Nephesh Quotes

“In Hebrew teaching Ruach is the part of the flame closest to the wick. Nephesh is the part of the wick closest to the flame.”
― J. Earp

“Hebrew anthropology was not dualistic (body and soul) but unitary. Nephesh means something like "life force" or even "breath." It is not a substance that can leave a person and exist independently of the body. It is the thing that makes bodies live. When the body stops breathing, it becomes dead matter. In modern terms, when you stop breathing, your breath doesn't go somewhere. It just stops. So too with the Hebrew nephesh. The person is then dead.”
― Bart D. Ehrman, Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife