Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. KJ
This is an important verse for Christians and Jews as both view this text as the premise for humans having both a physical body and a soul. Of even greater importance is the implications this has after we die for the continuing existence of the soul. There are some who break this out further into body, soul and spirit. They would hold the view that both the body and soul die but the spirit continues to live. (Sometimes spirit and soul are reversed with the soul continuing to exist while the spirit dies). Nevertheless, our focus here is on the part of us that continues in existence after physical death that the King James version translates as “soul”. The problem that arises is that the same word translated as “soul” also appears in Genesis 1:30 as a reference to all living creatures. The word also shows up in the story of Noah:
Genesis 7: 20 The waters rose and covered the highest mountains to a depth of more than twenty-six feet. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, flying creatures, and tame animals, and wild animals, and every creature that crawls on the earth, and all humankind. 22 All in whose nostrils breathed the breath of life, of all that was on the dry land, died. NHEB
This word, or a variation, appears 754 times in the Bible according to Strong’s Concordance (see Strong’s 5315 – “nephesh”) and it usually denotes a life or living being. As a result, many modern translations, such as the New King James, have replaced “soul” with “living being” or “living person”. That said, Strong’s includes soul as a one of the possible meanings of the word.
Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. NKJ
There are a couple of differences in Genesis 2:7 that point away from this applying to all animals and toward something unique in humans. First is the intimate contact implied by God breathing into man’s nostrils. A second goes back to the word translated as “formed”. In 2:7, the Hebrew spelling is different for this word than when it is used in other parts of the Old Testament. It is וַיִּיצֶר versus וַיִּצֶר – it has two yods (also spelled yud) instead of one. This is done to denote a difference between man and animals. See: http://thussaidthelord.com/being-human/ for more. Rashi’s Commentary on the Bible states that these two yuds that are used for mankind (versus the one used for animals) signify this world and a future resurrection for humans. This question was put to the people at AsktheRabbi.org who responded:
According to the Rabbis it is referring to the part of Adam that was formed in the Spiritual Realms. Human beings are the only creation that was created with a duality. The body is physical and the soul is spiritual. The “Living Soul” is the spiritual dimension of the human being. https://www.asktherabbi.org/question/genesis-27-living-soul/
Our favorite rabbi concurred, explaining that the text is not suggesting that every animal has this breath of life, i.e., soul.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their hearts, yet so that man can’t find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end. WEB
The heart is the seat of the soul so implanted in the heart is the knowledge of eternity. Yet a few verses ahead, we see:
Ecclesiastes 3:19 For that which happens to the sons of men happens to animals. Even one thing happens to them. As the one dies, so the other dies. Yes, they have all one breath; and man has no advantage over the animals: for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?” 22 Therefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who can bring him to see what will be after him? NHEB
Skeptics will point to this verse as showing that there appears to be no advantage for men versus animals as both die. If you look a little closer, the writer of this text is simply asking a question that he will answer later. (This same question and answer approach can be seen in other parts of the Old Testament such as Psalm 94:16 and Isaiah 53). Also, there is no denial of the immortality of the soul in this passage (see the Pulpit Commentary on Ecclesiastes 3:21 https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ecclesiastes/3-21.htm)
Ecclesiastes 12:5 Also, they are afraid of heights, and of terrors in the way; and the almond tree blossoms, and the grasshopper is burdened, and the caper bush fails; because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6 before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. NHEB
The history of the church is that death gets introduced as a result of disobedience which then leads to a traumatic separation of soul and body at death. Despite this separation, we will continue to have an existence after death in the presence of Christ until the Second Coming. At that time, the promise of the Gospel is that body and soul will be reunited in an imperishable body. We get a glimpse of this starting with the last words of Jesus on Good Friday (“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”). Three days later, His body has been transformed and He is back. Jesus has an existence after death and is doing meaningful things in the time period between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
One thing the Bible doesn’t address and that is the question of when we get our souls. Various thoughts have been offered such as: at birth, just before birth, six months after birth, at conception and during pregnancy. The Catholic Church has always maintained that if you can’t be certain then be protective of the fetus throughout pregnancy. As we watch Adam begin to operate in creation, the question is not so much when did he receive his soul but when did he become aware that he had a soul. As we are getting closer to Genesis 3 and the Fall, keep in mind that the future new heaven, new earth and New Jerusalem of Revelation 21 will be like Genesis 1 and 2.