1 Samuel 20:3:161 Sam.20.3.W16TAB

חַי־יְהוָה֙

khaiyehovah

“as the LORD lives”

Transliteration: KHAI-ye-ho-VAH
Extended: KHAI-yeh-ho-VAH
IPA: /ħaj.jəhoˈvaː/

Meaning by language

English: as the LORD lives

Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it

Result

חַ + י + יְה + וָה֙

↓

khai + ye + ho + vah

↓

khaiyehovah

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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Vowels (Niqqud)

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The word

Word in context

word
KHAI-ye-ho-VAH
clause
ve-u-LAM KHAI-ye-ho-VAH ve-KHEI naf-SHE-kha KI ke-FE-sa be-NI u-VEIN ha-MA-vet
sentence
va-yish-SHA-va OD da-VID va-YO-mer ya-DO-a ya-DA-a a-VI-kha KI-ma-TSA-ti KHEN be-e-NE-kha va-YO-mer AL-ye-DA-ZOT ye-ho-na-TAN PEN-ye-A-tsev ve-u-LAM KHAI-ye-ho-VAH ve-KHEI naf-SHE-kha KI ke-FE-sa be-NI u-VEIN ha-MA-vet

Exegesis

Finally, the oath formula wə’ānōkhî ḥāy {וְאָנֹכִי חַי | wəʾānōkhî ḥāy} “as I live” and the merism bēn-nap̄šî û-bēn ham-māweṯ {בֵּין־נַפְשִׁי וּבֵין הַמָּוֶת | bēn-nap̄šî û-bēn ham-māweṯ} “between my soul and death” underscore life’s precarious boundary.

Root and etymology

ה־י־ה

“to be”

In context — 1 Samuel 20:3

And David swore and said, “Only your father knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he says, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved on my account.’ Yet truly, as I live , there is but a step between my life and death.”

About this coordinate

1 Samuel 20:3:16 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 16 of 1 Samuel 20:3, so the Hebrew word חַי־יְהוָה֙ (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.20.3.W16, which extends further down to each syllable (1 Sam.20.3.W16.S1) and character.

Read 1 Samuel 20:3 Read 1 Samuel 20