H2416e H2416e
Life, lifespan, lifetime; the abstract state of being alive, or substantively 'the living' (living ones).
An emphatic plural noun (חַיִּים) expressing the full weight of 'life' in Hebrew — not merely biological existence but the whole texture of a person's days. It appears in the foundational 'breath of life' at Genesis 2:7, in the anguished cry of Job ('why is light given to one whose life is bitter?' Job 3:20), and in the psalmist's praise for God who 'keeps our soul among the living' (Ps 66:9). The construct chain 'years of the life of' structures patriarchal narratives (Gen 23:1; 25:7; 47:8–9). Occasionally the form shifts from abstract to concrete, referring to 'the living' as a group (Ps 66:9; Ezek 7:13).
1. life, lifespan, lifetime — The abstract concept of life, lifespan, or the state of being alive — covering physical existence, its duration, and its quality. Appears 145 times in diverse frames: 'breath of life' (Gen 2:7; 7:15), 'years of the life of Sarah' (Gen 23:1), 'my life is bitter' (Gen 27:46), and 'your lovingkindness is better than life' (Ps 63:4). Multilingual glosses converge emphatically: Spanish 'vida/la vida,' French 'vie,' German 'Leben/des Lebens' — all abstract life-nouns without exception. 145×
AR["الحَياةَ","الحَياةِ","الحَيَاةِ","الْحَيَاةِ","حَياةً","حَياةٌ","حَيَاةً","حَيَاةٌ","حَيَاةٍ"]·ben["-এর-জীবন","জীবন","জীবনের"]·DE["Leben","des-Lebens","des-Lebens-ist","ein-Leben"]·EN["life"]·FR["vie"]·heb["חיים"]·HI["जीवन","जीवन-का","जीवन-की","जीवन-के"]·ID["Hidup","hidup","kehidupan"]·IT["vita"]·jav["Gesang","gesang"]·KO["생명-과","생명-을","생명-의","생명-이","생명-이다","생명들-의","생명들-이","생명을","생명이"]·PT["Vida","a-vida","da-vida","de-vida","vida"]·RU["жизни","жизни.","жизнь","жизнью"]·ES["Vida","la-vida","vida"]·SW["Uzima","maisha","uhai","uzima"]·TR["hayat","hayatı","hayatın","yaşam","yaşamdır","yaşamın"]·urd["زندگی","زندگی-کا","زندگی-کی","زندگی-کے"]
Gen 2:7, Gen 6:17, Gen 7:15, Gen 7:22, Gen 27:46, Gen 47:28, Deut 17:19, Josh 4:14, 1 Sam 1:11, 1 Sam 7:15, 1 Kgs 4:21, 1 Kgs 11:34 (+38 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. the living, living ones — A substantive use meaning 'the living' or 'living ones,' referring to the community of those who are alive rather than to the abstract concept of life itself. Attested twice: Psalm 66:9 ('He keeps our soul among the living') and Ezekiel 7:13 (the vision shall not return to anyone among the living). Spanish 'en los vivos' (among the living) captures the concretized, communal sense that distinguishes this from the abstract 'vida' of sense 1. 2×
AR["في-الأَحْياءِ","في-الحَياةِ"]·ben["-জীবনে","জীবনে"]·DE["Leben","unter-der-living"]·EN["among-the-living"]·FR["dans-vie"]·heb["ב-חיים"]·HI["-जीवितों-में","में-जीवितों"]·ID["dalam-kehidupan","di-dalam-kehidupan"]·IT["vita"]·jav["ing-gesang","ing-gesang-tiyang-tiyang-punika"]·KO["그-삶-안에","삶-에서"]·PT["em-vivos","na-vida"]·RU["в-живых","в-жизнь"]·ES["en-la-vida","en-los-vivos"]·SW["maishani","wakiwa-hai"]·TR["hayatta","yaşayanlar-arasında-"]·urd["بِ-ہَ-زندگی-میں","زندوں-میں"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)H1818 1. blood (physical substance) (327×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H1320 1. body, physical being (207×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)G4561 1. flesh, physical body (150×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† חַיִּים n.m. Dt 28:66 pl.abstr.emph. life, ח׳ Gn 2:7 +; חַיִּין Jb 24:22 (Aramaism Ges§ 87 (1) a); חַיֵּי Gn 23:1 +; sf. חַיַּי Gn 47:9 +; חַיָּ֑יְכִי ψ 103:4; (Ges§ 91 (2) R. 2), etc.;— 1. life: physical Gn 27:46 Ex 1:14 (P), Dt 28:66(×2) 2 S 11:11; 15:21 Is 38:12 Je 8:23 La 3:53, 58 Ez 7:13 Jb 3:20; 7:7; 9:21; 10:12; 24:22 ψ 7:6; 17:14; 21:5; 26:9; 31:11; 34:13; 63:4; 64:2; 66:9; 88:4; 103:4…