Assumptions about the Soul

It is popularly believed that the soul is a person’s conscious essence which leaves the body after death, and can continue to function even when it is separated from the body. Because this belief is so common, many people assume that this is the concept of the soul in the Bible.

Consider the following Bible passages where the word “soul” is used:

Genesis 35:18 ESV And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

Matthew 10:28 ESV And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

When many people read these passages, they immediately think that the word “soul” refers to a person’s conscious essence, which leaves his body after death and can continue to function even when it is apart from the body. After all, that is the concept of the soul which most people are most familiar with.

However, these passages do not actually suggest that the soul is a person’s conscious essence. People read their own ideas about the soul into the Bible because they assume that the biblical writers had the same concept of the soul as they have.

In reality, the biblical writers had a very different concept of the soul than we have today. According to the Bible, a person’s soul is his life. In Genesis 35:18, a person dies when his “life” leaves his body. In Matthew 10:28, God will destroy the “life” of an unsaved person in Hell forever.

However, we would not even bother to do such a study if we already assume that our concept of the soul is biblical. Let us always be open to challenge our assumptions, and correct our beliefs according to the Scriptures!