chay describes living status or life, including living beings and life invoked for kings and their households.

The attested forms describe living beings and life: plural forms occur with “all the living” and with animals, while singular and noun forms occur in royal greetings, prayers for a king and his sons, and an allotted extension of life.

1. Living beings and life · dominant

   In Daniel 2:30 the determined masculine plural form occurs in the clause the APB renders “more than all the living,” while Daniel 4:14 places the same plural form in a scene involving a beast and birds. Singular and noun forms occur in Daniel 6:21 in the king’s greeting, in Ezra 6:10 in prayer for the king and his sons, and in Daniel 7:12 where the APB renders an “extension of life” for the beasts; Daniel 4:31 and Daniel 6:27 also contain singular forms, though the translation does not visibly isolate their contribution.

   Daniel 2:30Daniel 4:14Daniel 4:31Daniel 6:21Daniel 6:27Daniel 7:12Ezra 6:10

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously presents the relevant clauses with “living,” “live forever,” “life,” and “an extension of life.” In Daniel 4:31 and Daniel 6:27, it does not visibly isolate the term’s contribution.