Here "loved" refers to the love between friends, not romantic love. The word "soul" represents the person or the person's life. See how you translated this in [1 Samuel 18:1](../18/01.md). Alternate translation: "Jonathan loved David as much as he loved himself" or "Jonathan loved David as he loved his own life" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche]])