Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Dr. Joe Sprinkle" <jsprinkle AT crossroadscollege.edu>]

Dear Doris,

You write:

> An animal  clearly is a NEFESH CHAYAH without a NESHAMAH.

This statement is not clear to me at all.  The root of NESHAMAH is N.SH.M
that means "to breathe."  Most animals breathe too.

Genesis 7:22 would appear to apply NESHAMAH to animals and man alike: "of
all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the NISHMAT
[construct of same word] of the spirit of life, died."  Genesis 7:21 seems
to define NESHAMAH here as birds, cattle, swarming things and mankind.  So I
cannot accept the premise of your question that animals lack NESHAMAH..

Or to try to answer your question, is a man who does not breathe animate?
Not normally.  A man who does not breathe is probably a corpse or at best in
suspended animation (as can happen briefly on an operating table or via
extreme cold where bodily functions stop but are capable of revival).

Joe