The Greek word ψυχή, psuche occurs 102 times in the New Testament. It is used in many different ways including such things as an attitude of unity (acts 4:32) the intellectual part of a person (Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 2:35; Acts 15:24; Eph. 6:6, etc.). It refers to people (Acts 2:41; 3:23; 7:14; 27:37; Rom. 13:1), physical and spiritual life (Matt. 10:39; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 12:19; 17:33; John 12:25), and also the spiritual part of a person (Matt. 11:29; Mark 8:36-37; John 12:27; Acts 2:27; 14:22; Heb. 4:12; James 1:21; 5:20, etc.).  Some annihilationists say the soul of a person ceases to exist upon his physical death. Others say it goes into a state of soul sleep. All annihilationists say that the soul that is condemned by God in the final judgment, will cease to exist.  Whether or not that is the case, must be determined by looking at other areas of Scripture.

• Greek word: ψυχή, psuche
• Meaning:   soul
• Strong’s #: G5590
  Frequency:  102 occurrences

Summary of the meaning of the Greek word psuche, in all verses where it occurs in the New Testament.

1. Attitude of unity, 1 occurrence
   1. Acts 4:32
2. Awe, 1 occurrence
   1. Acts 2:43
3. Heartily, 1 occurrence
   1. Col. 3:23
4. Intellectual, emotional part of a person, 12 occurrences
   1. Matt. 22:37; 26:38; Mark 12:30; 14:34; Luke 1:46; 2:35; 10:27; Acts 15:24; Rom. 2:9; Eph. 6:6; 2 Pet. 2:14; 3 John 2
5. Longing, 1 occurrence
   1. Rev. 18:14
6. Minds of people, 2 occurrences
   1. Acts 14:2; Phil. 1:27
7. People, 5 occurrences
   1. Acts 2:41; 3:23; 7:14; 27:37; Rom. 13:1
8. Physical and spiritual life, 6 occurrences
   1. Matt. 10:39; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 12:19; 17:33; John 12:25
9. Physical life, 30 occurrences
   1. Matt. 2:20; 6:25; 10:28; Mark 3:4; 10:45; Luke 6:9; 12:22, 23; 14:26; 21:19; John 10:11, 15, 17; 13:37, 38; 15:13; Acts 15:26; 20:10, 24; 27:10, 22; Rom. 11:3; 16:4; Phil. 2:30; 1 Thess. 2:8; Heb. 13:17; 1 John 3:16; Rev. 8:9; 12:11; 16:3; 18:13
10. Spiritual part of a person, 29 occurrences
    1. Matt. 10:28; 11:29; 12:18; 16:25, 26; Mark 8:36, 37; John 12:27; Acts 2:27; 14:22; 1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 1:23; 12:15; 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 4:12; 6:19; 10:38, 39; James 1:21; 5:20; 1 Pet. 1:9, 22; 22:11, 25; 4:19; 2 Pet. 2:8, 14; Rev. 6:9; 20:4
11. Suspense, 1 occurrence
    1. John 10:24
12. Weary, 1 occurrence
    1. Heb. 12:3

 

TABLE OF ALL NEW TESTAMENT USAGES OF PSUCHE, ψυχή
Address	Verse	Meaning
Matt. 2:20	“Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.”	Physical life
Matt. 6:25	“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?	Physical life
Matt. 10:28	Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.	Spiritual part of a person
Matt. 10:39	He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life.	Physical and spiritual life
Matt. 11:29	Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.	Spiritual part of a person
Matt. 12:18	“Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.	Spiritual part of a person
Matt. 16:25	For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.	Spiritual part of a person
Matt. 16:26	For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?	Spiritual part of a person
Matt. 20:28	just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”	Physical life
Matt. 22:37	And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’	Intellectual, emotional part of a person
Matt. 26:38	“My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”	Intellectual, emotional part of a person
Mark 3:4	And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.	Physical life
Mark 8:35	For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.	Physical and spiritual life
Mark 8:36	For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?	Spiritual part of a person
Mark 8:37	For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?	Spiritual part of a person
Mark 10:45	For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”	Physical life
Mark 12:30	and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’	Intellectual, emotional part of a person
Mark 14:34	And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.”	Intellectual, emotional part of a person
Luke 1:46	And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord,	Intellectual, emotional part of a person
Luke 2:35	and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”	Intellectual, emotional part of a person
Luke 6:9	And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?”	Physical life
Luke 9:24	For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.	Physical and spiritual life
Luke 10:27	And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”	Intellectual, emotional part of a person
Luke 12:19	‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’	Physical and spiritual life
Luke 12:20	“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you, and now who will own what you have prepared?’	Spiritual part of a person
Luke 12:22	And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.	Physical life
Luke 12:23	For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.	Physical life
Luke 14:26	“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.	Physical life
Luke 17:33	Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.	Physical and spiritual life
Luke 21:19	By your endurance you will gain your lives.	Physical life
John 10:11	“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.	Physical life
John 10:15	even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father, and I lay down My life for the sheep.	Physical life
John 10:17	For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.	Physical life
John 10:24	The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”	Suspense
John 12:25	He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.	Physical and spiritual life
John 12:27	“Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.	Spiritual part of a person
John 13:37	Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.”	Physical life
John 13:38	Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.	Physical life
John 15:13	Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.	Physical life
Acts 2:27	Because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.	Spiritual part of a person
Acts 2:41	So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.	People
Acts 2:43	Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.	Suspense
Acts 3:23	‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’	People
Acts 4:32	And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.	Attitude of unity
Acts 7:14	Then Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all.	People
Acts 14:2	But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren.	Minds of people
Acts 14:22	strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”	Spiritual part of a person
Acts 15:24	Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,	Intellectual, emotional part of a person
Acts 15:26	men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.	Physical life
Acts 20:10	But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.”	Physical life
Acts 20:24	But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.	Physical life
Acts 27:10	and said to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”	Physical life
Acts 27:22	Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.	Physical life
Acts 27:37	All of us in the ship were two hundred and seventy-six persons.	People
Rom. 2:9	There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek,	Intellectual, emotional part of a person
Rom. 11:3	“Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.”	Physical life
Rom. 13:1	Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.	People
Rom. 16:4	who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles;	Physical life
1 Cor. 15:45	So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.	Spiritual part of a person
2 Cor. 1:23	But I call God as witness to my soul, that to spare you I did not come again to Corinth.	Spiritual part of a person
2 Cor. 12:15	I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?	Spiritual part of a person
Eph. 6:6	not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.	Intellectual, emotional part of a person
Phil. 1:27	Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;	Minds of people
Phil. 2:30	because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.	Physical life
Col. 3:23	Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,	Heartily
1 Thess. 2:8	Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.	Physical life
1 Thess. 5:23	Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.	Spiritual part of a person
Heb. 4:12	For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.	Spiritual part of a person
Heb. 6:19	This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,	Spiritual part of a person
Heb. 10:38	But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.	Spiritual part of a person
Heb. 10:39	But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.	Spiritual part of a person
Heb. 12:3	For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.	Weary
Heb. 13:17	Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.	Physical life
James 1:21	Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.	Spiritual part of a person
James 5:20	let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.	Spiritual part of a person
1 Pet. 1:9	obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.	Spiritual part of a person
1 Pet. 1:22	Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,	Spiritual part of a person
1 Pet. 2:11	Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.	Spiritual part of a person
1 Pet. 2:25	For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.	Spiritual part of a person
1 Pet. 3:20	who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.	People
1 Pet. 4:19	Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.	Spiritual part of a person
2 Pet. 2:8	(for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds),	Spiritual part of a person
2 Pet. 2:14	having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children;	Intellectual, emotional part of a person
1 John 3:16	We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.	Physical life
3 John 2	Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.	Intellectual, emotional part of a person
Rev. 6:9	When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;	Spiritual part of a person
Rev. 8:9	and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.	Physical life
Rev. 12:11	And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.	Physical life
Rev. 16:3	The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.	Physical life
Rev. 18:13	and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.	Physical life
Rev. 18:14	The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them.	Longing
Rev. 20:4	Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.	Spiritual part of a person

 

 

Dictionaries and Lexicons consulted

• “ψυχή psuchḗ; gen. psuchḗs, fem. noun from psúchō (5594), to breathe, blow. Soul, that immaterial part of man held in common with animals. One’s understanding of this word’s relationship to related terms is contingent upon his position regarding biblical anthropology…Sometimes psuchḗ stands for the immaterial part of man-made up of the soul (psuchḗ in the restrictive sense of the life element) and the spirit pneúma. However, animals are not said to possess a spirit; this is only in man, giving him the ability to communicate with God.”
  • Zodhiates, Spiros. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000
• ‘ψυχήa, ῆς f: the essence of life in terms of thinking, willing, and feeling—‘inner self, mind, thoughts, feelings, heart, being.
  • Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1996.
• “ψυχή [psuche /psoo·khay/] n f. From 5594; TDNT 9:608; TDNTA 1342; GK 6034; 105 occurrences; AV translates as “soul” 58 times, “life” 40 times, “mind” three times, “heart” once, “heartily + 1537” once, and not translated twice. 1 breath. 1A the breath of life. 1A1 the vital force which animates the body and shows itself in breathing. 1A1A of animals. 1A12 of men. 1B life. 1C that in which there is life. 1C1 a living being, a living soul. 2 the soul. 2A the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions (our heart, soul, etc.). 2B the (human) soul in so far as it is constituted that by the right use of the aids offered it by God it can attain its highest end and secure eternal blessedness, the soul regarded as a moral being designed for everlasting life. 2C the soul as an essence that differs from the body and is not dissolved by death (distinguished from other parts of the body).
  • Strong, James. Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1995.