Life After Death_ A History of the Afterlife in Western Religion - Alan Segal [88]
The real issue is not whether anything survives death but whether that something is punished for its sins or lives on in a beatific and desirable way. We must be careful of this distinction throughout: When “refa’” or “nefesh,” means nothing more than “shade,” “ghost” or “spirit” in describing the afterlife, then it is no different from a host of other words for ghost throughout world religions. If there is no beatific afterlife and no judgment, then it does not matter much whether the “soul” is a “wraith,” a “spirit,” a “ghost,” or a “shade.” It is not an afterlife to be desired.45
Although nefesh occurs quite frequently in the Hebrew text, there is no evidence that the ancient Hebrews conceived of an “immortal” soul in our philosophical sense of the term. The notion of an immortal soul comes largely from Greek philosophers, especially Plato. We will discuss that concept when it is historically appropriate within Hebrew thought-that is, during the Hellenistic period, when Greek thought influenced Jewish thought deeply. The earlier, more native Hebrew notion was more inchoate and is tied to Canaanite notions; nefesh is even directly cognate with the Ugaritic term. It is important because it marks the identity of the person but not because it survives death for a beatific reward.
Besides the concept of soul, the Hebrews talked about the life principle as breath (rüah, ruaḥ), which God shares with humans (Gen 1:1). The notions of ruaḥ and nefesh must be very similar, as is logical considering that “nefesh” is derived from one of the Hebrew words for “breathing.” Basically, nefesh means something like “breath” or “life principle,” which is evident in the first references to it in the Hebrew Bible, when the LORD God breathes into the man’s nostrils the breath of life (nishmat ḥayyim, from nešāmâ, nishamah) and he became a living soul (nefesh ḥayyah, Gen 2:7). The word “nishamah,” in this context, appears to signify “inhalation;” so a living soul is created by the inhalation of life. Probably, “nefesh” in this context means something like “living” or “breathing” creature, since it is also used frequently of animals, especially in the creation stories. It only means “soul” in a casual way, as when when we say that a ship went down with all souls lost, meaning all persons or lives lost. Indeed, the term “dead soul” actually occurs in Hebrew writing, where it means a corpse.46 In short the problem is that we use the term differently from the Hebrews: We think we have a soul; the Hebrews thought they were a soul.
Consequently the Hebrews did not automatically or characteristically distinguish between body and soul as we may do. Instead, they thought of the two as a kind of unity, an animated body, where the nefesh served as the animator, or perhaps something more, like what we would call the “person” or even the “personality,” rather than the life-breath, for which “neshamah” or “ruaḥ” served more explicitly. But it would be fruitless to seek exact understandings of these terms. Although the human person was thought of by the Hebrews to be a totality, as our term “person” implies, the Hebrews sometimes talked about the nefesh as departing or returning (Gen 35:18; 1 Kgs 17:21-22). Perhaps, at these particular times, it is better to think of it as a “self,” noting that when the Hebrews use it they are discussing an individual in one way or another.
If we understand nefesh as meaning personhood or self, we must again be careful not to import modern notions of consciousness to a Hebrew notion. As personhood, the soul in Hebrew thought can undergo a kind of increase or decrease in strength, corresponding with a person’s strength, character, or personality. To “pour out the soul” is to be faint, unconscious perhaps, or merely helpless (1 Sam 1:15; Ps 42:5). A strong soul can surpass human limitations by achieving a certain fortuitous grace, or “charisma” (Gen 23:8; 2 Kgs 9:15; Ps 33:20).