הַ/נֶּ֥פֶשׁ
𐤄/𐤍𐤐𐤔
hanefesh
the-soul
from נָפַשׁ; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental); any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, [idiom] dead(-ly), desire, [idiom] (dis-) contented, [idiom] fish, ghost, [phrase] greedy, he, heart(-y), (hath, [idiom] jeopardy of) life ([idiom] in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, [phrase] slay, soul, [phrase] tablet, they, thing, ([idiom] she) will, [idiom] would have it.
Numbers 5:6 · Word #17
Lexicon H5315
| Lemma | נֶפֶשׁ |
| Lemma (Paleo) | 𐤍𐤐𐤔 |
| Transliteration | nephesh |
| Strong's | H5315 |
| In-context | the-soul |
Morphology HTd/Ncbsa
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea |
| Subtype | c — Common — Common noun |
| Gender | b — Both — Both (masculine and feminine) |
| Number | s — Singular — Singular |
| State | a — Absolute — The noun stands independently |
SIBI-P1 H5315-11
the breathing-being
| Root | נפש (n-p-sh) |
| Core Meanings | breath, breathing, life, vitality, living being, self |
| Semantic Range | living being, person, self, life, inner desire, appetite, living creature (human or animal), life-force, corpse (as the departed life) |
| Conceptual Significance | נֶפֶשׁ expresses the holistic concept of a living being as animated by breath—encompassing body, life, and inner desire. In biblical thought it signifies the whole living person, not a detached immortal soul, grounding anthropology in embodied, breathing life given by יהוה. |
| Morphological Notes | Noun common feminine singular absolute with prefixed definite article (הַ). The form is singular and definite: "the nephesh." |
| Rendering Rationale | The noun נֶפֶשׁ derives from the root נ-פ-שׁ, relating to breathing and living vitality. As a feminine singular noun with the definite article ("the"), the rendering "the breathing-being" preserves both its singular feminine form and its core sense of a living, breathing creature rather than an abstract "soul." |
AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)
Words from Root נפש (breath, breathing, life, vitality, living being, self)
| SILEX Code | Transliteration | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
H5315-01 |
banefesh | against the life-being |
H5315-02 |
benafesham | in their living-being |
H5315-04 |
benafeshi | with my life-breath |
Word Usage (757 occurrences of H5315)
| Location | Form | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis 1:20 | נֶ֣פֶשׁ | nefesh | of living creatures |
| Genesis 1:21 | נֶ֣פֶשׁ | nefesh | living creature |
| Genesis 1:24 | נֶ֤פֶשׁ | nefesh | living creatures |