Original Word: חָיַי
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: chayay
Pronunciation: khaw-YAH
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-yah'-ee)
KJV: live, save life
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to live
2. causatively to revive

live, save life

A primitive root (compare chayah); to live; causatively to revive -- live, save life.

see HEBREW chayah

Vital Breath of Existence

חָיַי accents the sheer wonder that life itself proceeds from God. Whether the word points to physical survival, covenantal blessing, or eschatological renewal, Scripture consistently treats “living” as a reality sustained by the Creator’s ongoing will.

Life as Gift Guarded by Boundaries

Genesis 3:22 shows that life in its highest form—eternal, unending fellowship with God—cannot be seized independently of His appointed means. Conversely, Exodus 33:20 makes plain that finite humanity cannot behold unmediated glory “and live.” These paired texts emphasize that life is preserved only within the parameters set by God’s holiness and wisdom.

Sanctity of Human Life in a Fallen World

In Pharaoh’s murderous decree (Exodus 1:16) daughters “shall live,” revealing even a tyrant’s recognition that to live is a privilege. Deuteronomy 4:42 and 19:4-5 establish cities of refuge “that the manslayer might flee there and live,” underscoring God’s insistence that accidental bloodshed not culminate in needless death. Nehemiah 6:11 echoes the same reverence when the governor refuses to violate temple law in order to “live,” preferring danger over sacrilege.

Life through Obedience

Leviticus 18:5 voices a central covenant principle: “The man who does them will live by them.” Ezekiel builds on this in 18:13, 18:24, 20:11, 20:13, and 20:21, contrasting those who dishonor the statutes and “will surely die” with those who “shall live.” The apostle Paul later cites this principle (Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12), revealing the standard’s uncompromising righteousness and paving the way for justification by faith in Christ, the only One who perfectly fulfilled the law and lives forever.

Mediatorial Symbols of Life

Numbers 21:8-9 records the bronze serpent: “Everyone who was bitten could look at it and live.” The figure prefigures Jesus Christ lifted on the cross so “that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). The episode illustrates that life flows not from human remedy but from divinely appointed mediation.

Courage and Life in God’s Presence

Deuteronomy 5:24 marvels: “We have seen this day that a man can speak with God and yet live.” Communion with God produces holy fear yet also confident access. Nehemiah 6:11’s rhetorical question, “Who such as I could enter the temple and live?” reflects the same awareness: life persists only when reverence orders approach.

Living Waters and Future Restoration

Ezekiel 47:9 foresees rivers issuing from the renewed temple: “Where the river flows there will be swarms of living creatures and everything will live where the river goes.” The vision anticipates Revelation’s river of life (Revelation 22:1-2), assuring that God’s ultimate purpose is not merely preserved existence but exuberant, overflowing vitality.

Implications for Ministry

1. Proclamation: Hold forth Christ as the sole mediator through whom sinners “look and live.”
2. Discipleship: Teach that obedience does not earn life but expresses it; those indwelt by the Spirit walk in the statutes that are “life unto life.”
3. Sanctity of Life: Advocate for the unborn, the vulnerable, and the oppressed, reflecting God’s protective heart manifest in the cities of refuge.
4. Worship: Encourage reverent boldness; through the new and living way opened by Jesus, believers may draw near without terror yet with trembling awe.
5. Eschatological Hope: Nurture anticipation of the age when the river of God eradicates death entirely, fulfilling every promise embedded in חָיַי.

Thus, from Eden to the New Jerusalem, the word gathers the biblical testimony that true life—inception, preservation, and consummation—is ever the gracious work of the living God.

וָחַ֣י וָחַ֥י וָחָ֑י וָחָ֔י וָחָֽיָה׃ וָחָֽי׃ וחי וחי׃ וחיה׃ vaChai vaChayah wā·ḥā·yāh wā·ḥay wā·ḥāy wāḥay wāḥāy wāḥāyāhInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts