5; Pr 11:30; 14:25; Ez 13:18(×3); 19(×2); 20(×2); 17:17; 18:4; 22:27 (נפשׁים 13:20 v. supr.). †(5) נפשׁ = deceased person, sometimes c. מֵת, נֶפֶשׁ מֵת Nu 6:6 (P), נַפְשֹׁת מֵת (𝔊 𝔖 נֶפֶשׁ) Lv 21:11 (H); usually without מֵת, נפשׁ (ה)אדם Nu 9:6, 7; 19:11, 13 (P); or simply נפשׁ, Lv 19:28; 21:1; 22:4 (all H) Nu 5:2; 6:11; 9:10 (all P); elsewhere only Hag 2:13. e.g. Leviticus 24:17
- 5. נפשׁ = seat of the appetites, in all periods (46 times)—
- a. hunger: נ׳ רְעֵבָה hungry soul ψ 107:9; Pr 27:7; with noun or verb of שׂבע satisfy Is 56:11; 58:10; Je 50:19; Ez 7:19 ψ 63:6; 107:9; Pr 13:25; 27:7; מתוק לנ׳ Pr 16:24 sweet to the taste. e.g. Psalms 107:9
- b. thirst: נ׳ עֲיֵפָה weary soul Pr 25:25; Je 31:25; נ׳ כארץ עיפה ψ 143:6; צמאה נ׳ ψ 42:3; 63:2. e.g. Proverbs 25:25
- c. appetite in general: אֹיְבַי בנ׳ יַקִּיפוּ עָלָיו ψ 17:9 my enemies compass me about with greed; הִרְחִיבָה שְׁאוֹל נַפְשָׁהּ וּפָֽעֲרָה פִיהָ Is 5:14 Sheʾôl enlarged her appetite, etc., cf. Hb 2:5; Pr 23:2 בַּעַל נֶפֶשׁ; Ec uses נפשׁ only in the sense of a, b, c; the נפשׁ craves, lacks, and is filled with good things: Ec 2:24; 4:8; 6:2, 3, 7, 9; 7:28. e.g. Psalms 17:9
- 6. נ׳ = seat of emotions and passions (151 times)—
- a. desire: †אִוְּתָה נ׳ soul desires Dt 12:20; 14:26 1 S 2:16 2 S 3:21; 1 K 11:37; Jb 23:13 Pr 13:4; 21:10; Mi 7:1; תַּאֲוַת נ׳ ψ 10:3; Is 26:8; †אַוַּת נ׳ Dt 12:15, 20, 21; 18:6 1 S 23:20; Je 2:24; so also לנפשׁ according to one’s desire Dt 21:14 ψ 78:18; Je 34:16; כנפשׁ Dt 23:25; האח נפשׁנו ah, our desire ψ 35:25; בנפשׁ at one’s desire ψ 105:22; Ez 16:27; נ׳ יָֽצְאָה בְדַבְּרוֹ Ct 5:6; †נשׂא נ׳ lift up the soul, desire Dt 24:15 2 S 14:14 (read אליהם, not אלהים), ψ 24:4; 25:1; 86:4; 143:8; Pr 19:8; Je 22:27; 44:14; Ho 4:8. e.g. Deuteronomy 12:20
- b. abhorrence, loathing: געלה נ׳ soul abhorreth Lv 26:11, 15, 30, 43 (H) Je 14:19; וגם נ׳ בחלה בי Zc 11:8 and their soul also fell a loathing against me. e.g. Leviticus 26:11
- c. sorrow and distress: †מרי נ׳ bitter, gloomy, discontented of soul Ju 18:25 (E) 2 S 17:8; Jb 3:20; Pr 31:6; †מר נ׳ 1 S 22:2 cf. Jb 7:11; 10:1; Is 38:15; Ez 27:31; עָֽגְמָה נ׳ Jb 30:25 grieved; אגמי נ׳ sad of soul Is 19:10; תבכה נ׳ my soul shall weep Je 13:17; נ׳ ירעה his soul trembleth Is 15:4; צרת נ׳ distress of soul Gn 42:21 (E). e.g. Judges 18:25
- d. joy: נ׳ תגיל my soul rejoiceth ψ 35:9; Is 61:10; שׂמּח נ׳ rejoice the soul ψ 86:4; also ψ 94:19; 138:3; Pr 29:17. e.g. Psalms 35:9
- e. love: אהבה נ׳ my soul loveth Ct 1:7; 3:1, 2, 3, 4; יְדִדוּת נ׳ darling of my soul Je 12:7; דבקה נ׳ ב׳ his soul clave unto Gn 34:3 (J), c. אחרי ψ 63:9; חשׁקה נ׳ ב׳ soul is attached to Gn 34:8 (P). e.g. Song of Solomon 1:7
- f. alienation, hatred, revenge: †תֵּקַע נ׳ מן the soul is alienated from Je 6:8; Ez 23:17, 18; נקעה נ׳ מן Ez 23:18, 22, 28; שְׂנֻאי נ׳ hated of soul 2 S 5:8 (Qr); שׂנאה נ׳ ψ 11:5 Is 1:14. e.g. Jeremiah 6:8
- g. other emotions and feelings: השׁיב נ׳ bring back soul La 1:11, 19 (i.e. revive, cf. c. שׁוּב 1 K 17:21 f.), hence fig. refresh, cheer, v 16 ψ 19:8 Pr 25:13; Ru 4:15; שׁובב נ׳ ψ 23:3; מַחְמַל נ׳ your souls’ compassion Ez 24:21; קצרה נ׳ soul was impatient Nu 21:4 (E), Ju 10:16; 16:16; Zc 11:8; כי אאריך נ׳ that I should prolong my patience Jb 6:11; ידעתם את־נ׳ הגר ye know the feeling of the stranger Ex 23:9 (RD). e.g. Lamentations 1:11
- 7. נפשׁ is used occasionally for mental acts + לבב (see 10); poss. also alone, owing to unconscious assimilation by late writers; but most, if not all, exx. may be otherwise explained: נפשׁי ידעת מאד ψ 139:14 my soul knoweth well (or I know well; cf. 4 a); בלא דעת נ׳ לא טוב Pr 19:2 that the soul be without knowledge is not good (but RVm desire without knowledge, cf. 6 a); דעה חכמה לנ׳ Pr 24:14 know wisdom for thy soul (or according to thy desire, cf. 6 a); אל תדמי בנ׳ Est 4:13 think not in thy soul (or in thyself, cf. 4 b); כמו שׁער בג׳ Pr 23:7 as he reckoneth in his soul (but RV in himself, cf. 4 b); מה תאמר נ׳ 1 S 20:4 (but AV RV foll. 𝔊 ἐπιθυμεῖ = תְּאַוֶּה; v. 6 a). e.g. Psalms 139:14
- 8. נפשׁ for acts of the will is dub.: אם ישׁ נפשׁכם (את) if it is your purpose Gn 23:8 (P) 2 K 9:15 (or if it is your desire, 6 a); בחרה נ׳ my soul chooseth Jb 7:15; מאנה נ׳ my soul refuseth Jb 6:7 ψ 77:3; נ׳ חפצה their soul delighteth in Is 66:3; נ׳ רצתה my soul delighteth in Is 42:1; (all perhaps emotional, 6 b, d, g). e.g. Genesis 23:8
- 9. נפשׁ = character is still more dub.: לֹא־יָֽשְׁרָה נ׳ בּוֹ Hb 2:4 his soul is not right in him (but 𝔊 οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου ἐν αὐτῷ [εὐδοκεῖ = רצתה], v. 6); נַפְשִׁי לֹא מְטֻמָּאָה Ez 4:14 my soul hath not (or I have not, 4 a) been polluted. e.g. Habakkuk 2:4
- 10. נ׳ in D, when used with לבב, is assim. to it, and shares with it the meanings of 7, 8, 9; and so in later writers influenced by D (unless we may think that ל׳ is used of intellect, while נ׳ is used of the feelings): thus, בכל לבב ובכל נפשׁ (see לבב): c. דרשׁ Dt 4:29; 2 Ch 15:12; עשׂה Dt 26:16; אהב Dt 6:5; 13:4; 30:6; ידע Jos 23:14; עבד Dt 10:12; 11:13; Jos 22:5; שׁמע בקלו Dt 30:2; שׁוב אל Dt 30:10 1 K 8:48 = 2 Ch 6:38, 2 K 23:25; שׁמר מצות 2 K 23:3 = 2 Ch 34:31; הלך לפני 1 K 2:4; and Dt 11:18; 1 S 2:35 1 Ch 22:19; 28:9 Je 32:41 ψ 13:3 Pr 2:10; 24:12. e.g. Deuteronomy 4:29
- —In three cases is generally found closer approach to supposed radical meaning breath:—
- a. שׁמן וקטרת ישׂמח לב ומתק רעהו מעצת נפשׁ Pr 27:9. Ges (after Döderlein) renders מעצת נ׳ more than odorous trees, so later edds., even Buhl; but 𝔙 De SS transp. וּמֶתֶק נ׳ מֵעֲצַת רֵעֵהוּ. 𝔊 Hi Bi ומתקרעה = the soul is rent asunder by cares. In any case נפשׁ is ‖ לב, cf. 10. e.g. Proverbs 27:9
- b. נַפְשׁוֹ גֶּחָלִים תְּלַהֵט Jb 41:13 his breath kindleth coals (of the crocodile). The piece is one of the latest in the book; primitive meaning hardly in such a passage; context favours ref. to passion or fury; perhaps sub 6 f, his passion or fury kindleth coals. e.g. Job 41:13
- c. בָּתֵּי הַנֶּפֶשׁ Is 3:20 perfume boxes; meaning evident from context; but not necessarily scent (breath)-boxes; may be 6 a, boxes of desire, or 5, boxes exciting the sense of smell; = smelling boxes or bottles. No sufficient evid. in BH, therefore, for meaning breath, odour.—See, for complete study of נֶפֶשׁ (all passages), BrJBL 1897, 17 ff. e.g. Isaiah 3:20
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
n.f. Gn 49:6 (so even Gn 2:19 Nu 31:28 1 K 19:2 v. Albr ZAW xvi (1896), 42 SS) soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, appetite, emotion, and passion (Ecclus 3:18; 4:1(×2), 2(×2) 13:12; 14:11);—נ׳ Gn 1:20 +; נָ֑פֶשׁ Gn 37:21 +; sf. נַפְשִׁי Gn 12:13 +; pl. נְפָשׁוֹת Ez 13:18 + 13 times; נְפָשֹׁת Ex 12:4; Lv 27:2; cstr. נַפְשׁוֹת Gn 36:6 + 4 times; נַפְשֹׁת Lv 21:11; נְפָשִׁים Ez 13:20 (but read חָפְשִׁים, v Co Berthol Toy); sf. נַפְשׁוֹתָם 2 S 23:17 +; נַפְשֹׁתָם Nu 17:3 +: —
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from נפש (nâphash) (H5314) — to refresh.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
נָפֵשׁ
- (נָפַשׁ, b. h. Nif.) breathing, resting.—Pl. נְפֵשִׁים, נְפֵשִׁין, נְפֵי׳. Tanḥ. Vaëra 6 (expl. ישעו, Ex. V, 9) אל יהיו משתעשעין כלומר אל יהיו נ׳ (not ואל יהון) let them not play, that is, let them not rest (on the Sabbath); Ex. R. s. 5. e.g. Exodus 5:9
נְפֵשׁ
- , v. נְפֵישׁ
נֶפֶשׁ
- preced. wds.)
- 1. resting place, esp. a structure next to or over a tomb. Ohol. VII, 1 נ׳ אטומה a solid tomb-structure (to which there is no access). Shek. II, 5 מותר המת בונין לו נ׳ וכ׳ from what is left over of the appropriation for funeral expenses, we build a monument &c.; (Gen. R. s. 82 בַּיִת). Tosef. Erub. VI (V), 4, sq.; Erub. 55ᵇ (contrad. to קבר).—Pl. נְפָשׁוֹת. Ib. V, 1 נ׳ sepulchres (containing a place of shelter). Y. Shek. II, 47ᵃ top; Gen. R. l. c. אין עושין נ׳ וכ׳ no monuments need be put up for the righteous, v. זִכָּרוֹן. Tosef. Ohol. XVII, 4 חוקת נ׳ שבא"י וכ׳ the presumption in the case of sepulchres in Palestine is that they are levitically clean, except those marked.
- 2. soul, life; person; will, desire, disposition. B. Mets. IV, 6 שאינו אלא נ׳ רעה for it (the refusal of a coin on the ground of a slight abrasion) proves merely a malevolent soul (illiberality in dealing); ib. 52ᵇ, v. קְהֵי. Gen. R. s. 14 (names of the soul) נ׳ רוח וכ׳. Ib. נ׳ זו הדם nefesh means blood (life). Ib. (ref. to Gen. II, 7, a. VII, 22) כאן הוא עושה נשמה נ׳ וכ׳ here the text calls the soul (נשמה) nefesh, and there, ruaḥ (spirit); ib. s. 32.—Snh. IV, 5 נ׳ אחת one (person’s) life. Y. Taan. III, beg. 66ᵇ מכיון שנתנו ב"ד נַפְשָׁן וכ׳ as soon as the court has declared its will to do a thing. Nidd. 65ᵇ, a. fr. בעל נ׳ one who is master over his desire, a conscientious man.—Ber. 44ᵇ כל נ׳ משיב את הנ׳ all life (animal food) restores life; וכל קרוב לנ׳ וכ׳ and what is nearest life (the neck which contains the jugular vein) &c.—Y. Keth. V, 30ᵇ top דברים שהן קיום נ׳ things required for sustaining life. Yoma 74ᵇ אבידת נ׳, v. אֲבֵירָה; a. v. fr.—דחה נ׳, v. דָּחָה.—Sifra M’tsorʿa, Zab., Par. 3, ch. VI ואם נַפְשְׁךָ לומר וכ׳ (= ואיבעית אימא, v. בְּעֵי) or if you prefer (another argument); Ḥull. 78ᵇ bot. Ib. מה ואם נפשך לומר why should you prefer another argument?, i.e. what objection can there be to the argument offered before?—(מ)מה נפשך, v. מָה.—Ḥull. IV, 7 (77ᵃ) נ׳ היפה one not fastidious.—B. Bath. 89ᵃ נ׳ מאזנים the opening in which the tongue of scales rests (agina).—Pl. as ab. דיני נ׳, v. דִּין II. Snh. l. c. עדי נ׳ witnesses in capital cases.—Yoma VIII, 6 ספק נ׳ the possibility of danger to human life; Sabb. 129ᵃ; a. fr. e.g. Genesis 2:7
נְפַשׁ
- 1. monument. Pesik. B’shall., p. 79ᵇ ועבדון ליה נ׳ וכ׳ and they erected a monument to him (the dog that saved their lives), and to this day they call it נ׳ דכלבא the dog’s monument. Y. Erub. V, 22ᵇ bot. נ׳ דסיריקין, v. סְרִיקִין; a. e.
- 2. soul, will &c. (v. preced.). Targ. Gen. I, 20. Ib. XXIII, 8; a. fr.—Cant. R. to II, 16, v. נְסַב. Sabb. 129ᵃ בשר נ׳ חלף נ׳ meat (is a necessary of life), life for life, v. preced.—נח נַפְשֵׁיה, v. נוּחַ ch. Pes. 68ᵇ נַפְשָׁאִי, v. חֲדֵי. Ib. אדעתא דנפשיה with the intention of benefiting himself. Sot. 16ᵇ, a. e. לא תפיק נַפְשָׁךְ, v. נְפַק; a. v. fr.—Pl. נַפְשָׁן, נַפְשָׁתָא. Targ. Jud. XVIII, 25 (ed. Lag. sing.). Targ. Gen. XIV, 21; a. fr.—[Targ. Y. Lev. XXVI, 15 נַפְשָׁתֵיכוֹן (sing.).]—Y. Ab. Zar. III, 42ᶜ, v. סְכן II.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 228 distinct written forms H5315 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 168 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H5315, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 615 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 683 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 1:20
- Exodus 1:5
- Leviticus 2:1
- Numbers 5:2
- Deuteronomy 4:9
- Joshua 2:13
- Judges 5:18
- Ruth 4:15
- 1 Samuel 1:10
- 2 Samuel 1:9
- 1 Kings 1:12
- 2 Kings 1:13
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
