HE terms "soul" and "spirit" occur many times in the Scriptures, in which they are in most instances applied to human beings. These facts are popularly accepted as proof positive that man is possessed of natural immortality; "for," it is argued, "the soul cannot die, and the spirit cannot be destroyed."

But, before we base an argument and found an important tenet of doctrine upon a word, the meaning of that word must be unequivocal; that is, it must admit of but one definition or interpretation. We must not give to a word our own definition, and then claim that it proves our position on a doctrine. Our only safe course. is to learn the sense in which a given word is used in the Bible; then, and only then, can we know what it is designed to teach.

Upon this point Smith says, "We do not deny that there is a 'soul' and a 'spirit' pertaining to man; we only say that if our friends will show that the Bible anywhere attaches to them the meaning with which modern theology has invested them, they will supply

PLAIN, BUT TRUE.

A recent reviewer of a work on unconditional immortality states that the whole doctrine is based upon Catholicism. He says:

"The whole Protestant world

is tinctured with this subtle heresy; and in vain do they oppose the mass, purgatory, and invocation of saints, whose very existence depends upon the popular dogma of immortality, while they maintain, uphold, and defend this foundation."-Anthropos, p. 69.

LUTHER'S VIEW. Audlin, in his "Life of Luther," speaks of the Italian reformers thus:

"They left Wittemberg and went to Geneva, where we find them in 1571, sustaining in a crowded school and in printed theses, that all which was said about the immortality of the soul was invented by antichrist, for the purpose of making the pope's pot boil!"

what has thus far been a perpetual lack, and forever settle this controversy. The trouble is, men borrow from heathen philosophy and their own imagination, the conception of an immaterial, immortal entity, and call it soul; then when they find the term [soul] used in the Bible, they attach to it their own definition, and call the question settled. This is not only illogical but wicked."-Here and Hereafter, p. 58.

Searching the Bible for a definite meaning of the words soul and spirit, we find that they have so many different meanings, and are used in so many different ways, that neither word can be covered by any single definition.

But the candid and honest student need not become perplexed by this, for, by a careful comparison of Scripture with Scripture, the humble searcher after truth will be rewarded, and God's word become indeed a lamp to his feet.

But that the word "soul," in Scripture, is not always used in the same sense, is the testimony of the best and most eminent clergymen and Biblical students. This also applies with equal weight, to the word "spirit."

If the foregoing be true, an argument based upon the use of a single word can not stand. Especially is this the case when, as has been shown in previous chapters of this book, the theory of natural immortality is not sustained by the Bible.

It

All matters of Bible truth must be decided upon unequivocal statements of Scripture. When a doctrine is plainly and fully established by a "thus saith the Lord," it is not safe to allow a word, or a halfunderstood sentence, to overthrow our faith. God's word is not "yea and nay," but "yea and amen." never contradicts itself. Yet after reading the plain, positive statement of a truth, we may find texts which to us seem to conflict with it. In all such cases it is safer to doubt our understanding of more obscure words and passages, and hold firmly to the plain, positive declarations of the word. Then in His own good time God will make the difficult places plain, and the obscure texts clear to our mind. Hold fast to the pillars of truth as revealed in the good old Bible.

In this volume the author wishes to state that the spelling of the original words herein used, is in accordance with the Hebrew and Greek Concordances from which he has quoted. The former is printed by Walton & Maberly, London, England, and the latter by Harper Brothers, New York.

whole man in his entirety, as in Gen. 2:7, "" And man became a living soul;" hence also person, creature.

2. It signifies life, as in Matt. 16: 26, "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

Commenting upon this text Dr. Clarke says, "On what authority some have translated the word psukee in the 25th verse life, and in this verse soul, I know not, but am certain it means life in both places."

3. It means desire (Jer. 50: 19), heart (Gen. 34:8), appetite (Deut. 12:15), and indeed embraces the entire range of the affections.

In every one of the many hundred instances in which the word soul occurs in the Bible, it naturally comes under the head of some one of the three definitions given above.

IMPORTANT FACT. Dr. McCulloch, author of "Credibility of the Scriptures," vol. ii, p. 466, says:—

"There is no word in the Hebrew language that signifies either soul or spirit, in the technical sense in which we use the

words.

Hence, as translations were made by men, we must examine carefully the original text in order to obtain a correct understanding of the true Biblical sense in which these words are used.

The word "soul" in the Old Testament is translated from the Hebrew word nehphesh, with only two exceptions. In Job 30: 16, it comes from the Hebrew word n'dee-vah, and in Isa. 57: 16 the original word is n'shah-mah. In the New Testament the Greek word for soul is psukee.

This

difference is because the Old Tes tament was written in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek.

The word "spirit" in the Old Testament is from the Hebrew word roo-agh. To this rule there are only two exceptions. In Job 26:4 and Prov. 20: 27, it is translated from the Hebrew word n'shah-mah. In the New Testament the original word is pneuma.

In commenting on these words Smith makes the following pertinent statement: "To these [the terms, as implying something original words from which soul and spirit are translated] no one is at liberty to attach any arbitrary meaning. Their

distinct from the body."

significance must be determined by the sense in which they are used in the Sacred Record; and whoever goes beyond that, does violence to the word of God."-Here and Hereafter, p. 61.

SIGNIFICANT FACTS.

"The word 'soul,' or rather the Hebrew and Greek words from which it is translated, occurs in the word of God 873 times-768 in the Old Testament, and 105 in the New. Also the word rendered 'spirit' occurs in both Testaments 827 times-442 in the Old Testament, and 385 in the New. Their aggregate use is 1700 times.

"But notwithstanding the frequent use of these words,

MILTON'S VIEW.

Milton in his treatise on "Christian Doctrine," vol. i, pp. 250, 251, says :

"Man is a living being, intrinsically and properly one and individual, not compound and separable, not, according to the common opinion, made up and framed of two distinct and different natures, as of body and soul, but the whole man is soul, and the soul, man; that is to say, a body or substance, individual, animated, sensitive, and rational."

they are never once qualified by such expressions as 'immortal,' 'deathless,' 'never-dying,' etc., which so much abound in modern theology. Though the Bible speaks to us 875 times of the soul, it never once calls it an 'immortal soul;' and though it tells us 827 times of the spirit, it never once tells of a 'deathless spirit.'" Scripture References, pp. 24, 25.

THE HEBREW WORD FOR SOUL IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.

The Hebrew word nehphesh is defined by the lexicographer Gesenius, as follows:

"1. Breath. 2. The vital spirit, as the Greek psukee, and Latin anima, through which the body lives; i. e., the principle of life manifested in the breath." Also, "whatever has respect to the sustenance of life by food and drink, and the contrary." "3. The rational