← H2420 H2422 →

חָיָה

𐤇𐤉𐤄

châyâh

H2421 verb

SILEX Entry

Root חיה to live, to be alive, to cause to live, to revive

Definition

To live, be alive, exist in a living state; to remain alive, survive, or be spared; to revive or be restored to life from a state near death, illness, or disaster; causatively, to give or sustain life, preserve, keep alive, nourish, or revive someone or something; by extension, to prosper, flourish, or experience well-being. The word conveys both literal physical life and, in extended senses, vitality, restoration, and shared life in social or communal contexts.

Semantic Range

to live, to be alive, to stay alive, to survive, to preserve life, to keep alive, to revive, to restore life, to nourish, to give life, to recover, to flourish, to experience well-being, to prosper, to heal, to be restored from danger or illness

Root / Etymology

From the root חיה (ḥ-y-h), meaning 'to live' or 'to be alive.' The verb חָיָה is the basic stem (qal) from this root, with causative stems (pi‘el and hiph‘il) expressing 'to cause to live, preserve, revive.' The root cluster חיה (> חָיָה), חִי, חַי, חַיָּה forms the general semantic field of life, living beings, and vitality in Biblical Hebrew.

Historical & Contextual Notes

חָיָה is the principal Biblical Hebrew verb describing the state or act of living, both for individual creatures, families, and the nation. In narratives, it is used for simple existence ('to live'), but also for surviving danger ('was kept alive,' 'remained alive'), often in reference to near-death or famine contexts. In the causative, it is frequently used for divine or human acts of preservation or restoration (e.g., YHWH revives or preserves a person, or a ruler spares a life). In the Psalms and prophetic literature, the verb expands metaphorically for spiritual or communal flourishing, renewed vitality (e.g., the land or people being 'revived'), or the restoration of a people after calamity. The term is distinct from עשׂה ('to do, make'), קוּם ('to arise, stand up'), or שׁוב ('to return, restore'), though at times these lexical fields overlap in restoration contexts. Standard English versions usually translate חָיָה as 'to live,' 'to revive,' or 'to keep alive,' but the nuances of restoration and communal vitality may be missed. In later biblical and post-biblical usage, the term is central in expressions of hope for renewal or survival, especially in exilic and post-exilic writings, as well as in later liturgical texts dealing with themes of resurrection and restoration.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root (compare חָוָה, חָיָה); to live, whether literally or figuratively; causatively, to revive; keep (leave, make) alive, [idiom] certainly, give (promise) life, (let, suffer to) live, nourish up, preserve (alive), quicken, recover, repair, restore (to life), revive, ([idiom] God) save (alive, life, lives), [idiom] surely, be whole.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.

+ Add Bantu Hebrew Word

Root Family

חיה (ḥ-y-h) — to live, to be alive, to cause to live, to revive

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2416 חַי in the lives
H2417 חַי the living one
H2418 חֲיָא Live!
H2422 חָיֶה living ones
H2423 חֵיוָא living creature

Word Forms

86 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2421-59 וַֽ/יְחִ֣י vayechi HC/Vqw3ms and lived and he lived 43
H2421-85 יִחְיֶ֥ה yicheyeh HVqi3ms he shall live he will live 27
H2421-84 יְחִ֥י yechi HVqj3ms Long live may he live 11
H2421-04 חַ֝יֵּ֗/נִי chayeni HVpv2ms/Sp1cs revive me Revive me 9
H2421-43 תִֽחְיֶ֔ה ticheyeh HVqi2ms you shall live you will live 9
H2421-77 וִֽ/חְי֑וּ vicheyu HC/Vqv2mp and live and live, you all! 8
H2421-86 יִֽחְי֑וּ yicheyu HVqi3mp do they live they will live 7
H2421-80 יְחַיֶּ֖ה yechayeh HVpi3ms he left alive he will revive 7
H2421-08 חָיֹ֣ה chayoh HVqa living to live 7
H2421-30 לְ/הַחֲיֹ֣ת lehachayot HR/Vhc to keep alive to cause to live 6

Occurrences in Scripture

265 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2421-59 Genesis 5:3 וַֽ/יְחִ֣י vayechi HC/Vqw3ms And Adam lived and he lived
H2421-59 Genesis 5:6 וַֽ/יְחִי vayechi HC/Vqw3ms and lived and he lived
H2421-59 Genesis 5:7 וַֽ/יְחִי vayechi HC/Vqw3ms and lived and he lived
H2421-59 Genesis 5:9 וַֽ/יְחִ֥י vayechi HC/Vqw3ms lived and he lived
H2421-59 Genesis 5:10 וַֽ/יְחִ֣י vayechi HC/Vqw3ms lived and he lived
H2421-59 Genesis 5:12 וַֽ/יְחִ֥י vayechi HC/Vqw3ms lived and he lived
H2421-59 Genesis 5:13 וַ/יְחִ֣י vayechi HC/Vqw3ms And lived and he lived
H2421-59 Genesis 5:15 וַֽ/יְחִ֣י vayechi HC/Vqw3ms and lived and he lived
H2421-59 Genesis 5:16 וַֽ/יְחִ֣י vayechi HC/Vqw3ms And lived and he lived
H2421-59 Genesis 5:18 וַֽ/יְחִי vayechi HC/Vqw3ms And Jared lived and he lived
← H2420 Hebrew Lexicon H2422 →