What is the guff?

Answer

The term “guff” is used in the Talmud to describe the place where all unborn souls are kept. The Talmud, a Jewish commentary on the Torah (Old Testament), specifically focusing on the first five books of the Bible known as the Pentateuch. According to Jewish tradition, the Talmud originated as oral teachings passed down from Moses and was eventually compiled between the 4th and 2nd century B.C.

Etymologically, “guff” translates to “body.” Essentially, the Talmud conveys that “The Messiah will not come until all souls in the guff have been born.” This implies that there is a set number of souls in heaven awaiting birth. These souls remain in a celestial repository called “the guff,” and the arrival of the Messiah is contingent upon every one of these souls being born into the physical realm.

Is the concept of the guff found in the Bible? No, it is not. Neither the Hebrew Scriptures nor the New Testament mention a repository of souls in heaven. The Bible does not suggest that souls wait to be united with bodies at birth. While the Bible does not definitively explain the creation of human souls, the idea of the guff contradicts the biblical teachings on the soul’s origin. It aligns more with the biblical view that God creates each human soul at the moment of conception or that the human soul is formed simultaneously with the body through the physical-spiritual union at conception.