Original Word: מִחְיָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: michyah
Pronunciation: mikh-YAH
Phonetic Spelling: (mikh-yaw')
KJV: preserve life, quick, recover selves, reviving, sustenance, victuals
NASB: reviving, maintenance, preserve life, quick, raw, recover, sustenance
Word Origin: [from H2421 (חָיָה - To live)]

1. preservation of life
2. (hence) sustenance
3. also the live flesh, i.e. the quick

preserve life, quick, recover selves, reviving, sustenance, victuals

From chayah; preservation of life; hence, sustenance; also the live flesh, i.e. The quick -- preserve life, quick, recover selves, reviving, sustenance, victuals.

see HEBREW chayah

Word Origin
from chayah
Definition
preservation of life, sustenance
NASB Translation
maintenance (1), preserve life (1), quick (1), raw (1), recover (1), reviving (2), sustenance (1).

מִחְיָה noun feminine preservation of life, sustenance, ׳מ Genesis 45:5 4t.; construct מִחְיַת Leviticus 13:10,24; suffix מִחְיָתֶ֑ךָ Judges 17:10; —

1 preservation of life Genesis 45:5 (E), 2 Chron 14:12.

2 sustenance Judges 6:4; Judges 17:10.

3 reviving, Ezra 9:8,9.

4 the quick (בָּשָׂר) מִחְיַת the quick (or raw spot) of the flesh Leviticus 13:10,24 (P).

Range of Meaning

Miḥyāh expresses the concept of “keeping alive,” extending from literal maintenance of physical life to the figurative revival of a community in distress. The term appears in contexts of food supply, health diagnosis, economic livelihood, military conquest, and national restoration, underscoring the holistic scope of life-preservation Yahweh provides.

Key Occurrences and Settings

• Genesis 45:5 – Joseph tells his brothers, “God sent me before you to preserve life.” The word frames his elevation in Egypt as a providential instrument whereby God secures the survival of the covenant family during famine.

• Leviticus 13:10, 13:24 – In priestly examinations, miḥyāh denotes “raw (living) flesh” inside a leprous sore. The presence of exposed living tissue marks an advanced stage of uncleanness, highlighting the tension between life and defilement.

• Judges 6:4 – Midianite raids “left nothing for Israel to sustain them,” robbing the land of its miḥyāh. The loss of crops and livestock illustrates how foreign oppression threatens Israel’s very existence when the nation lapses into idolatry.

• Judges 17:10 – Micah offers a Levite “ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and your food.” The stipend secures the Levite’s miḥyāh—daily sustenance—yet the arrangement exposes the spiritual poverty of a tribe content with self-made religion.

• 2 Chronicles 14:13 – After Asa’s victory, “so many Ethiopians fell that none were left alive.” The complete removal of the enemy’s miḥyāh signals decisive divine deliverance.

• Ezra 9:8-9 – The returned exiles praise God “for granting us a little reviving in our bondage.” Here the word broadens from physical survival to covenant renewal, as the remnant experiences fresh vitality under Persian rule.

Theological Emphases

1. Divine Providence. Whether through Joseph’s administration, a victorious king, or a foreign monarch who grants reprieve, Yahweh alone sustains life. Miḥyāh reminds readers that every form of preservation, ordinary or extraordinary, flows from His covenant faithfulness.

2. Life versus Defilement. In Leviticus the exposed “living flesh” intensifies uncleanness, showing that life itself, when marred by sin, becomes grounds for exclusion. Genuine wholeness demands both physical and spiritual cleansing, a reality fulfilled ultimately in the atoning work of the Messiah.

3. Restoration from Bondage. Ezra’s prayer uses miḥyāh to celebrate partial revival, yet it anticipates a fuller redemption. The term thereby anchors post-exilic hope and points forward to the new covenant promise of abundant life.

Redemptive-Historical Trajectory

Joseph’s “preservation of life” prefigures Christ, who through apparent suffering becomes “the bread of life” for many. The exilic “little reviving” foreshadows Pentecost, when spiritual life bursts forth in the Church. Thus miḥyāh threads through Scripture as a quiet witness to the greater deliverance secured at Calvary and sealed by the resurrection.

Ministry Implications

• Shepherding. Like Joseph, believers in positions of influence should view their roles as God-given opportunities to safeguard and nourish others.

• Care for the Needy. Judges 6:4 warns against economic oppression that strips communities of their miḥyāh. Practical mercy ministries embody the life-preserving character of God.

• Holiness and Healing. The Levitical passages caution that visible vitality can mask deeper impurity. Faithful ministry addresses both outward needs and inward corruption through the gospel.

• Hope for Renewal. Ezra 9 encourages churches in decline: even “a little reviving” is evidence of God’s continued purpose and invites earnest prayer for fuller awakening.

Related Biblical Concepts

Life (ḥayyîm), Salvation (yēshaʿ), Revive (ḥāyāh), Sustenance (leḥem, “bread”), Remnant (šeʾērît).

Selected Berean Standard Bible Quotations

Genesis 45:5 – “And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because God sent me before you to preserve life.”

Ezra 9:8 – “But now, for a brief moment, grace has been shown from the LORD our God, who has preserved for us a remnant and given us a stake in His holy place—even in our bondage, our God has brightened our eyes and granted us a little reviving.”

וּמִֽחְיַ֛ת וּמִחְיָתֶ֑ךָ ומחית ומחיתך לְמִֽחְיָ֔ה למחיה מִֽחְיַ֣ת מִֽחְיָ֔ה מִֽחְיָ֗ה מִֽחְיָ֥ה מִֽחְיָה֙ מחיה מחית lə·miḥ·yāh lemichYah ləmiḥyāh michYah michYat miḥ·yāh miḥ·yaṯ miḥyāh miḥyaṯ ū·miḥ·yā·ṯe·ḵā ū·miḥ·yaṯ umichYat umichyaTecha ūmiḥyaṯ ūmiḥyāṯeḵāInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts