SOUL:

The word "soul" or "souls" in Hebrew is "nephesh", which the Bible "The King James Version" also translates into "breath", "life", "lives" "person", "persons", "creature", etc.

The Greek word from which the word "soul" or "souls" is translated is "psuche", which the Bible "The King James Version" also translates into "life", "lives", "heart", etc.

In Genesis 2:7, the creation of man is described, who was given existence when the divine spark of life was injected into a body formed from the dust of the ground. A a new soul comes into existence whenever a living being is born (human or animal), each "soul" being a new unit of life uniquely different, and separate, from other similar units. This quality of individuality in each living being, which constitutes it a unique entity, seems to be the idea emphasized by the Hebrew term "nephesh". When used in this sense nephesh is not a part of the person; it is the person, and in fact, sometimes it is translated as "creature" (Genesis 9:15; Leviticus 11:46; Genesis 1:21 – The King James Version), "person" or "persons" (Numbers 5:6; Numbers 31:19; Genesis 36:6 – The King James Version), or "self" (Isaiah 46:2 – The King James Version). On the other hand, expressions such as "my soul," "your soul," "his soul," etc., are generally idioms for the personal pronouns "I," "me," "you," "he," etc. (Genesis 12:13; Leviticus 11:43; Joshua 23:11; Psalms 3:2; Jeremiah 37:9 – The King James Version). The word "nephesh" is translated into "life" or "lives" (Genesis 9:4; Genesis 9:5; 1 Samuel 19:5; Job 2:4; Psalms 31:13; Joshua 2:13 – The King James Version). Sometimes "nephesh" is translated into "appetite" (Proverbs 23:2; Ecclesiastes 6:7 – The King James Version), and sometimes it refers to the seat of the affections (Genesis 34:3; Song of Solomon 1:7 – The King James Version) . The word "nephesh" is also translated in "dead" (Numbers 5:2 – The King James Version). The dead refers to the corpse.

The word "nephesh" refers to the soul of God, precisely because even God and the angels are souls. One verse we can consider in the Old Testament is Isaiah 42:1, which says:

"Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations" (Isaiah 42:1).

These are some translations (among others) of "nephesh" in the Old Testament.

The use of the Greek word "psuche" in the New Testament is similar to that of the Hebrew word "nephesh" in the Old Testament. It is used of human life as well as animal life (1 Peter 3:20; Revelation 16:3 – The King James Version). In some instances it is used to mean simply "person" or "persons" (Romans 13:1; Acts 7:14 – The King James Version). Mark 14:34 says that the soul of Jesus was sorrowful; in this case it refers to feelings. Also in the New Testament we can find the verse relative to Isaiah 42:1 which uses the word "psuche" to refer to the soul of God:

"17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: 18 "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles" (Matthew 12:17-18).

These are some translations (among others) of "psuche" in the New Testament.

The idea that a "soul" can have sentient existence apart from the body, or that it possesses an immortal essence, is foreign to the Bible. The soul is not a conscious and immortal entity that survives the body after death. In fact, the New Testament teaches that the soul (psuche) is destroyed along with the body in the symbolic Gehenna (Matthew 10:28).

SPIRIT:

The word "spirit" in Hebrew is "ruwach", which the Bible "The King James Version" also translates into "air", "wind", "winds", "breath", "spirits", etc.

The Greek word from which the word "spirit" is translated is "pneuma", which the Bible "The King James Version" also translates into "wind", "winds", "breath", "spirits", etc.

The divine energy, or life principle, that animates living beings. Whereas the Hebrew word nephesh (soul) denotes individuality, or personality "ruwach" (spirit) refers to the energizing spark of life essential to individual existence. It is also used to denote vitality (Judges 15:19), courage (Joshua 2:11) and anger (Judges 8:3). Animals also have the spirit (Ecclesiastes 3:19; Ecclesiastes 3:21). "Ruwach" is frequently used for the Spirit of God (Psalms 51:11; Isaiah 63:10).

These are some translations (among others) of "ruwach" in the Old Testament.

Also in the New Testament the Greek "pneuma" is used to indicate meekness (1 Corinthians 4:21), fear (2 Timothy 1:7) and the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 4:30). Note that the Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity, and is therefore God.

In the Bible the term "spirit" is also used to refer to God and angels (good and bad) in the sense that they themselves are spirits (2 Corinthians 3:17; Hebrews 1:13-14; Mark 1:23-26; Luke 8:26-30).

These are some translations (among others) of "pneuma" in the New Testament.

Never in the Bible, with respect to man, do "ruwach" and "pneuma" denote an intelligent entity capable of sentient existence apart from a physical body. Note that the phrase "the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" in Ecclesiastes 12:7 does not mean, as mentioned before, that the spirit is a sentient entity that lives apart from a physical body. This verse denotes the fact that it is in God's power to breathe again the spirit (Genesis 2:7) into the bodies of the resurrected persons in the resurrection of the just and in the resurrection of the unjust.