נֶפֶשׁ
nephesh · neh'-fesh
properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)
Lexicon
Derivation: from H5314 (נָפַשׁ);
properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)
- properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality
- used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)
Definition from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890). Wording is Strong's own, including his etymological notes, which are not separate meanings.
KJV renderings: any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, [idiom] dead(-ly), desire, [idiom] (dis-) contented, [idiom] fish, ghost, [phrase] greedy, he, heart(-y), (hath, [idiom] jeopardy of) life ([idiom] in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, [phrase] slay, soul, [phrase] tablet, they, thing, ([idiom] she) will, [idiom] would have it.
Letters
- נNun50
Picture: a sprouting seed, or a fish in water
- Concrete
- seed · sprout · fish · offspring
- Extended
- life · continuation · heir · to perpetuate
- פPe80
Picture: an open mouth
- Concrete
- mouth · lips · teeth
- Extended
- to speak · a word · an edge or opening · to scatter speech
- שShin300
Picture: two front teeth (or a composite bow)
- Concrete
- teeth · sharp · press · bow
- Extended
- to consume · to destroy · to press or grind · to change · again
Possible cultural reading (auto-composed)
the seed, life continuing › to speak, the word › to consume, to destroy
The seed, life continuing that works to speak, the word that works to consume, to destroy.
Interpretive, not lexical. The dictionary sense of נֶפֶשׁ above is the attested meaning; this pictographic reading is a tradition about how the sign-shapes may have been heard. Both can be held at once, they are answering different questions.
Usage
754 occurrences · 754 OT · 0 NT · 236 distinct forms
KJV renderings of this word, by how often each one is used.
- my soul71 · 24%
- his soul25 · 8%
- the soul16 · 5%
- soul15 · 5%
- o my soul13 · 4%
- my life12 · 4%
- thy life11 · 4%
- thy soul9 · 3%
- all the souls8 · 3%
- and his soul8 · 3%
- creature8 · 3%
- of my soul8 · 3%
- for my soul8 · 3%
- souls8 · 3%
- his life8 · 3%
- any person8 · 3%
- her soul8 · 3%
- his own soul8 · 3%
- our soul7 · 2%
- and as thy soul7 · 2%
- and with all thy soul7 · 2%
- persons7 · 2%
- the souls7 · 2%
- and the soul6 · 2%
- the life5 · 2%
Where it is used, by book.
Inflected forms found in the text.
Counts are computed from the tagged Hebrew and Greek text aligned to the King James Version, not from an estimate.