Death

Death (properly, מָוֶה, θάνατος). No logical definition of death has been generally agreed upon. This point was much contested in the 17th century by the Cartesian and other theologians and philosophers. Since death can be regarded in various points of view, the descriptions of it must necessarily vary. If we consider the state of a dead man as it strikes the senses, death is the cessation of natural life. If we consider the cause of death, we may place it in that permanent and entire cessation of the feeling and motion of the body which results from the destruction of the body. Among theologians, death is commonly said to consist in the separation of soul and body, implying that the soul still exists when the body perishes. Among the ecclesiastical fathers, Tertullian (De Anima, c. 27) calls it "the disunion of the body and soul." Cicero (Tusc. Dis. i) defines death to be "the departure of the mind from the body." The passage Heb 4:12, is sometimes cited on this subject, but has nothing to do with it. Death does not consist in this separation, but this separation is the consequence of death. As soon as the body loses feeling and motion, it is henceforth useless to the soul, which is therefore separated from it. See DEAD.

Scriptural representations, names, and modes of speech respecting death. —

(1.) One of the most common in the O.T. is to return to the dust, or to the earth. Hence the phrase the dust of death. It is founded on the description in Ge 2:7; Ge 3:19, and denotes the dissolution and destruction of the body. Hence the sentiment in Ec 12:7, "The dust shall return to the earth as it was, the spirit unto God, who gave it."