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What does the expression "soul and spirit" in Hebrews 4: 12 mean?

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What does the expression "soul and spirit" in Hebrews 4

12 mean?

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Hebrews 4:12 says: "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

The expression "soul and spirit" needs to be understood in the context in which it is written. The point of the verse is not that it's possible to separate soul (Greek, psuche) from spirit (Greek, pneuma). The words actually have similar meanings in the Greek. Rather, the point is that God's Word is alive, powerful and sharp.

The New International Commentary on the New Testament volume on Hebrews by F.F. Bruce mentions these phrases "are to be understood as a 'rhetorical accumulation of terms to express the whole mental nature of man on all sides.'" If we fervently and sincerely study God's Word, the Holy Bible, it will help us to see the wrong thoughts and motives within us that must be changed in order to come to have the mind of Jesus Christ.

For more information, please read our booklet Heaven and Hell: What Does the Bible Really Teach?

What happens after I die? Soul psuche pneuma Hebrews 4:12 Word of God Doctrinal Beliefs

Comments

  • Frank Sinatra
    Frank Sinatra
    If you want to know the difference between soul and spirit, look to 1 Corinthians 2:14-15. It compares the "natural" man to the "spiritual" man. The root of these two words is soul and spirit. These two words in Hebrews 4:12 are compared to "joints and marrow" which are not the same, but can be separated by a sharp sword. Adam became a "soul", he was not given one. He turned out not to be a spiritual man.
  • Michael51
    Michael Gardner
    Mr. Kubik, My first experience was in speech class where I was given the task of listening to a story of about 2 minutes in length and. 4 others of the class were to go into the hall and not to listen in on the message. Needless to say my task came off badly from my memory, and the other four got progressively farther off the original message. This actually was a very good lesson for me when I was in the Army and in a section where most people in my outfit overseas had top secret clearances. Oh, if only, I could have been called into the church before I was in the Army. However this little lesson in Speech class has helped me in my adult life especially in my Church Life. One last thing, you and I met at a Life Net in Mandan, ND, but you might remember my wife better. Her name is Linnea Gardner.

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