Soul; Spirit

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

The Hebrew ideal of man was threefold:

Concise Bible Dictionary:

The Hebrew word commonly translated “soul” is nephesh: in many instances this is translated “life” in the AV, as in Jonah 1:1414Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. (Jonah 1:14): “Let us not perish for this man’s life,” or soul. In the New Testament the word ψυχή stands for both “life” and “soul:” “Whosoever will save his ‘life’ shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his ‘life’ for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own ‘soul’? or what shall a man give in exchange for his ‘soul’?” (Matt. 16:25-2625For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:25‑26)).
The soul, as distinguished from the spirit, is the seat of appetites and desires. The rich man said, “I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry” (Luke 12:1919And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. (Luke 12:19)). That night his “soul” was required of him. The salvation of the soul cannot be distinguished from the salvation of the person.
The SPIRIT is distinctively the higher part of man, it marks the conscious individuality, and distinguishes man thus from the inferior creation. God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, and by this man was set in relation with God, and cannot be really happy separated from Him, either in present existence or eternally. The words are ruach and πνεῦμα, and are the same as constantly used for God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, and for the angels as spirits, and for evil spirits.
The word of God is sharp, and able to divide asunder the soul and spirit of a man, though it may not be easy for the human mind to see the division. The apostle prayed for the Thessalonians that spirit (which is probably viewed as the seat of God’s work), as well as soul and body might be sanctified (1 Thess. 5:2323And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)). In the Epistle to the Hebrews we read of the “spirits” of just men made perfect: their place is with God through redemption. Here “spirits” apparently signifies the persons apart from their bodies.
The Holy Spirit being given to the Christian, as the spring in him of life in Christ, he is exhorted to pray with the spirit, sing with the spirit, walk in the Spirit, so that in some cases it is difficult to distinguish between the Spirit of God and the Christian’s spirit.

From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

The three days after death were called “days of weeping,” which were followed by four “days of lamentation,” thus making up the seven “days of mourning.” See note on Genesis 27:4141And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. (Genesis 27:41) (#47). According to the rabbinical notion the spirit wanders about the sepulcher for three days seeking an opportunity to return into the body; but when the aspect of the body changes it hovers no more, but leaves the body to itself. The friends of the deceased were in the habit of visiting the sepulcher for three days after death and burial, (see note on Acts 5:6, 826) probably because they supposed they would thus be nearer to the departed soul. When the fourth day came and decomposition took place, and the soul, as they supposed, went away from the sepulcher, they beat their breast and made loud lamentations. This explains the allusion to the “four days” in this text and in verse 39. To say that one had been in the grave four days was equivalent to saying that bodily corruption had begun.

Related Books and Articles:

808. Rabbinical Notions of Soul and Body
Body, Soul and Spirit
Narrator: Chris Genthree
Man: a Tripartite Being
Narrator: Chris Genthree
Soul and Spirit