נֶ֫פֶשׁ
soul
also: self, life, creature, person fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
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).
26 verses where H5315 appears in the Construct state in the Book of Isaiah. Filtered view — show all forms. 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.
Isaiah
- Isaiah 1:14 נַפְשִׁ֔/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs My soul hates your New Moons and your appointed feasts; They are a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them.
- Isaiah 3:9 לְ/נַפְשָׁ֔/ם prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp The look of their faces testify against them. They parade their sin like Sodom. They don't hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought disaster upon themselves.
- Isaiah 5:14 נַפְשָׁ֔/הּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs Therefore Sheol has enlarged its desire, And opened its mouth without measure; And their glory, their multitude, their pomp, and he who rejoices among them, descend into it.
- Isaiah 15:4 נַפְשׁ֖/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Heshbon cries out, and Elealeh; their voice is heard even to Jahaz: therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles within him.
- Isaiah 26:9 נַפְשִׁ֤/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs With my soul have I desired you in the night; yes, with my spirit within me will I seek you earnestly: for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
- Isaiah 29:8 נַפְשׁ/וֹ֒ וְ/נַפְשׁ֖/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms It shall be as when a hungry man dreams, and, behold, he eats; but he awakes, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreams, and, behold, he drinks; but he awakes, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul has appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against Mount Zion.
- Isaiah 32:6 נֶ֣פֶשׁ n c bs cs For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice profanity, and to utter error against Yahweh, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
- Isaiah 38:15 נַפְשִֽׁ/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs What shall I say? he has both spoken to me, and himself has done it: I shall go softly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.
- Isaiah 38:17 נַפְשִׁ/י֙ n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs Behold, [it was] for [my] peace [that] I had great bitterness: But you have in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; For you have cast all my sins behind your back.
- Isaiah 42:1 נַפְשִׁ֑/י n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit on him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
- Isaiah 43:4 נַפְשֶֽׁ/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms Since you have been precious in my sight, [and] honorable, and I have loved you; therefore will I give men in your place, and peoples instead of your life.
- Isaiah 44:20 נַפְשׁ/וֹ֙ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside; and he can't deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
- Isaiah 46:2 וְ/נַפְשָׁ֖/ם conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
- Isaiah 47:14 נַפְשָׁ֖/ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: it shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before.
- Isaiah 51:23 לְ/נַפְשֵׁ֖/ךְ prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 2fs and I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to your soul, Bow down, that we may go over; and you have laid your back as the ground, and as the street, to those who go over.
- Isaiah 53:10 נַפְשׁ֔/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him; he has put him to grief: when you shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Yahweh shall prosper in his hand.
- Isaiah 53:11 נַפְשׁ/וֹ֙ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by the knowledge of himself shall my righteous servant justify many; and he shall bear their iniquities.
- Isaiah 53:12 נַפְשׁ֔/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
- Isaiah 55:2 נַפְשְׁ/כֶֽם n c bs cs + sfx pers 2mp Why do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which doesn't satisfy? listen diligently to me, and eat you that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
- Isaiah 55:3 נַפְשְׁ/כֶ֑ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 2mp Turn your ear, and come to me; hear, and your soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
- Isaiah 58:3 נַפְשֵׁ֖/נוּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cp Why have we fasted, [say they], and you don't see? [why] have we afflicted our soul, and you take no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast you find [your own] pleasure, and exact all your labors.
- Isaiah 58:5 נַפְשׁ֑/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Yahweh?
- Isaiah 58:10 נַפְשֶׁ֔/ךָ וְ/נֶ֥פֶשׁ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms conj + n c bs cs and if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall your light rise in darkness, and your obscurity be as the noonday;
- Isaiah 58:11 נַפְשֶׁ֔/ךָ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms and Yahweh will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make strong your bones; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters don't fail.
- Isaiah 61:10 נַפְשִׁ/י֙ n c bs cs + sfx pers 1cs I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
- Isaiah 66:3 נַפְשָׁ֥/ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog's neck; he who offers an offering, [as he who offers] pig's blood; he who burns frankincense, as he who blesses an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations:
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
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.
