לְ/נֶ֥פֶשׁ
𐤋/𐤍𐤐𐤔
nephesh
for a person
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.'
Leviticus 21:1 · Word #12
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/Ncbsa
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 | a — Absolute — The noun stands independently |
Common Translation
| Phrase | for a person |
SIBI-P1 Translation H5315-28
to a living being
| Morphological Notes | Preposition לְ + noun common singular absolute; gender grammatically both; no pronominal suffix. |
| Rendering Rationale | נֶפֶשׁ denotes a breathing, animate self or living being. The prefixed לְ preposition is preserved as "to," and the singular absolute noun is rendered in a way that reflects its core sense of embodied, breathing life rather than a disembodied soul. |
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