Nefesh

An excerpt from: Romans 6-8: The “law of the Spirit” and Spiritual maturity (Part 2)

The “Nefesh”

All sensation felt and experienced through the body is regarded as occurring within the realm of the “Nefesh.” Although it can be considered generally correct to consider the Nefesh as a reference to the physical body, the use of the word in the Hebrew language and in Judaism hints of the need to look deeper. Found within Jewish legal discourses, is a principle known as “Pikuach Nefesh”, derived from this passage in the Torah:

“You shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances, which if a man does, he shall live in them: I am HaShem.” – Leviticus 18:5

Since the prime concern behind the Torah is life, the sages made the concession that when facing circumstances of mortal danger, it’s permissible to violate the Torah if absolutely required for survival. In addition, one may break the Torah for the sake of preserving the life of another. Through the inclusion of the word Nephesh in the phrase, “Pikuach Nefesh” meaning “to save a life” the term is elevated to encompass not just the body, but the vital life behind it. This is done out of deference to the established use of Nefesh in scripture.

According to the Torah, the life of the body is contained in the blood:

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”  – Leviticus 17:11

When referencing the original source text in Hebrew, the word translated into English as “life,” is Nefesh.

“For the life [Nefesh] of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement…” – Leviticus 17:11

The English word “life” is quite general, but “Nefesh” in contrast, is complex and nuanced. For this reason, English translations have always struggled to capture the context and meaning behind the varying uses of the word, in order to yield a proper translation in English. The result has lead to another association with “Nefesh” that scripture never intended:

“For the life [Nefesh] of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls[Nefesh]: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

According to the Hebrew, the blood of a sacrificial animal is shed in order to atone for the Nefesh. However, in the English as it is translated, sacrifice was prescribed as a method of atoning for the soul. The modern use of the word “soul” carries with it a sense of the spiritual aspect of man; the metaphysical body that contains our consciousness after the expiration of the physical body. When we read the English, we are led to inherit a concept that scripture never intended: sacrifice was implemented as a method of spiritual regeneration. The book of Hebrews contests against this in no uncertain terms:

“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” – Hebrews 10:4

The author makes a strategic contrast between the limited benefit of sacrifice and the greater cleansing offered by Jesus as the High Priest of the spiritual priesthood of Melchizedek:

“For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean, 14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!” – Hebrews 10:13-14

In accordance with scripture, the author explains that the Temple procedures only restored purity to the physical body. To reiterate Leviticus 17:11, sacrifice atones for the Nefesh (the life of the body) and not the soul. Yet when Jesus offered himself, he became the way through which man is internally cleansed. While animal sacrifice atoned for the body, atonement for the soul can only occur through faith and repentance. This was firmly understood within Judaism:

“Neither the sin offering, nor the guilt offering, nor the Day of Atonement can bring expiation without repentance” (t. Yoma 5:9)

When the Levitical priest collected the blood of an animal and spilled it on the altar, this procedure was followed under the understanding that the substance involved was not just the blood, but the Nefesh. By spilling the blood on the altar, the priest was ultimately presenting the Nefesh of the animal before God.

Before an animal is presented to the priests for slaughter, the Torah provides the following instruction:

“He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him.” – Leviticus 1:4

This act symbolized a transfer of identity from the guilty individual, to the animal. The animal on the level of the Nefesh, now represented the Nefesh of the sinner. When the priest slaughtered the animal and presented its blood, in God’s eyes the priest was presenting the Nefesh of the man guilty of sin. As the flesh of the animal burned on the altar, the smoke would rise to appear as if it were ascending to God. This was an illustration of the Nefesh of the sinner, receiving its “atonement” and ascending to God.

The Hebrew word for sacrifice is “Korban”. The root of that word is “korav” which means “to come near”. The etymology of the word suggests that sacrifice is a method of “coming near/drawing near” to God. However, if the sacrificial system only treated the physical and not the spiritual, to what of God specifically did the Israelite draw near to? The Israelite did not seek closeness with God internally, the way that we do as Christians with the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Israelites instead would come near to God’s presence externally, dwelling within the Temple:

“To ‘draw near’ to God is to enter into communion with him; it implies entering his very presence. Inasmuch as his presence resided in the Tabernacle and Temple on earth, the worshipper was able to draw near and enter that presence through the offering of a korban – something brought near. Though the worshipper was able to draw near to God within the Temple on earth through means of sacrificial blood of animals, such blood never availed to bring him near to God in the eternal sense of life and death and the world to come…it did not avail him the same privilege in the True temple in heaven. The master brings us near to God in the heavenly Temple…” – “What about the Sacrifices?”, D. Thomas Lancaster, page 20.

On the Old Testament feast day, known as “The day of atonement” the Torah commands the Israelites to go through a period of self-imposed “affliction”:

“It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.” – Leviticus 16:31 [KJV]

Again, the English translations fumble as they attempt, but fail, to translate the word Nefesh. Since all versions uniformly translate Nefesh as “soul” this yields the sense that the “affliction” is spiritual, like a period of depression or regret for sin. This has led some translations to take creative license by translating it as “humble yourselves” or “deny yourselves”. If the right understanding is applied, the meaning behind the statement is clear. Short of physical violence against one’s Nefesh (body), the best way to afflict the Nefesh is to fast. The phrase “INul Nefesh” translated as “afflicting the soul” appears a number of times in scripture, making it clear that the intended meaning is to fast for a period of time:

“I afflicted my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.” – Psalms 35:13

“…I wept, and afflicted my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.” – Psalms 69:11

“Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and you see not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and you take not notice?…” – Isaiah 58:3

In obedience to the commandment, the Jews would fast on this day. This is why the author of the book of Acts calls the Day of Atonement, the “day of the Jewish fast”:

“And we were there a long time, until even the day of the Jewish fast was past. And it was dangerous for a man to travel by sea, and Paul counseled them…” – Acts 27:9.

Similar to the way that Paul uses the term “flesh” in his epistles to imply carnality and base passions, the scriptures use the word Nefesh to communicate desire and appetite:

“And put a knife to your throat, if you be a man given to appetite [Nefesh].” – Proverbs 23:2-3

“For he satisfies the longing soul [Nefesh] and fills the hungry soul [Nefesh] with goodness.” – Psalms 107:9

“The full soul [Nefesh] loathes a honeycomb; but to the hungry soul [Nefesh] every bitter thing is sweet.” – Proverbs 27:7

“Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never satisfy their souls [Nefesh].” – Isaiah 56:11

There is nothing wrong with the body, and with satiating hunger, and seeking pleasure as long as these pursuits conform to God’s will and design. Our bodies require food for sustenance. By responding to hunger, our bodies are granted the energy to meet the various demands throughout the day for survival, protecting and providing for the family or doing the Lord’s work. However if eating is done in excess and without restraint, this leads to the sin of gluttony. Sex and procreation are allowed with God’s blessing under the institution of marriage, however, if practiced outside of the confines of marriage, in excess and without restraint, this is sexual immorality.

It seems there is a force, driving the Nefesh to use the body as an expression for sin, and for working the body in ways God never intended. This spiritual force at work, pulling the strings and directing the Nefesh like a puppet, is known as the “Neshamah”.