I. Must Understand Key Old Testament Terms Through Usage

Words represent thoughts, ideas. When employed to portray what can easily be seen—such as tangible and perceptible objects—there is far less likelihood of misunderstanding than when used to depict invisible things or abstract ideas. Moreover, the difficulty is inevitably increased when such terms have to be translated from the idioms of one language into the phrasings of another. And this impediment is intensified when rendering from an ancient tongue into a modern language. That is because of dissimilarity of thought, habit, customs, and forms of expression.CFF1 145.2

Furthermore, the presence of any parables, metaphors, and other figures of speech compound the difficulties. Therefore the task of transferring the meaning with precision is not an easy one. Also, as is candidly admitted, the theological viewpoint of the translator has often had a definite bearing on the translation. But to these challenges we must now turn.CFF1 145.3

There are five Old Testament Hebrew key words that we must survey in order to determine their true import. And this must be gained through a comprehensive tracement of their Biblical usage. This point cannot be overstressed. The reason for this procedure will become increasingly apparent as we continue. These terms are (1) nephesh (soul), (2) ruach (spirit), (3) neshamah (breath), (4) she’ol (the grave) and (5) Ge Hinnom, or gehenna (devouring fire)—with their similarities and comparisons, contrasts and relationships.CFF1 146.1