What does it mean when Elijah prayed for a boy’s “soul” to come back to him?

The Hebrew word for “soul” in this passage is nephesh, which has been translated many different ways. Notice the following examples: “So God created great sea creatures and every living thing (nephesh) that moves” (Genesis 1:21). “Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, ‘Give me the persons (nephesh), and take the goods for yourself’ ” (Genesis 14:21). “You shall not eat flesh with its life (nephesh), that is, its blood” (Genesis 14:21).

The translation “soul” is misleading, giving people the idea that some entity after death can float around and think. But the Bible does not teach us that we become an immortal spirit-like ghost that’s separate from the body. The 700 references in Scripture to the word nephesh never once give this idea. The best translation is the word “life,” which would read, “ ‘O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s life come back to him.’ Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the life of the child came back to him, and he revived.”

A clear example of properly translating this word nephesh in reference to Elijah is found in the story of him running away from Jezebel after God’s incredible triumph on Mount Carmel. “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life (nephesh), for I am no better than my fathers!’ ” (1 Kings 19:4).

When a person dies, the Bible teaches there is no conscious thought. “The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence” (Psalm 115:17). Jesus called this unconscious state of the dead “sleep” in John 11:11–14.

Key Bible Texts

And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. (1 Kings 17:21 KJV)