Unlike the Egyptian and Akkadian terms that have been translated as "soul" (e.g., ba, ka, khu, shimtu, shedu, ishtaru), the most important Hebrew words for this concept (nefesh, neshamah or nishmah, and ruaḥ) do not primarily refer to appearance, destiny, power, or supernatural influences, but to respiration—the inner, animating element of life. While the Hebrew Bible distinguishes between spirit and flesh, it does not accept the type of dualism of body and soul characteristic of Greek thought. Hebrew terms for the soul usually refer to an activity or characteristic of the body or to an entire living being. To "afflict the soul" means to practice physical self-denial (Lv. 16:29ff.).

Hebrew nefesh, usually translated as "soul," refers to the breath, as does the term neshamah (or nishmah), which became the most common word for the soul in postbiblical Hebrew. The verbs formed from the roots...