OT Anthropology: The Constituent Elements of Man. (BADR Part 1)
Kairos Podcast Series 8: Biblical Anthropology, Death and Resurrection (BADR Part 1).
A. Contemporary Criticism Against Biblical Dualistic Anthropology
Under the influence of prominent liberal scholars like Adolf Harnack in the early 20th century, the movement to decouple biblical theology from the alleged influence of Greek or Platonic philosophical influences gained momentum…
The distinctive usage of biblical anthropological terms should alert us to the need to examine Scripture on its own terms in order to resolve the controversy between holism and dualism. This post shall examine closely how the terms which describe the constituent elements of man are used in the OT…
B. Man’s Constituent Elements
Bāsār, Flesh
Note that flesh does not connote the principle of sin or the man’s unregenerate nature. It connotes a nature which is frail and transient: “all flesh is grass” (Isa. 40:6; Psa. 78:39). However, “flesh” is open to God’s positive influence so that a heart of stone could be changed into a heart of flesh, something which is soft and yielded to God (Ezek. 36:26).”
Nepeš, Soul
The nepeš, “soul,” is the entire man and nepeš may therefore often be translated simply as “self,” a “person” (Gen. 12:5; 17:14). It can simply mean the vital principle or life-force of the person. Scripture regards man not dualistically, but as a whole. As such, nepeš ḥayyâ is best translated as “living creature” or “living being.”
It is before Yahweh that man dialogues with his nepeš (Psa. 103:1, 42:5, 11; 43:5) and where his needy life and desires turn to joyful praise. Hans Walter Wolff concludes, “before Yahweh, man in the Old Testament does not only recognize himself as nepeš in his neediness; he also leads his self on to hope and to praise.”
Rûaḥ, Spirit
Rûaḥ is the principle of man’s rational and immortal life, and possesses reason, will, and conscience. It imparts the divine image to man, and constitutes the animating dynamic which results in man’s nepeš as the subject of personal life.
Payne summarizes , “Soul néfesh, is generally felt as being a more personal and individual term than rûaḥ, spirit. Man has a rûaḥ, but he is a néfesh: he thinks with his rûaḥ, but the thinker is the néfesh.” If nepeš is an individual it comes to an end with the death of the individual. At death the flesh returns to dust (Gen. 3:19; Ps. 103:14; Job 34:14, 15), for man is but dust and ashes (Gen. 18:27). However, the spirit, rûaḥ returns to the presence of God himself (Ecc. 12:9). The soul nepeš leaves the body at death and continue its ‘existence’ separate from the body (Gen. 35:18; cf. I Kings 17:22 on the rare case of a soul’s return to its body). But death does not mean the body has no permanent significance. It’s full significance becomes clearer later in the Old Testament with the hope for final resurrection (Dan. 12:2).
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OT Anthropology: The Constituent Elements of Man. (BADR Part 1)