.
• 1Pet 4:19 . .Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God
commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.
Peter emphasized that human soul was created rather than produced by a
mysterious interaction of time, space, and matter. In other words: human
soul had both a beginning and a beginner; viz: human soul would not exist
at all had not a higher power willed it into existence.
Soul began appearing in the Bible in the book of Genesis by the Hebrew
word nephesh (neh'-fesh) which isn't unique to human life. Its first
appearance is at Gen 1:20-21 in reference to aqua creatures and winged
creatures; again at Gen 1:24 as terra creatures; viz: cattle, creepy crawlies,
and wild beasts; and again in Gen 2:7 as the human creature; and yet again
at Gen 9:10 to classify every living thing aboard Noah's ark.
God has a soul. (Lev 26:11, Lev 26:30, Judg 10:16, Isa 42:1, Jer 32:41,
and Zech 11:8)
Jesus has a soul too. (Ps 16:8-10, Acts 2:25-31, and John 12:27)
Soul is somewhat ambiguous but basically refers to consciousness, self
awareness, and individuality. It's sometimes a reference to one's heart, e.g.
Gen 34:3, and to the core of one's being, e.g. Gen 27:4.
All in all, soul is just another way of referring to the part of human life that
we call "self" which is defined by Webster's as the union of elements (such
as body, emotions, thoughts, and sensations) that constitute the
individuality and identity of a person.
In its entirety, normal human life consists of body, soul, and spirit. (1Thess
5:23). Those three components are divisible, viz: the soul is capable of
continuing after the body's demise (Matt 10:28, Luke 23:46, and Heb 4:12)
and that's very important to know because according to Ps 16:10 and Acts
2:25-31, Jesus' soul survived crucifixion.
_