Aramaic word · H2417

חַי

chaiyaiya'

living

The adjective means living. The plural form is the normal word for "life," covering being alive, length of days, health and flourishing, as with Hebrew hayyim.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

alive, living, life

Aramaic of chay (חַי "alive" H2416A)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ezra 6:10

Range of meaning

The adjective means living. The plural form is the normal word for "life," covering being alive, length of days, health and flourishing, as with Hebrew hayyim.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, ESV and NASB say "life." BSB's "lives" is natural English for several people, but the plural in Aramaic does not itself mean several lives. NIV's "well-being" and NLT's "welfare" bring out the breadth but lose the concrete request for life itself.

Used elsewhere in the period

Royal speech was full of this wish: "O king, live forever" (Daniel 2:4; 3:9; 6:6; Nehemiah 2:3). The Cyrus Cylinder asks the restored gods to pray daily before Bel and Nabu for long life for Cyrus (lines 34–35). Baruch 1:11 has Jews praying "for the life of Nebuchadnezzar … and for the life of Belshazzar his son."

Where it appears

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 6:10 לְחַיֵּ֥י for [the] life<s> of

    Then they will be able to offer sacrifices of a sweet aroma to the God of heaven and to pray for the lives of the king and his sons.

    Here: "For the life of." The form is plural, but this is simply how Aramaic and Hebrew say "life." In a prayer for a king it means long life, health and continued rule.

Daniel · 6

  1. Daniel 2:30 חַיַּיָּ֔א living [people] the

    And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

  2. Daniel 4:17 חַ֠יַּיָּא living [people] the

    This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’

    Here: "The living": everyone alive, all humanity. The lesson is not meant for Nebuchadnezzar alone. It is meant for the whole world.

  3. Daniel 4:34 וּלְחַ֥י and <obj.> [the] [one] living of

    But at the end of those days I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity was restored to me. Then I praised the Most High, and I honored and glorified Him who lives forever: “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

    Here: 'And the Living One of'. Life belongs to God in a way it does not belong to the king, whose courtiers wished him 'O king, live forever' (2:4; 3:9).

  4. Daniel 6:20 חַיָּ֔א <the> living

    When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

    Here: 'Living' here means alive and able to act, unlike idols, which cannot. The question that follows tests exactly this: can this God do anything?

  5. Daniel 6:26 חַיָּ֗א <the> living

    I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will never end.

    Here: "The living one." He is active and able to act, unlike lifeless idols. Darius used the same title when he called into the pit at dawn (6:20).

  6. Daniel 7:12 בְחַיִּ֛ין in life<s>

    As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was removed, but they were granted an extension of life for a season and a time.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.