(1) (nephesh chayyah, or nephesh hachayyah (nephesh, "breath" or "living things"; chayyah, "living"; compare Arabic nefs, "breath," chaiy, "living")): In the account of the creation this term is used of aquatic animals (Ge 1:21), of mammals (Ge 1:24) and of any animals whatsoever (Ge 2:19).
(2) ([chayyoth], plural of chayyah): The name of the "living creatures" of Eze 1:5-25, which had wings and the faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle; compare Eze 10:1-22.
(3) (zoon, "living thing," "animal"): The four "living creatures" (the King James Version "beasts") of Re 4:6, etc., the first like a lion, the second like a calf, the third having a face as of a man, and the fourth like an eagle, having each six wings.
See CREATURE, LIVING.
Alfred Ely Day