Scripture tells us that God “formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). The union of earth’s elements with God’s breath of life resulted in a living being, or soul, a word some translations use for the Hebrew word, nephesh. We could write the equation like this: JTL13 2.5
Dust of the ground (earth’s elements) + the breath of life = a living being. JTL13 2.6
The Greek word psuche (psyche) in the New Testament is like that of nephesh in the Old Testament. The psuche or psyche can die. JTL13 2.7
Note: The Bible says that man became a living soul. Nothing in the Creation account indicates that man received a soul—some kind of independent thing united with the human body. To be a living being requires both a body and the breath of God. When someone passes away, the breath of life returns to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7). This process could be compared to flipping off the switch to the television. When the electricity no longer flows to the electrical components, the television’s sound, motion, and color cease and you have a blank screen. JTL13 2.8
The word translated “spirit” (ruach in the Old Testament; pneuma in the New Testament) can mean divine energy, breath, vitality, disposition, or seat of the emotions. When the ruach (here defined as breath) of God leaves the body, it is not an intelligent entity that exists outside of the body. It cannot praise God, see human activity, or maintain a conscious existence apart from the body. The phrase “immortal soul” does not occur in Scripture. The whole person lives and then the whole person dies, because only God is immortal (1 Timothy 6:16). JTL13 2.9