A Nasty Nephesh

(Pro 28:25 KJV)  He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.

One of the values of a good study Bible or software is that you can go a step deeper into seeking the original message that God was giving to His people.  This verse is a good example.  I refer to the word “arrogant” (7342) used in the NASB.  It has a footnote that says it literally means “broad soul”.  A quick check shows that the KJV gets closer by giving us “proud” (7342) “heart” (5315).  “Broad” is a good translation of the first word.  The second is nephesh in Hebrew and is an important theological word referring to the inner essence of man.  It involves a self awareness that is never attributed to what we would call the lower animals.  If I remember correctly Hugh Ross said in a podcast that nephesh only existed in animals that could relate to humans on a personal level.  Thus a dog or horse would have nephesh.  A fish would not no matter how much some people claim to have befriended them.

I would speculate that the combination here refers to a person who is so sure of his own worth that it trumps the value of others.

So?  I am not sure that this is a problem for many people.  Life tends to knock arrogance out of a lot of us.  It is still a sin to be aware of.