Berkeley scholar Robert Alter, in his new translation of the Hebrew Bible, has made a decisive statement against soul. Nowhere in the text does he render nefesh as soul\u2014because he believes it would import Christian beliefs into the Hebrew text. Mr. Alter\u2019s Psalmist declares, \u201cThe Lord is my shepherd. . . . My life He brings back.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the attempt to de-Christianize the nefesh, however, Mr. Alter and others create a metaphysical gulf between the Hebrew Bible and traditional English translations. Nefesh has a range of meanings\u2014many of which indicate that it is indeed intrinsic to corporeal existence. Animals and humans, at the moment of their creation, are called a \u201cliving nefesh\u201d in the book of Genesis. In Numbers, a \u201cdead nefesh\u201d is a corpse. The word is also found in Sheol, the shadowy underworld populated by the deceased described in Psalms 49 and 88. This raises the specter of a nefesh unbound by flesh.<\/p>\n
Then there is the prophet Elijah. When calling on God to bring a child back to life, he requests the return of the boy\u2019s nefesh. It re-enters the child and he revives (1 Kings 17:21-22). However the verse is parsed, the nefesh exists apart from the body.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Translators of the Hebrew Bible are removing the word \u2018soul\u2019 because it\u2019s too Christian. They\u2019re wrong, writes Blaire French. https:\/\/t.co\/kPXCzU0Det<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 WSJ Editorial Page (@WSJopinion) April 5, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n