The word "soul" (Hebrew nepes and Greek psyche) apparently has three primary meanings in the Bible:
(1) A human person (Genesis 2:7).
(2) An animal.
(3) The life enjoyed by a person or animal (Genesis 9:3-5).
Genesis 2:7 describes Adam becoming a "living being" (Amplified Bible) or a "living soul" (New World Translation 1984). The Apostle Paul invokes this account when reproving some in the Corinthian ecclesia (1 Cor. 15:45). Furthermore, the Bible calls animals "souls" in Numbers 31:28; Ezekiel 47:9; Revelation 8:9; 16:3. For an example of psyche denoting "life," see Matthew 16:25; 20:28.
Technically, I do not believe there is a metaphysical dichotomy between the body and the soul in the OT or NT. A number of biblical commentators have noted this point:
"The Jewish origin of the word [psyche] is determinative: Nephesh is the living quality of the flesh. The soul belongs to man's earthly existence. It does not exist without physical life. It is not, say, freed by death, then to live its untrammelled purity. Death is its end. The word psyche can also mean the person, and this is related to SWMA, SARX and PNEUMA (Rom. 16:4: hUPER THS YUXHS MOU 'For my life')" (An Outline of the Theology of the New Testament. Hans Conzelmann. 179).
Notice where the "souls" are located in Rev. 6:9; they are "at the foot of the altar" (Amplified Bible), and this description reminds one of Lev. 4:7 where the Aaronic priest is commanded to pour out the blood of a bull at the "base of the altar" (Amplified Bible). Why was the priest to pour out blood at the foot of the altar? Because the life ("soul") of the flesh was in the blood (Lev. 17:14). That's why there is no remission of sins unless blood is poured out (Heb. 9:22ff).
What bearing does this information have on Rev. 6:9? Well in that verse the blood of martyrs is symbolically envisioned at God's heavenly "altar." The blood is not poured out to forgive sins within that context: it has been spilled by God's enemies. Therefore, the blood ("souls") in Rev. 6:9 does not cry for mercy, but for vengeance. The same thing happened when Abel's blood was shed (Gen. 4:10,11; Heb. 12:24). His blood also cried from the ground. Did this mean that Abel's blood was a living thing? Or was this simply a personification of an inanimate thing because of what blood symbolizes in the Bible? Please note that James 5:4 exclaims that "wages" held back from poor workers cried out in the first century. Surely "wages" are not living, sentient things, are they? I hope this discussion will give some insight into why I do not believe that Rev. 6:9 teaches the soul is immortal (cf. Rev. 18:11-13). Nor do other scriptural verses.
4 comments:
Dear Edgar,
As regards the “souls” under the altar, I think that there is a possibility of an alternative understanding as well, which does not exclude the understanding based on the “blood of Abel” that demands justice in God’s righteous heart, since reward and punishment has not been given yet. While the word “soul” is feminine in Greek, the participle and the pronoun that follows referring to the “souls of the slaughtered ones” is in masculine gender.
εἶδον ὑποκάτω τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἐσφαγμένων
ἔκραξαν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ λέγοντες
καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς ἑκάστῳ στολὴ λευκή,
καὶ ἐῤῥέθη αὐτοῖς ἵνα ἀναπαύσωνται ἔτι χρόνον μικρόν, ἕως πληρώσωσι καὶ οἱ σύνδουλοι αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτῶν οἱ μέλλοντες ἀποκτέννεσθαι ὡς καὶ αὐτοί.
This construction seems to mean that “soul of the slaughtered ones” merely means “slaughtered ones”, or “corpses”. This makes sense, since in this word picture they are given robes to wear, something that could not be said for mere blood.
In every case, these “souls of the slaughter ones” are “made alive”, or “resurrected”, at the future time of their reward, as it is described in Revelation 20:4 (with the same syntactical pattern), a text which functions as intercontext in this case.
Καὶ εἶδον θρόνους, καὶ ἐκάθησαν ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς, καὶ κρῖμα ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς, καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν πεπελεκισμένων […] καὶ ἔζησαν καὶ ἐβασίλευσαν μετὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ χίλια ἔτη
If I remember well, E. Bullinger had a similar understanding.
Thank you for your time on this
Thanks, you make some good points. One dissertation also mentions the slaughtered souls (ones) and it explains that they're not disembodied. See https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2824&context=dissertations
Here's an article on Revelation's "barbarisms/solecisms" too:
http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/books/b9789004290822_004
The reference to Genesis 2:7, where Adam becomes a “living soul,” does not negate the existence of an immaterial soul. Rather, it shows that human beings are composed of both body (formed from the dust) and soul (breathed by God). The soul animates the body, but this doesn’t imply that the soul is extinguished upon death. Other biblical texts clearly separate body and soul after death (e.g., Matthew 10:28), showing that the soul lives beyond the death of the body.
While it’s true that nephesh can refer to a person or animal, it is reductionist to limit its meaning to this. In passages like 1 Samuel 28 (the witch of Endor), the soul of Samuel appears after his death, demonstrating the continued existence of the soul. The New Testament likewise supports this dualism. For example, Jesus promises the thief on the cross immediate entrance into paradise (Luke 23:43), suggesting a continued consciousness after death.
The claim that Revelation 6:9 is purely symbolic overlooks the consistent teaching in both Old and New Testaments that the righteous live in God’s presence after death (Luke 16:22, Philippians 1:23). The martyrs’ souls “crying out” for justice is indicative of their conscious existence. The metaphorical language enhances the idea of ongoing life, not its negation. Abel’s blood crying out (Genesis 4:10) is a different literary figure emphasizing guilt and divine justice, not an argument against the soul’s immortality.
The New Testament does not reduce the soul to physical life alone. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus clearly distinguishes between the body, which can be killed by men, and the soul, which survives bodily death. This verse alone contradicts the idea that the soul is extinguished upon death.
The resurrection of the body (1 Corinthians 15) does not imply the soul ceases to exist in the interim. The idea of a resurrection involves the reuniting of body and soul, confirming their distinction. This would make little sense if the soul ceased to exist at death.
While the masculine pronouns may refer to individuals, this does not imply that the “souls” are merely “corpses.” In biblical language, psyche often refers to the immaterial aspect of a person, and its consistent use throughout the New Testament demonstrates its association with the continued conscious existence of individuals. For instance, in Matthew 10:28, Jesus speaks about the soul being distinct from the body, which can be killed. In Revelation 6:9, these souls are depicted as being conscious and crying out for justice, which is not something that a corpse could do.
The fact that these souls are given white robes supports the idea of their continued existence in the afterlife, awaiting their final reward. White robes symbolize purity and the righteousness of the saints (Revelation 7:9, 13-14), and they are given to individuals who are spiritually alive, not merely physical corpses.
While Revelation 20:4 speaks of the resurrection of the martyrs to reign with Christ for a thousand years, this future resurrection does not imply that their souls are inactive or unconscious in the interim. The souls in Revelation 6:9 are depicted as awaiting their bodily resurrection, but this does not negate their conscious state in the present.
The reference to Abel’s blood crying out for justice in Genesis 4:10 is a figure of speech representing the injustice done to Abel. However, Revelation 6:9-11 is much more explicit in portraying the souls as actively awaiting vindication. The text speaks of them being given white robes and told to rest a little longer, which would be unnecessary if they were simply dead bodies or lifeless souls.
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