Who am I? Flesh, soul and body - and heart

Let's step back and see how the psalms speak about our humanity. We saw that the poet often observes or addresses his souls, and that the soul can have emotional responses and drives. The soul does not reason with the "I," however. Nowhere do we find that the poet 'has' a soul. It seems that the poet is both his "I" ánd his soul, but that these are nevertheless not identical. The same seems to be true, at least sometimes, of one's spirit, heart, or flesh and bones.

H.W. Wolff (Anthropologie des AT, 1973) has catalogued the use of some key anthropological terms in the Hebrew Bible, including the following:

• Basar (flesh): used 273 times, mostly for humans but also for animals (104 times);
• Nefesh (soul): used 755 times, (600 times translated as psyche in the Greek Septuagint) mostly for humans, but also for animals and sometimes for God (21 times);
• Ruach (spirit): used 389 times, mostly for God (136 tomes) and nature (113 times), but also for humans, animals and idols/demons;
• Lev/Levav (heart): used 858 times, of which 814 for humans.

Flesh, soul and spirit...

In Genesis 2:7, the human being is formed from the dust of the earth. But only when God breaths into that material body, does the man become a living nefesh, often translated as a living being. Likewise, in Genesis 1, animals are called living souls, often translated as living creatures. This should not come as a surprise. The very word 'animal' is derived from the Latin word for soul: anima. According to Ecclesiastes 3:21, animals and humans are the same. They return to dust when the ruach (breath or spirit) leaves them. And who can see that the ruach of animals would remain earthly while the ruach of humans returns to heaven?

So the spirit makes us a living soul, whereas the soul motivates the body. We are our body, with its limitations and potential. The body is primary driven by its state: hunger or thirst, sleep, sexual arousal etc. The word 'flesh' also denotes these instinctual drives. The body is often associated with the flesh, bones, or the belly. The soul is primarily driven by emotions: desire, fear, love, ambition. The soul is the animating or motivating essence of the body. It is what puts the body into motion towards something that is desired or away from something that is feared. That is why, depending on context, the word nefesh can be translated as soul, being, creature, inner being, or life. We are our soul, in the sense that we are what we feel that we are. The spirit as breath or wind connects us with the outside. It is what drives and inspires us. Our breath - or spirit or inspiration - can also also be polluted by impure or even evil spirits. Or by God's holy spirit. In other words: the flesh is governed by instincts, the soul - especially of social animals - is meant to correct our instinctual behavior, and the spirit corrects what we fear or desire. That is why psalm 43 invites God's light and truth as spiritual guidance for the soul.

...and the heart

But what then is the heart? It is where the "I" speaks (Psalm 53:2), where humans consider their actions (Proverbs 16:1), and hatch their plans.