לְ/נַפְשִׁ֑/י
𐤋/𐤍𐤐𐤔/𐤉
nephesh
for my soul
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.'
Jeremiah 18:20 · Word #8
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 HR/Ncbsc/Sp1cs
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 | s — Singular — Singular |
| State | c — Construct — The noun is bound to the following word |
Common Translation
| Phrase | for my soul |
SIBI-P1 Translation H5315-23
for my living self
| Morphological Notes | Noun common singular construct with prefixed לְ (to/for) and 1st person common singular suffix: "for/to my נֶפֶשׁ." |
| Rendering Rationale | The noun נֶפֶשׁ denotes the breathing, living self—the animate being as a whole. The preposition לְ adds "for/to," and the 1st person singular suffix yields "my," preserving both the root sense of vitality and the possessive morphology. |
View full lexicon entry for H5315 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
for my life
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | Standardized from "for my soul". Hebrew uses נַפְשִׁי (nafshi) here, an idiom meaning 'my life' (they dug a pit to kill me). The context (they dug a pit intended to harm/kill) makes 'life' the appropriate, idiomatic English rendering; 'soul' is literal but less clear and not necessary. Standardize to maintain consistency. |