Bananas!

If I were to say the word Banana to you, your mind would more than likely think of a long yellow fruit that has a soft beige center that is good for food. But if I say to you Foil, what might come to your mind? If you liked sword fighting, you might think of fencing. In kitchens across the world chefs would think of a thin, shiny metal. Or you could be thinking of a verb for defeat in battle.
The point is this, unless I use the word in context you won’t have any clue what I mean. Now, if I were to say “wrap the turkey in foil and put it in the oven” than you’ll know exactly what I mean!
The same goes for words in our Bibles. We sometimes define words the first time we see them and then apply that one definition to the word throughout the Bible.
Take for example the word “Soul.” In Genesis 2:7, it says “Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” In the KJV “living being” is translated as “living soul” which is the literal translation. It is also the exact same Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:20, 21, 24, and 30 when God created all living creatures. 
It is clear, within that context, the writer intended “soul” to mean anything that lived. But there are other places in our Bibles where Soul is simply pointing to humans only. Take for example Acts 2:41, “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.” Here we know Luke is speaking of those who heard, believed and acted upon the words of Peter.
But then we come to passages like 1 Thessalonians 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.” And Hebrews 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.” What does Soul mean here? There are many other passages that can be challenging for us, but only context can bear this out. 
We do not have the room to deal with this topic here, if there were only a way we could write down the question, and give it to the preacher and he could spend time on the topic, and provide us a lesson on one particular Sunday night during our class time!