The nature of the soul is a deep and complicated topic, but it can be summarized as our spiritual life — that is, who we are in terms of our thoughts and affections. And that, generally, is the internal sense when the Bible talks of a soul. You could be missing limbs, disfigured in the body due to illness or accident, paralyzed, but you would still be a complete human being. That's because the soul is the real you, and the soul has to do with internal things, not the state of your body.

It was customary in the representative Ancient Church, and later in the Jewish Church, when people went to the judges, and at a later time, to the kings or priests, to present them with a gift. The people were commanded to do this. The reason for this custom was that the gifts people presented to those men represented the kinds of things mankind possessed that ought to be offered to the Lord when any approach is made to Him. Such gifts are ones that a person offers in freedom and therefore ones that come truly from himself, because his freedom resides in what comes from his heart, and what comes from his heart comes from his will. What comes from his will comes from a desire arising from his love, and this desire constitutes his freedom, or what is truly his own. This should be the origin of any gift made by a person to the Lord when making any approach to Him. This kind of gift was represented by the gifts mentioned above, for 'kings' represented the Lord regarding Divine Truth, while 'priests' represented Him regarding Divine Good. These gifts also served as introductions, which were made to obtain favor.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 5619)