2. If our souls aren’t immortal, then what is a soul?

At Creation, “God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being”* Genesis 2:7. A “soul” in Scripture often means “being” or “person,” Ezekiel 18:4; Acts 27:37; Romans 13:1. A person in Scripture is a combination of a physical body and the breath of life from God. “Soul” in Scripture can also mean life, Matthew 10:28; Hebrews 13:17. There are no references in the Bible to “soul” as an independent entity that can think, communicate, or praise God.JTL7 2.1

The living person is made up of the body and the breath of life that comes from God. Scripture sometimes refers to a living being as a “soul.” At death, the breath of God returns to Him. There is no “immortal soul” which experiences life—joy, pain, happiness and sadness—away from the body. Body + God’s breath = Soul. Unless the body is combined with God’s breath, the soul does not exist.JTL7 2.2

*“soul” instead of “being” in some translationsJTL7 2.3