Genesis 2:7--Does Nephesh/Nepes Mean "the man's soul came alive"?

Almost a decade ago, I was told that Genesis 2:7 should probably be understood to mean "the man's soul came alive."

(CSB): Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

However, translating the verse as "[Adam's] soul came alive" does not seem to be a viable option since nephesh (nepes) is modified by an adjective in Genesis 2:7 and hā·’ā·ḏām is the grammatical subject. G.J. Wenham writes:

"As a result of divine inbreathing, man became a 'living creature' . . . The adjective ['living'] is significant in the phrase: implicitly this 'living creature' is being contrasted with a dead one, e.g., Num 5:2; 6:6, 11. Given the other uses of the phrase L'NEPHESH CHAYAH in Gen 1, 2, 9, it seems unlikely that 2:7, 'man became a living creature,' means any more than the TEV rendering 'and the man began to live.' By blowing on the inanimate earth, God made man come alive" (Wenham, Genesis 1-15,
pp. 60-61).

Nephesh hardly seems to mean "life" in Genesis 2:7; the meaning is possible, but not likely. Note how "living creatures" (i.e., souls) are described in Gen. 1:20-24; 2:19. Nephesh is used similarly in Gen. 2:7. Notice how the same word is used in the following texts:

"And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul [nephesh] shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant" (Gen 17:14 AV)

"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself" (Proverbs 11:25)

"[As] cold waters to a thirsty soul, so [is] good news from a far country" (Prov. 25:25)

"Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty" (NLT)