spirit and soul in 1 Samuel
In “spirit and soul in 1 Samuel” Jefferson Vann examines some metonymies in that book and suggests a different approach to their translation.
The Collins English Dictionary defines metonymy as follows:
metonymy (mit-on-im-ee) n, pl -mies
a figure of speech in which one thing is replaced by another associated with it, for instance, the use of Downing Street to mean the British government [Greek meta-, indicating change + onoma name] (492).
For those of us on the other side of the pond, we would use “the White House” or “Washington” as examples – substitutes for “the government.”
We often use metonymies when describing mental actions as if the mind were a body itself. Barcelona notes this tendency:
“The close interdependence of body and mind is reflected in proverbial expressions such as mens sana in corpore sano or keep body and soul together. Unlike lovers and married couples, however, body and mind are not conceptualized as jointly forming a unity or bond, but we understand one complementary part in terms of the other: THE MIND IS A BODY. Thus, we have metaphorical expressions such as to have a strong will, to handle a situation, to turn one’s back on an issue, to swallow an idea, etc.” (97).
Biblical languages use metonymies as well, and this fact is very important for translators and theologians. In this article, I intend to trace the Hebrew words ruach (רוּחַ) and nefesh (נֶ֣פֶשׁ) in First Samuel and explain how these terms are used as metonymies. I chose 1 Samuel because I am currently working on a translation of that book and because it has good examples of these terms used as metonymies.
I will use two modern translations to compare how they translate these terms: The New English Translation (NET) and The Christian Standard Bible (2017 edition) (CSB).
1 Samuel 1:15 “No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman with hard breath. I haven’t had any wine or beer; I’ve been pouring out my throat before Yahveh.
The traditional translations (spirit for ruach, and soul for nefesh) tend to divert the reader into thinking only of Hannah’s mental anguish. It is true that her sorrow over not having any children was an intense emotion, but something is lost in translation when those words are used. Hannah’s anguish was so strong that it influenced her physical condition. It was hard for her to breathe. Her throat was sore from her pleadings.
The NET chooses to paraphrase Hannah as saying that she was under a great deal of stress, and thus was pouring out her soul. The CSB translates both terms as “heart.” The LXX paraphrases Hannah as saying she had σκληρὰ ἡμέρα (a rough day)! All of these translation choices tend to divert the reader from sensing the physical character of Hannah’s ordeal.
1 Samuel 1:26 “Please, my lord,” she said, “as surely as your throat lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to Yahveh.
Here Hannah uses nefesh to describe the fact that Eli was alive. His living throat was a metonymy for his whole being, it was not a reference to some immortal entity existing apart from his body.
The NET and CSB treat nefesh as a pronoun here. It’s not incorrect to do that, but it is not literal either. Hannah wanted to draw attention to the fact of her previous physical presence before Eli, and she did that by mentioning his physical breathing throat in comparison.
1 Samuel 2:33 Any man from your family I do not cut off from my altar will bring grief and sadness to your throat. All your descendants will die violently.
Anyone who has endured hours of weeping will recognize how it causes pain to the throat. This description of what Eli would suffer again emphasizes the connection between mental and physical anguish. Here again, the NET and CSB merely treat nefesh as a pronoun.
1 Samuel 2:35 ” ‘Then I will raise up a faithful priest for myself. He will do whatever is in my heart and throat. I will establish a lasting dynasty for him, and he will walk before my anointed one for all time.
Here the LORD uses two metonymies to explain the loyalty he plans to enjoy from the faithful priest he will install to replace Eli. My point is that both of the terms the LORD uses are physical attributes. The levav (לבָב) is the heart, or chest, and the nefesh, the throat or neck. Although God is a Spirit and does not have these physical attributes, he uses the terms because they express the nature of his expectation.
NET renders the two terms “heart and soul” – thereby suggesting that God has a dual nature, or that both terms imply only the mental and emotional. Likewise, CSB renders the phrase “heart and mind.” I suggest that these translations reflect an anthropological dualism that is not present in the actual text.
1 Samuel 10:6 The Breath of Yahveh will come powerfully on you, you will prophesy with them, and you will be transformed.
1 Samuel 10:10 When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Breath of God came powerfully on him, and he prophesied along with them.
1 Samuel 11:6 When Saul heard these words, the Breath of God suddenly came powerfully on him, and his anger burned furiously.
1 Samuel 16:14-15 Now the Breath of Yahveh had left Saul, and an evil breath sent from Yahveh began to torment him, so Saul’s servants said to him, “You see that an evil breath from God is tormenting you.
1 Samuel 16:23 Whenever the breath from God came on Saul, David would pick up his lyre and play, and Saul would then be relieved, feel better, and the evil breath would leave him. (Also, 18:10; 19:9, 20, 23; 30:12).
When referring to the third person of the divine Trinity, we English consistently refer to him as the Holy Spirit. Yet, the word spirit (Latin, spiritus) usually means the same thing as the English word breath. It translates the Hebrew ruach and the Greek pneuma, both of which normally mean breath.
Some have objected to translating ruach as breath, particularly when referring to the third person of the Trinity as if it were a denial of his personhood. I would argue that not translating ruach as “Breath” is to miss out on the connection between Him and the power of resurrection. Also (as is seen in these examples) the metonymy of ruach stands for the ability to prophesy. God breathes that ability into the prophet.
This also explains the references in chapter 16 where Saul loses the power of God (symbolized by God’s ruach) and is tormented by an evil ruach from God. This is not demon possession. God simply removed his empowerment and that left Saul to his own diseased psychology.
1 Samuel 17:55 When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?” Abner said, “Your Majesty, as surely as your throat lives, I don’t know.” (Also, 20:3; 25:26).
The phrase chey-nafshecha combines the word for life (chay) and the word for the throat – nefesh. Both of our modern translations render the phrase “as surely as you live” which ignores the fact that the pronominal suffix is attached to nefesh, not chay.
For the Jews, the nefesh was the instrument for taking in breath (ruach) and nourishment, as well as the organ in danger of being cut, resulting in death. As such, the nefesh chayah was the living being, whether human or animal (Genesis 1:20, 24, 30; 2:19; 9:12, 15, 16; Ezekiel 47:9). Abner’s oath was based on his king’s physical existence. It implied more than simply Saul’s throat. It implied his entire life. That is how nefesh is used as a metonymy.
Some might argue that these modern translations have captured that meaning by using nefesh as a pronoun. That is true. But the use of nefesh here contradicts the traditionalist approach to the word as an incorporeal entity, separate from the body. It appears that translators happily use the word “soul” when it suits them, and then hide the word in their translations when the context suggests another meaning.
1 Samuel 18:1 When David had finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan’s throat was bound to David’s throat in close friendship, and he cared for him as much as he cared for his own throat. (Also 18:3; 20:17).
Since the throat is seen as so directly connected with the life of an individual, the mutual love of these two men is described with a word picture of their two throats bound together. In other cultures, this image would take some explanation. But to ignore the image does not do justice to the text.
The NET ignores the image by simply saying that “Jonathan and David became bound together in close friendship. Jonathan loved David as much as he did his own life.” The CSB likewise says “Jonathan was bound to David in close friendship, and loved him as much as he loved himself.” Both of these modern translations seem to go out of their way to ignore the physical aspect of the meaning of nefesh.
1 Samuel 19:5a He took his throat in his hand when he struck down the Philistine, and Yahveh brought about a great victory for all Israel.
1 Samuel 19:11 Saul sent agents to David’s house to watch for him and kill him in the morning. But his wife Michal warned David, “If you don’t save your throat tonight, you will be dead tomorrow!”
1 Samuel 20:1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What did I do wrong? How have I sinned against your father so that he wants to take my throat?”
Jonathan pleads with his father to cease his pursuit of David because David had risked his throat (his life) by attacking Goliath. The closest we English get to this metonymy is when we talk about risking our necks. The neck is another translation of nefesh. Jesus promised that those who take his yoke will find rest for their necks (Matthew 11:29). The word Matthew used for the neck is psuchē, the Greek equivalent to nefesh. Most translations render the word “soul.” A soul does not wear a yoke. A neck does.
Michal’s warning sounds simplistic in the NET, which has her telling her husband that if he didn’t save himself tonight, tomorrow he would be dead. Duh. The CSB uses another verb – “escape” instead. That ignores the physical image implied by nefesh as well.
David expressed his dilemma by saying that Saul wanted to take his throat. Yes, what he meant was that Saul wanted to kill him. But his meaning was expressed by a specific figure of speech, and our English translations avoid that aspect. Why? They want to preserve their chosen theological meaning of nefesh/psuchē. Consequently, they avoid translating those words when the context demands a meaning other than the meaning that they choose to support.
1 Samuel 22:2 In addition, every man who was desperate, in debt, or had a bitter throat rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
The phrase mar-nefesh is translated by our modern versions as “discontented.” The closest we English come to the idea expressed is when we talk about having a bad taste in our mouths. Like the Hebrew phrase, that is using a physical image to convey an emotional or psychological feeling.
1 Samuel 22:22 Then David said to Abiathar, … “I myself am responsible for the throats of everyone in your father’s family.”
1 Samuel 22:23 Stay with me. Don’t be afraid, for the one who wants to take my throat wants to take your throat. You will be safe with me.”
David’s confession was that he was guilty of all the deaths in Abiathar’s family (NET). But the way he put it was that he was responsible for their throats. His offer of protection used the same imagery.
1 Samuel 23:20 Now, whenever your throat desires to come down, O king, let him come down. Our part will be to hand him over to the king.”
The Ziphites offered to capture David and hand him over to Saul, whenever his throat desired to come down to them. The throat is a physical symbol of appetite and thus was used to convey the concept of desire.
1 Samuel 24:11b I haven’t sinned against you even though you are hunting me down to take my throat.
1 Samuel 25:29 “Someone is pursuing you and intends to take your throat. My lord’s throat is tucked safely in the place where Yahveh your God protects the living, but he is flinging away your enemies’ throats like stones from a sling.
1 Samuel 26:21 Saul responded, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David, I will never harm you again because today you considered my throat precious. I have been a fool! I’ve committed a grave error.” (Also, 26:24).
David knew Saul wanted to kill him. He used the physical imagery of taking the throat to convey that meaning. Both our modern translations substitute the word “life” for the throat. Thus, they replace the metonymy with a meaning it implies.
Abigail pleads for David not to retaliate against Nabal by assuring David that his throat is safe in God’s hands.
Saul vows to stop pursuing David because David considered his throat precious by not killing him when he had the chance.
1 Samuel 28:9 But the woman said to him, “You surely know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you setting a trap for my throat to kill me?”
1 Samuel 28:21 The woman came over to Saul, and she saw that he was terrified and said to him, “Look, your servant has obeyed you. I took my throat in my hand and did what you told me to do.
The medium of Endor used the figure of speech as well. She knew that Saul had commanded that all such practitioners of animism were to be put to death. Her use of nefesh shows that the term did not apply to some immortal entity within. It referred to a physical attribute and implied mortality, not immortality.
This study is an appeal to translators. I ask for a fresh approach to dealing with biblical words like ruach and nefesh. I ask translators to treat these words with respect. I suggest that if these words are allowed to convey the meanings they obviously convey, then readers of the Bible will come to see that some long-standing theological presuppositions will have to be jettisoned.
Barcelona Antonio. Metaphor and Metonymy at the Crossroads: A Cognitive Perspective. Mouton De Gruyter 2000.
O’Neill Mary et al. Collins English Dictionary. Paperback seventh edition. Essential first edition 2016 ed. Collins an Imprint of HarperCollins 2015.