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What does it mean to love God “with all of your strength”? In this final installment of our videos on the Shema, we explore the Hebrew word underneath this phrase. And spoiler alert: “strength” is only one of many ways this rich word could be translated.

We explore the Hebrew word “nephesh” that often gets translated as “soul.” The English word usually refers to a non-material essence of a human that survives after death, but nephesh means something different. It is referring to humans as living, breathing, physical beings, or just to life itself. Prepare to be surprised at the biblical meaning of this fascinating word.

Different cultures have different conceptions of the human heart, what it is and what it does, and the biblical authors are no exception. In this video, we’ll explore the ancient Hebrew words for “heart” as well as the different ideas of what our hearts represent. There is no biblical word that captures better the essence of human thought, feeling, and desire than this rich and wonderful word.

Let’s talk about love, Old Testament style! In this video, we’ll explore the various ways the Hebrew authors used the word “love,” and how they depicted God as the ultimate source and goal of all human love.

Is hearing and listening the same thing? In this video, discover how sound entering your ear-drums isn’t synonymous with “listening”, at least from a biblical perspective. This video is the first installment of our Word Studies series, a six-part exploration of the ancient biblical prayer called “The Shema.”