6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: ----------------------- The ''souls'' spoken of here is the ''life'' that was symbolically sacrificed because of their bold witnessing. That is why it is seen as ''under the altar''. (Leviticus 17:11) For the life* of the flesh is in the blood, and I myself have given it on the altar for you to make atonement for yourselves, because it is the blood that makes atonement by means of the life in it. *Or soul
Abel sacrificed sheep as an offering, not his ''life'' as a ''soul''. Cain's bloodless offering was not accepted.
(Genesis 4:3-5) After some time, Cain brought some fruits of the land as an offering to Jehovah. 4 But Abel brought some firstlings of his flock, including their fat. While Jehovah looked with favor on Abel and on his offering, 5 he did not look with any favor on Cain and on his offering. So Cain grew hot with anger and was dejected.
That Abel's blood was spilled on the ground didn't make it any less precious to God.
All this is irrelevant as far as understanding what the Bible teaches a soul is. Perhaps it is best explained that in English when the statement is made so and so has 'lost their life', no one asks if a search party should be organized to look for it. Showing that life and soul are synonyms, is the SOS 'save our souls' distress call.
