Taylor, author of a Hebrew Concordance, says that neh-phesh “signifies the animal life, or that principle by which every animal, according to its kind, lives. Gen. 1:20, 24, 30; Lev. 11:40. Which animal life, so far as we know anything of the manner of its existence, or so far as the Scriptures lead our thoughts, consists in the breath, Job. 41:21; 31:39, and in the blood. Lev. 17:11, 14.”
Gesenius, the standard Hebrew lexicographer, defines nephesh as follows:--
“1. Breath. 2. The vital spirit, as the Greek psuche, and Latin anima, through which the body lives, i. e., the principle of life manifested in the breath.” To this he also ascribes “whatever has respect to the sustenance of life by food and drink, and the contrary.” “3. The rational soul, mind, animus, as the seat of feelings, affections, and emotions. 4. Concr. living thing, animal in which is the nephesh, life.”
The word soul in the New Testament comes invariably from the Greek ψυχή (psuche); which word occurs 105 times. It is translated soul 58 times; life, 40 times; mind, 3 times; heart, twice; us, once; and you, once.
Spirit in the Old Testament is from two Hebrew words n’shah-mah and ruach.
The former occurs 24 times. It is 17 times rendered breath, 3 times, blast, twice, spirit, once, soul, and once, inspiration. It is defined by Gesenius, “Breath, spirit, spoken of the breath of God, i. e., a) the wind, b) the breath, breathing of his anger. 2. Breath, life of man and beasts. 3. The mind, the intellect. 4. Concr. living thing, animals.”
The latter, ruach, occurs 442 times. Spirit in every instance in the Old Testament is from this word, except Job 26:4, and Prov. 20:27; where it is from n’shah-mah. Besides spirit it is translated wind 97 times, breath, 28 times, smell, 8 times, mind, 6 times, blast, 4 times; also anger, courage, smell, air, &c., in all sixteen different ways.
Spirit in the New Testament is from the Greek, πνεῦμα (pneuma) in every instance. The original word occurs 385 times, and besides spirit is rendered ghost 92 times, wind, once, and life, once. Parkhurst in his Greek Lexicon, says: “It may be worth remarking that the leading sense of the old English word ghost is breath; ... that ghost is evidently of the same root with gust of wind; and that both these words are plain derivatives from the Hebrew, to move with violence; whence also gush, &c.”
Pneuma is defined by Robinson in his Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, to mean, primarily, “1. A breathing, breath, breath of air, air in motion. 2. The spirit of man, i. e., the vital spirit, life, soul, the principle of life residing in the breath breathed into men from God, and again returning to God.”
We now have before us the use and definitions of the words from which soul and spirit are translated. From the facts presented we learn that a large variety of meanings attaches to them; and that we are at liberty wherever they occur to give them that definition which the sense of the context requires. But when a certain meaning is attached to either of these words in one place, it is not saying that it has the same meaning in every other place.