The Possible Meaning of Hebrews 12:23 (The Soul and Spirit)

Hebrews 12:23 is somewhat complex, so my response to the dualist interpretation of the passage will consist
of three areas.

I want to show that Heb. 12:23 does not mean the soul of man is immortal.In order to facilitate this discussion, I want to focus on YUXH and not just PNEUMA in this discussion.

A) The Semantic Domain of YUXH

When we research the signifier YUXH, it becomes evident there are divergent opinions and views about the denotation of this term. BAGD lists the following senses (glosses) of YUXH:

(1) Life on earth in its external, physical aspects--breath of life, life-principle, soul of animals (Gen. 9:4; Rev. 8:9).

Under this category, BAGD states that when the YUXH leaves the body, "death occurs." From there, this lexicon claims the YUXH evidently lives in Hades "or some other place outside the earth" (Rev. 6:9; 20:4).

(2) YUXH can denote earthly life itself (Mt. 20:28). Rev. 12:11 seemingly describes "loving one's life" (something the "brothers" mentioned in that self-same verse refuse to do).

(3) YUXH is the seat and center of the inner life of man in its varied aspects (Ps. 106:9; Prov. 25:25; Rev. 18:14).

(4) YUXH may also depict the feelings and emotions of humans (Mk 12:30-33).

(5) Lastly, BAGD claims YUXH sometimes conveys the sense of "the seat and center of life that transcends the earthly" (Phaedo 28; Mt. 10:28).

Thus speaks BAGD. Conversely, Louw-Nida gives us an entirely different picture of YUXH. Based on the semantic domains listed in their lexicon, it's possible that the soul is not an incorporeal "substance" which departs from man at death; that is, Louw-Nida makes us wonder if the soul is an entity capable of living in another realm when a person ceases to live "under the sun." Here are the semantic fields listed by L-N:

(1) The inner self (26.4). See Phil. 1:27.

(2) Life (23.88).

(3) A person (9.20).

(4) A living creature (4.1). Cf. Rev. 16:3.

Furthermore, I now list Louw-Nida on PNEUMA according to its Semantic Domains:

(12.18) The Holy Spirit.

(12.33) Spirit, in general (a supernatural being). Cf. John 4:24

(12.37) Evil spirit.

(12.42) A ghost (Luke 24:37). But read this information carefully. It does
not necessarily prove that the common cenception of "ghost" is under
discussion in Luke 24:37.

(26.9) Inner being.

(30.6) Wind.

After examining YUXH and PNEUMA, I will try to explain Heb. 12:23 from my own personal religious paradigm. This discussion is not intended to serve as an exercise in proselytism or question begging, I simply want to show why
the common view of Heb. 12:23 might just be wrong. I will analyze this verse from two perspectives.

(1) The lexical perspective

(2) From a discourse perspective (i.e., I will look at the macrostructure of Hebrews)

I have already covered some lexical aspects of the problem and demonstrated that the best GNT lexica do not fully resolve questions about the afterlife from a New Testament perspective. Now I want to take a deeper look at the lexical semantics of Heb. 12:23 and its literary context.

The relevant text reads: KAI PNEUMASI DIKAIWN TETELEIWMENWN.

The writer of Hebrews uses PNEUMATWN to describe the role that God the Father plays in disciplining us so that we might partake of His holiness. Heb. 12:9 calls God the "Father of our spirits" ["our spiritual life" NWT 2013].

DIKAIOS is also utilized in Heb. 10:38 where the term clearly applies to Christians in the "here and now." Of course, one might feel tempted to include "righteous" Abel in the phrase KAI PNEUMASI DIKAIWN TETELEIWMENWN, but this does not harmonize with the author's use of the perfect participle TETELEIWMENWN. Cf. Heb. 11:40.

The only persons truly spoken of as "perfected" in Hebrews are Jesus (Heb. 2:10; 5:9; 7:28) and his "children" (those who are being sanctified). Compare Heb. 2:10-13 with Heb. 10:14. Notice that the sanctifying is evidently ongoing, but the "perfecting" is accomplished in the present. This point is forcefully brought out in Heb. 10:14:

"For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified" (RSV).

"for by one offering he has brought those who were to be sanctified into perfect status in perpetuity" (Byington's Bible in Living English).

"With one sacrifice, then, he has made perfect forever those who are purified from sin" (TEV).

As the context and (imperfective) aspect of hAGIAZOMENOUS (present passive middle participle) of 10:14 demonstrate, the sanctifying is continual but the perfecting is completed when one is justified via Christ's blood. My point: the discussion about "spirits" in Heb. 12:23 does not apply to men and women who have departed, but to living, breathing beings who have already been perfected and are being sanctified.

This is the same conclusion George Wesley Buchanan reaches in his Anchor Bible Commentary. Commenting upon this lingual unit, KAI KRITHi QEWi PANTWN, Buchanan writes:

"Also present was God [the] Judge of all on the Day of Atonement . . . If the sacrifices were properly performed so that atonement really took place, on the Day of Atonement "[the] spirits of the righteous were "perfected," meaning that all their sins were removed and they were sanctified" (Buchanan 223).

Indeed the macrostructure of Hebrews suggests such an interpretation. In the context of Heb. 9-10, the Day of Atonement is the topic of discourse. In these fateful chapters, the writer both engages in comparing and contrasting the ancient Israelite ritual with what Christ accomplished. What the Mosaic covenant was unable to effect, the new covenant is able to accomplish. Through the blood of the new covenant, Jesus makes perfect the spirits of those who are being sanctified. He is the antitypical priest who has presided over the greater Day of Atonement. As pointed out by Buchanan, being "perfected" means that one's sins are "removed," as it were (i.e., one's sins are no longer imputed to one's personal being). One does not have to wait until death to reach this goal (TELOS).