ON the 10th day of the seventh month (Tishrei) is the biblical holy day known as 'Yom ha-Kipurim' (or 'Yom Kippur'), the Day of Atonement. This is a day dedicated to fasting and prayer on which we ask the LORD God to atone for our sins.
On this holy day God's law (Torah) commands us to "afflict our souls (Heb. 'INuI NeFeSH)" as we read, three times:
"And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourns among you... It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever." (Leviticus 16:29, 31)
"Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto Yehovah... For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people... It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath." (Leviticus 23:27, 29, 32)
"And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein:" (Numbers 29:7)
What does it mean to "afflict the soul" (NKJ)? This question is always asked because while the commands are quite explicit on what to do on this day--to 'afflict their souls'--yet for some it was not convincing or clear enough. Other Bible translations say to practice "self denial" (HCSB), "humble yourselves" (NET), or "deny yourselves" (NIV).
The Hebrew word for afflict (KJV) is the word 'anah'. This word is found in other passages of the Bible that deal with how people would afflict their selves or practice self denial:
"...I afflicted (KJV: "humbled") my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom." (Psalms 35:13)
Other version: "I humbled ('anah') myself with fasting, and my prayer was genuine." (Psalm 35:13)
"Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves [humble, Heb. 'anah'] before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance." (Ezra 8:21)
Clearly, to "afflict the soul" means to fast (Heb. 'tzom'). With the effect of humbling ('anah') our body (soul). This expression is again made clear with the following verses that signifies fasting:
"Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and you see not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and you take no notice?" (Isaiah 58:3; see also verses 5&10)
Another interesting parallel, a direct correlation:
The biblical Hebrew usage of "soul" also means "appetite". Thus, it should be pointed out that one of the meanings of the word "NeFeSH", commonly translated as "soul", is in fact "appetite". For example:
"And put a knife to your throat, if you be a man given to appetite ('nefesh')." (Proverbs 23:2-3)
" For he satisfies the longing soul (nefesh), and fills the hungry soul (nefesh) with goodness." (Psalms 107:9)
"The full soul ('nefesh') loathes a honeycomb; but to the hungry soul (nefesh) every bitter thing is sweet." (Proverbs 27:7)
"Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never satisfy their souls (nefesh) (KJV: "have enough")" (Isaiah 56:11)
Therefore the expression "to afflict your nefesh" is more accurately translated as "to afflict your appetite", hence the meaning "to fast".
(Linguistic note: NeFeSH has the literal meaning of "throat" as in the verse "Save me, O God; for the waters have reached [as high as] my throat [nefesh]" (Psalms 69:2) and thus by extension came to signify: breath, life, appetite, etc.) -- N. Gordon/RH
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