What does חַי (ḥay) mean in the Bible?
חַי (ḥay): Life as active, sustained vitality—God's essential nature and the covenant blessing antithetical to death
Hebrew · H2417
חַי
Alive ; also (as noun in plural) life
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חַי H2417
Pronunciation ḥay
What does חַי (ḥay) mean in the Bible?
חַי (ḥay): Life as active, sustained vitality—God's essential nature and the covenant blessing antithetical to death
Full entry for חַי (H2417) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2417?
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include alive (1), for the lives (1), Him who lives (1), is the living (1), of life (1).
Where does חַי (ḥay) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Ezra 6:10. Its strongest book concentrations include Daniel (6), Ezra (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It alive 1× Daniel 2:30
for the lives 1× Ezra 6:10
Him who lives 1× Daniel 4:34
is the living 1× Daniel 6:26
of life 1× Daniel 7:12
of the living 1× Daniel 6:20
the living 1× Daniel 4:17
Show sample aligned rows
Ezra 6:10 לְחַיֵּ֥י to for the lives Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct Daniel 2:30 חַיַּיָּ֔א to alive Adjective - masculine plural determinate Daniel 4:17 חַ֠יַּיָּא to the living Adjective - masculine plural determinate Daniel 4:34 וּלְחַ֥י to Him who lives Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Adjective - masculine singular construct Daniel 6:20 חַיָּ֔א to of the living Adjective - masculine singular determinate Daniel 6:26 חַיָּ֗א to is the living Adjective - masculine singular determinate Daniel 7:12 בְחַיִּ֛ין to of life Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Ezra 6:10
Aligned rows 7
Books represented 2
Ezra 1 Daniel 6
Source forms
בְחַיִּ֛ין 1x ḇə·ḥay·yîn Daniel 7:12
וּלְחַ֥י 1x ū·lə·ḥay Daniel 4:34
חַיָּ֔א 1x ḥay·yā Daniel 6:20
חַיָּ֗א 1x ḥay·yā Daniel 6:26
חַיַּיָּ֔א 1x ḥay·yay·yā Daniel 2:30
חַ֠יַּיָּא 1x ḥay·yay·yā Daniel 4:17
לְחַיֵּ֥י 1x lə·ḥay·yê Ezra 6:10
Parsing patterns
Adjective - masculine plural determinate 2x Daniel 2:30, Daniel 4:17
Adjective - masculine singular determinate 2x Daniel 6:20, Daniel 6:26
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Adjective - masculine singular construct 1x Daniel 4:34
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural 1x Daniel 7:12
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct 1x Ezra 6:10
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Life as active, sustained vitality—God's essential nature and the covenant blessing antithetical to death
Source Gloss
alive ; also (as noun in plural) life
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Life as active, sustained vitality—God's essential nature and the covenant blessing antithetical to death
alive; also (as noun in plural) life BDB: living Usage: life, that liveth, living.
Word Origins
חַי is built from this root:
חֲיָא H2418
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain