J. Weiss thinks that Paul developed the meaning ‘personality’ for sōma de novo and admits lack of evidence for such a usage elsewhere in Greek literature. Whether or not agreeing with Weiss, Bultmann contents himself with exegetical arguments from the writings of Paul. Such arguments commonly begin with Pauline passages where the word stands parallel to a personal pronoun or can be replaced by a personal pronoun.

We first consider Rom 6: 12–14, 16a:

In the parallel statements ‘Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body’ and ‘For sin will have no dominion over you’ sōmati, ‘body’, and hymōn, ‘you’, appear to be interchangeable. Moreover, in the parallel phrases ‘yield your members’ and ‘yield yourselves’, melē, ‘members’, as a synonym for sōma twice alternates with heautous, ‘yourselves’ (cf. v. 19). The conclusion drawn is that sōma must have as broad a meaning as the personal pronouns – and therefore include the whole person.