Aligned sentence by sentence
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Part One · Chapter Forty-Two — Ḥayyim and Mawt: Life, Death, and Intellectual Perfection
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Ḥai is the name for that which grows and senses: 'every creeping thing that lives' (Gen 9:3). And it is the name for one who recovers from very severe illness: 'and he recovered from his sickness' (2 Kgs 8:8); 'in the camp until they recovered' (Josh 5:8); and likewise 'living flesh' (Lev 13:10).
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Likewise, mawt is the name for death. And it is the name for severe illness: 'and his heart died within him, and he became as stone' (1 Sam 25:37) — meaning: the severity of his sickness. And for this reason it was made explicit regarding the son of the Zarephathite woman: 'and his illness was very severe, until no breath remained in him' (1 Kgs 17:17) — because if it had said 'and he died,' it would be possible to understand it as a severe illness approaching death, like Nabal when he heard the news.
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Some of the Andalusian scholars have said that his vital spirit became dormant, so that no breath could be detected at all — as happens with some who faint, and with suffocation of the womb, until it is not known whether the person is dead or alive, and this uncertainty can last a day or two.
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And the use of this name in the sense of the acquisition of knowledge has become very frequent: 'and they shall be life to your soul' (Prov 3:22); 'for whoever finds me has found life' (Prov 8:35); 'for they are life to those who find them' (Prov 4:22) — and this is frequent. According to this, correct opinions are called ḥayyim and false opinions are called mawt. He, exalted be He, said: 'See, I have set before you today life and the good...' etc. (Deut 30:15) — He has made clear that the good is life and the evil is death, and what is between them. Accordingly I also interpret His saying, exalted be He, 'that you may live' (Deut 4:1) — as in the transmitted interpretation of His saying, 'that it may be well with you' (Deut 4:40) etc. And because this metaphor is well established in the language, they said: 'the righteous are called living even in death; the wicked are called dead even in their lives' (Berakhot 18a). Know this.