נֶפֶשׁ nephesh

Hebrew word for “soul” · Strong’s H5315 · used 754 times in 683 verses

Explore it in the Word Atlas

Meaning

1) soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion;

Senses in the lexicon

• soul (246)
• soul: life (207)
• soul: myself (130)
• soul: person (96)
• soul: appetite (47)
• soul: animal (13)
• soul: dead (13)
• soul: neck (2)

How it is translated

Glosses given for nephesh in context, with how often each is used:

• life 222
• self 215
• person 67
• being 37
• appetite 31
• soul 26
• persons 24
• selves 19
• desire 15
• lives 15
• anyone 13
• corpse 12

Where it is used

Also in 19 more books.

Chapters where it is used most

Numbers 30 (11), Psalms 35 (8), Psalms 119 (8), Genesis 9 (6), Genesis 46 (6), Numbers 31 (6), Joshua 10 (6), Psalms 42 (6), Proverbs 13 (6), Lamentations 3 (6)

Forms

• נפשׁי 172
• נפשׁ 140
• נפשׁו 85
• נפשׁך 68
• הנפשׁ 41
• נפשׁם 36
• ונפשׁ 21
• נפשׁה 17
• בנפשׁ 17
• נפשׁתיכם 13

Words used with it

Words that share verses with nephesh more often than their overall frequency would suggest:

• חַי chay “alive” 61
• בָּקַשׁ baqash “to seek” 41
• אִם im “if” 54
• מוּת mut “to die” 48
• אָכַל akhal “to eat” 46
• כָּרַת karat “to cut” 33
• מִן־ min “from” 41
• לֵבָב levav “heart” 27
• דָּם dam “blood” 28
• חָיָה chayah “to live” 27
• אָהֵב ahav “to love” 25
• שָׁמַר shamar “to keep” 30

Key verses

The verses using nephesh that are most connected by cross-references (King James Version):

• 1 Chronicles 28:9 — And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and…
• Psalms 19:7 — The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
• Psalms 63:1 — [A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.] O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for…
• Isaiah 42:1 — Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
• Isaiah 49:7 — Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall…
• Isaiah 53:10 — Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his…
• Isaiah 53:11 — He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
• Isaiah 55:3 — Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
• Isaiah 61:10 — I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe…
• Jeremiah 4:19 — My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the…
• Jeremiah 6:16 — Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.…
• Jeremiah 15:1 — Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go…

See all 683 verses in the Word Atlas

Hebrew and Greek text, tagging, glosses and lexicon definitions: STEPBible.org, Tyndale House Cambridge (TAHOT, TAGNT, TBESH, TBESG; CC BY 4.0), adapted. Counts follow King James verse numbering; a word counts each time it is written.