נַפְשׁ֖וֹת
𐤍𐤐𐤔𐤅𐤕
nephesh
persons
The animate self; a living being with breath; the seat of life or vitality in animals and humans. In the Hebrew Bible, 'nephesh' refers to living creatures, the essential self or person, appetite, desire, and occasionally the seat of emotions or consciousness. It can indicate the life that animates a body, a specific individual, or one's being in a holistic sense. Unlike later concepts of an immortal soul distinct from the body, 'nephesh' primarily expresses the living, breathing person or animal, often rendered as 'life', 'person', or 'being.'
2 Kings 12:5 · Word #16
Lexicon H5315
| Lemma | נֶפֶשׁ |
| Lemma (Paleo) | 𐤍𐤐𐤔 |
| Transliteration | nephesh |
| Strong's | H5315 |
| Definition | The animate self; a living being with breath; the seat of life or vitality in animals and humans. In the Hebrew Bible, 'nephesh' refers to living creatures, the essential self or person, appetite, desire, and occasionally the seat of emotions or consciousness. It can indicate the life that animates a body, a specific individual, or one's being in a holistic sense. Unlike later concepts of an immortal soul distinct from the body, 'nephesh' primarily expresses the living, breathing person or animal, often rendered as 'life', 'person', or 'being.' |
Morphology HNcbpc
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea |
| Subtype | c — Common — Common noun |
| Gender | b — Both — Both (masculine and feminine) |
| Number | p — Plural — Plural |
| State | c — Construct — The noun is bound to the following word |
Common Translation
| Phrase | persons |
SIBI-P1 Translation H5315-39
breathing beings of
| Morphological Notes | Common noun, plural, construct state (feminine form; governs a following genitive). |
| Rendering Rationale | The noun נֶפֶשׁ denotes a living, breathing being; in the plural construct form it means "beings of" in relation to what follows. "Breathing beings of" preserves both the root connection to breath and the construct plural morphology. |
View full lexicon entry for H5315 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
persons
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | Replaced 'breathing beings of' with 'persons' to better fit the legal context, where 'persons' is the standard English equivalent for נַפְשׁוֹת in valuation laws (see lexicon). |