וַיֹּאמַ֕ר אַחַ֥י בְּנֵֽי־אִמִּ֖י הֵ֑ם חַי־יְהוָ֗ה ל֚וּ הַחֲיִתֶ֣ם אוֹתָ֔ם לֹ֥א הָרַ֖גְתִּי אֶתְכֶֽם׃
Lalu ia berkata: “Mereka adalah saudara-saudaraku, anak-anak ibuku sendiri. Demi Yang Mahakekal yang hidup, sekiranya kamu membiarkan mereka hidup, aku tidak akan membunuh kamu.”
Rabbeinu Bahya
The words חי אני are equivalent to אלו-הים חיים,”by the living G’d.” This expression or almost identical expressions occur in Joshua 3,10; Judges 8,19; as well as Daniel 12,7. When the expression חי נפשך (Samuel I 1,26) occurs it describes the domain בינה in the emanations, the domain in which vows originate.