The meaning of Lively; Living in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
liv'-li, liv'-ing (chay; zao): "Living," sometimes "lively," is the translation of chay (often also translated "life"); it denotes all beings possessed of life (Genesis 1:21, Genesis 1:24; Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:19; Exodus 21:35, "live"); we have frequently the phrase, "the land of the living" (as contrasted with she'ol, the abode of the dead), e.g. Job 28:13; Psalms 27:13; Psalms 52:5; Isaiah 38:11; the characteristically Biblical expression, "the living God," also frequently occurs (Joshua 3:10; I Samuel 17:26, I Samuel 17:36; II Kings 19:4; Psalms 84:2); also frequently in the New Testament as the translation of zao (Matthew 16:16; Matthew 26:63; John 6:57, "the living Father"; Acts 14:15); "lively" in Exodus 1:19 (chayeh) and Psalms 38:19 denotes fullness of life, vigor; chayyah, "a living being," is mostly confined to Ezekiel, translated "living creatures" (Ezekiel 1:5, Ezekiel 1:13-14, etc.), also Genesis 1:28; Genesis 8:17, "living thing"; "living" is sometimes applied figuratively to that which is not actually alive; thus we have the phrase "living waters" (Jeremiah 2:13; Jeremiah 17:13; Zechariah 14:8, "Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem") in contrast with stagnant waters—waters that can give life; so John 4:10-11 (bubbling up from the spring at bottom of the well); John 7:38; Revelation 7:17 the King James Version; "living bread" (John 6:51); a new and living way (Hebrews 10:20), perhaps equivalent to "ever-living" in Christ; "living stones" (I Peter 2:4-5) are those made alive in Christ; a "living hope" (a hope full of life), I Peter 1:3; "living" (zao)is sometimes also "manner of life" (Luke 15:13; Colossians 2:20); diago, "to lead or go through," is also so translated (Titus 3:3); bios is "means of life," translated "living" (Mark 12:44; Luke 8:43); "living," in this sense, occurs in Apocrypha as the translation of zoe, "Defraud not the poor of his living" (Ecclesiasticus 4:1).
The Revised Version (British and American) has "living" for "alive" (Leviticus 14:4), for "the lively" (Acts 7:38), for "quick" (Hebrews 4:12), for "lively" (I Peter 1:3; I Peter 2:5), for "conversation" (I Peter 1:15; II Peter 3:11); "living creatures" for "beasts" (Revelation 4:6; Revelation 5:6, etc.); "every living thing" for "all the substance" (Deuteronomy 11:6); "living things" for "beasts" (Leviticus 11:2, Leviticus 11:47 twice); for "living" (Psalms 58:9), "the green" (thorns under the pots), margin "Wrath shall take them away while living as with a whirlwind"; for "the book of the living" (Psalms 69:28), "the book of life"; for "(I am) he that liveth" (Revelation 1:18), "the Living one"; for "living fountains of waters" (Revelation 7:17), "fountains of waters of life"; for "trade" (Revelation 18:17), "gain their living," margin "work the sea"; for "Son of the living God" (John 6:69), "the Holy One of God" (emended text).
W. L. Walker
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