1 Samuel 19:6:71 Sam.19.6.W7TAB
חַי־יְהוָ֖ה
khaiyehovah
“as the LORD lives”
- Transliteration
- KHAI-ye-ho-VAH
- Extended
- KHAI-yeh-ho-VAH
- IPA
- /ˈħaj.jəhoˈvaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- as the LORD lives
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Chet | ch — deep guttural, as in Scottish loch | |
| Patach | short 'ah' as in father | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Yod | y as in yes; marks long ī | |
| Sheva | vocal sheva — a short 'e' (ə), begins a syllable | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end | |
| Vav | v as in vine; marks long ō / ū | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
KHAI-ye-ho-VAH
- clause
va-yish-SHA-va sha-UL KHAI-ye-ho-VAH im-yu-MAT
- sentence
va-yish-MA sha-UL be-KOL ye-ho-na-TAN va-yish-SHA-va sha-UL KHAI-ye-ho-VAH im-yu-MAT
Exegesis
The formula chai-YHWH {חַי־יְהוָ֖ה | ḥay-yəhôwâh} ‘as the LORD lives’ functions as an emphatic conditional, with im {אִם | ʾim} ‘if’ and yûmāṯ {יוּמָֽת | yûmāṯ} ‘he shall die’ forming protasis and apodosis of a prohibition. The construct chain and conditional syntax create a formal legal tone. In translation, vav consecutives become “and” to preserve narrative flow, and the idiomatic formula “As long as the LORD lives” conveys the Hebrew emphatic assurance in natural English.
Root and etymology
“to live”
In context — 1 Samuel 19:6
And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore , “As surely as the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.”
About this coordinate
1 Samuel 19:6:7 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 7 of 1 Samuel 19:6, so the Hebrew word חַי־יְהוָ֖ה (khaiyehovah) can be cited, linked and studied at exactly this position rather than somewhere in the verse. In the Biblical Knowledge Coordinate System the same position is written 1 Sam.19.6.W7, which extends further down to each syllable (1 Sam.19.6.W7.S1) and character.