In combination with the word dead, the Hebrew word Nephesh may even indicate a corpse, because a body too is made out of energy.
All the time he is separate he may not come near any dead body. (Nephesh) Num 6;6
Alive it was a "breather" which was called a nephesh, a soul in Hebrew. In this case it is a dead one, like a bird is still called a bird even if it is a dead one and doesn't fly anymore.