Originally posted by Gina L:
I don't think there are many true dichotomists, because they link spirit/soul as one thing.
Guess I'll have to wait and see what they say.
Here is the problem...the Hebrew word that is translated "soul" is
nephesh. According to the Brown-Driver-Briggs dictionary it can have the following meanings: "soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, appetite, emotion, and passion." The Greek word for soul is
pseuche. According to the Liddel-Scott Lexicon, it has the following meanings: "breath, life, spirit, ghost, heart, mind, understanding, appetite."
The Hebrew word translated "spirit" is
ruach. According to BDB, it can have the following meanings: "breath, wind, spirit." The Greek word translated "spirit" is
pneuma. According to LS, it has a variety of meanings, such as: "blowing, a blast of wind, gentle breeze, breath, spirit."
There are two verses in the OT where the Hebrew word for spirit is used, but the LXX (Septuagint) uses the Greek word for soul (Isaiah 58:11; Jeremiah 38:12).
Now, with the wide variety of meanings of both the Hebrew and Greek words (some of them overlapping), and the usage (at least twice) of two different words in Hebrew and Greek in the same verses, it is extremely hard to come to a definite doctrine of either di- or tri-.
I tend to lean towards di- specifically because of the interchangeableness of the words in the original languages.