Self…not meaning selfish. Actually just the opposite. Sort of. In Hebraic thought it is more an
identity or one’s persona. What makes me...me. Am I me or am I more?
...and down the rabbit hole we go.
The noun in the Hebrew Bible frequently translated
“soul” or “person” is the Hebrew word ‘nepes’. Sometimes it is said that the ancient Hebrew did not have
a soul but was a soul. Also ironically we need to understand the Hebraic idea of what constitutes one's self. Job 12:10 offers a distinct dissimilarity between רוח (ruah, breath or spirit) and נפש (nephesh, of or relating to sentience of thought) [Kind of like René Descartes: "I think therefore I am" kind of thing but not in the case of animals as they are not self-aware the way people are. Which, therein lies the differences in soul between man and beast]. I told you this would be a rabbit hole.
“In His hand is the life
(nephesh) of every living thing and the spirit (ruah) of every human being.” ~ Job 12:10
The Hebrew term, nephesh ‘chayyah’ is often translated "living soul".
Chayyah alone is often translated living thing or animal. In Greek the word
ψυχή (psyche) is the closest equivalent to the Hebrew nephesh.
This is a misleading over-simplification. To be sure, ancient Hebrews did not think of the human being as a union of two disparate elements, a physical body and a spiritual soul, or even of three parts—body, soul, and spirit. It would be more accurate to say that the ancient Hebrews employed a variety of whole-body terms to convey their understanding of the human person as a totality, and that the word ‘nepes’ was only one of many such terms. Other words used are figures of speech to the same effect like heart, bones, breath and even tongue referring to speech.
This is a misleading over-simplification. To be sure, ancient Hebrews did not think of the human being as a union of two disparate elements, a physical body and a spiritual soul, or even of three parts—body, soul, and spirit. It would be more accurate to say that the ancient Hebrews employed a variety of whole-body terms to convey their understanding of the human person as a totality, and that the word ‘nepes’ was only one of many such terms. Other words used are figures of speech to the same effect like heart, bones, breath and even tongue referring to speech.
Possibly 'nepes' did come closest to
being the one special word so used because unlike
the other words nepes did not have
a precise physical correspondent in the body itself, as the other terms did,
except for its explicit connection with blood in Leviticus 17:11 explaining why
a life needed to be given as atonement for sin.
The ‘nepes’ referred to what was
alive and vital in a person. Nepes described the Hebrew person in his or her needs
both emotive and physical. It is here we see the holistic nature of balance and
treatment medicinally of a human as a whole. Essentially the Hebrew God acted
more as a DO or doctor of osteopathy that treated the human as a whole rather
than an MD or medical doctor who more often treats the human as disparate
elements. The Old Testament even speaks quite often of God’s Nepes (Judges
10:16; Zechariah 11:8; Jeremiah 12:7; Amos 6:8).
The Hebrew concept of self was
furthermore not a self by itself. The true self in the Hebrew mind was that of
an individual who found purpose and meaningfulness in relationship to other individuals (community)
and God (communal). In the Old Testament no person was ‘an island to themselves’.
Part of individual self-health was clearly part of something communal/community
or a ‘corporate personality’. Hebrew people would oscillate back and forth between
group and self. This is in direct opposition to contemporary Western culture and
rugged American individualism.
Realize what was just state here. The Jewish/Hebraic concept of what constituted 'self' was interwoven/intertwined in community. In Jewish thought you could not be self-whole without others in community. Intrinsically linked and indivisible from community. Part of the Israelites self identity was others. Communal. Nation. A covenant nation. All networked. All linked. That is why sin in one individual was an affront to all Jews. Hence the death penalty for what appeared on the surface to be minor infractions. It wasn't just an affront to others it was an affront to everyone AND God. You screwed with everybody within you own selfish sin. In Hebraic thought there are no victimless crimes. No petty thefts. No little white lies. All sin is worthy of a death penalty. Hence the need of a system of atonement. A system of sacrifice (Leviticus 17:11).
The individual Israelite ‘self’ did
not truly exist in isolation. It could only exist in concert with God and other
men and women. A nation. A Covenant Nation. The Jewish/Hebrew world was not our
world of defiant individuality or insensitivity. This is why I believe western civilization
and America in particular are dying via political division. It is not healthy
or wholesome to the corporate whole of America. This is also why I believe the
Devil works overtime on the destruction of the family unit. It again distills down
to the idea of wholeness (or lack thereof). Wholeness not just within one’s
self but wholeness in community. Just as it will be in the Kingdom of
God/Heaven. All are one in Christ.
Conversely, we now live in a world where
individuals and communities tend to live and care only for themselves, where
the sick, the aged and infirm, the disadvantaged, and the poor and homeless are
marginalized, abused and forgotten. The battle cry of divisions in 1 Corinthians
3 from Paul still rings true in todays world. Only the names change. I am of
Trump. I am of Clinton. I am of Obama. I am of Pentecostalism. I am of
Presbyterianism. I am of Planned Parenthood. I am of the NRA. The result is the
same. Division. Conflict. Disharmony. Illness. Unholiness. The exact opposite
of what God intended. The system of the world in full power ruled by the prince
of the power of the air. An absolute demarcation and destruction of wholeness
of self/community (Ephesians 2) which should’ve been one and the same.
We cannot be fully whole and healthy without God and others. It's not how we were created to function. Anything less is a corruption of the intended order for mankind. In a weird spiritual way...we really are Spiritual Borg. Not in an evil malignant way but rather in a benevolent, purposeful, meaningful, wholesome and holy way. Like a family not just a collective of emotionless drones (although I imagine there are quite a few spiritually dead churches out there as Revelation refers to). That sentience and corporal whole based in the Trinity. In Christ. Now you understand why Christians and Jews were commanded to joined together to one another. Now you understand Hebrews 10:25. You're not a whole person without that.
