God is a Unique God
Fractal image representing God’s characteristic of khesed.
There are 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each letter has a numeric value and a pictograph associated with it. Understanding the pictographs associated with a Hebrew word can give clues to the meaning of the word or give us nuanced meaning to the word.
The letter chet (ח) has a pictogram of a fortress and gives a meaning of divine protection. The letter samekh (ס) has a picogram of a pin and gives a meaning of continuity, as one pinning things together to lengthen something. The letter dalet (ד) has a pictogram of a door and gives a meaning of opportunity and, sometimes, humbleness.
These three letters form the word khesed (חֶסֶד). Sometimes written as hesed, but the letter chet has a hard guttural k sound. Based upon these pictographs, it would convey a type of continual divine protection of some kind but in a non-forced, opportunistic type of manner.
Now if we look at how the Hebrew word khesed is translated into English, several different words are used depending upon the context of the scripture passage. Yet, we need to remember that this does not change the meaning of the word when used in Hebrew. Translators are trying to convey the Hebrew meaning in a specific context using English words.
Khesed is used 248 times in scripture and can be translated into the following English words: Mercy, Grace, Favor, Loyalty, Covenant Loyalty, Believing Loyalty, Loving Loyalty, Strength, Devotion, Steadfast Love, Unfailing Love, Love, Lovingkindness, Kindness, Compassion, and Faithfulness.
The word used depends upon the context of the word and the Bible translation used. Of course, when we read these English words in Scripture, they may not always be a translation for the Hebrew word khesed. Each of these words would need to be looked up in a concordance to see which Hebrew word was used originally. For example, the word lovingkindness may not always mean the Hebrew use of khesed. That is one of the drawbacks to relying upon English translations of foreign original documents. Yet our goal here is to help us understand how our English words help us understand these important concepts about God which he reveals to us in His Scriptures.
Of course, in Greek, the same word will not be used but the same concept is definitely in the New Testament. There are two words used. The first is eleos (ἔλεος; mentioned 27 times in the Bible). It translates to mercy, compassion, or pity in English. It conveys a sense of transformative power. A corollary word is charis (χάρις; mentioned 155 times) meaning grace (i.e., unmerited favor).
So, as you can see from the pictographs for khesed, the meaning goes beyond the English words used. It is more than kindness or mercy but is something from God that is bestowed to us in an almost covenantal manner.
Now let’s look at the first time khesed is presented in Scripture. It’s first usage can give us additional insight into God’s meaning for these words. It is first mentioned in Genesis 19:19. This is when angels took Lot, his wife, and his daughters out of the city of Sodom before God destroyed both Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and brimstone. Lot said, “Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness (khesed) to me in sparing my life.” Here khesed is translated as “great kindness.” Other translations have used other words to try and convey the meaning in this particular context. Different Bible translations have used the following descriptive words to convey the Hebrew word khesed: great kindness, lovingkindness, magnified mercy, saved, immense favor, and magnified goodness. We can tell the translators were going for something beyond the noun (e.g., kindness, favor, or goodness) by adding in adjectives to try and give the noun a higher level of meaning (e.g., great, loving, or magnified). Lot was not just thanking God for his favor in saving him but keeping a type of unconditional love toward him as if part of a covenant relationship between God and Lot.
Lot was included in God’s covenant with Abraham. Since Lot was part of Abraham’s family when God made the covenant with Abraham, Lot was also part of this covenant. God kept his promise to Abraham by rescuing Lot despite Lot’s self-created circumstances. The apostle Peter in his second letter does declare that Lot was a righteous man (2Pt 2:7), despite him making poor choices. This was a lovingkindness that went beyond obedience but based upon God’s promises.
There are several aspects implied by the word khesed that we should explore.
Loyal Love in Action:
God displayed khesed to Joseph: the Lord was with him [Joseph]; he showed him kindness (khesed) and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden (Gn 39:21). Joseph also expected khesed from Pharaoh’s cupbearer since he interpreted his dream which indicated he would be released from prison: But when all goes well with you [i.e., Pharaoh’s cupbearer], remember me [i.e., Joseph] and show me kindness (khesed); mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison (Gn 40:14).
So we see that khesed is a trait of God, yet it is also a trait that we are expected to emulate with others as well.
Like a Bride and Groom:
God displayed khesed to Israel: I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love (khesed) and compassion (Ho 2:19). Here we see that khesed is more than kindness which we saw before but something much deeper and more intimate.
Loyalty and Devotion:
God expected khesed from Israel: For I desire mercy (khesed), not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings (Ho 6:6). Just as we saw previously, how God displayed khesed to Israel, God expected the same in return. While, as humans, we cannot display khesed as deeply as God can do as this is part of his innate nature. We can express loyalty and devotion to him to try and match the khesed God displays to us.
A Covenant Relationship:
Rahab of Jericho, just before Israel crossed the Jordan into their Promised Land of Canaan, expected the Israeli spies, who she helped escape capture, to return khesed for khesed: Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness (khesed) to my family, because I have shown kindness (khesed) to you (Js 2:12). Rahab was part of the enemy camp, yet she displayed a loving kindness to these spies because of who she knew they represented and she emulated God’s character. The spies emulated this back to Rahab and her family. God spared her and her family from destruction and the nation of Israel welcomed Rahab into their camp.
God promised the following to Israel: Though the mountains be shaken and the hills removed, yet my unfailing love (khesed) for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed says the Lord, who has compassion on you (Is 54:10). We see here that this is a covenantal love by God to Israel. His love was not dependent upon Israel’s conduct, but it would be enhanced because of it.
God’s Character:
God said to Israel: This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know (yada) me, that I am the Lord, who exercise kindness (khesed), justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord (Jr 9:23-24). Both khesed and yada are innate to God’s character. These characteristics are automatic with Him. We’ll be discussing yada in an upcoming post.
The psalmist said: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love (khesed) endures forever (Ps 136:1). This whole psalm is dedicated to the khesed of God. This is an eternal trait of God because it is part of him and his character.
God told Israel through Micah: He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy (khesed) and to walk humbly with your God (Mi 6:8). Although khesed is an innate trait to God, God also expects us to emulate him in this particular trait. This verse reveals a similar teaching to Hosea 6:6, presented above: God places khesed above acts of service. Acts of service do not produce khesed, but khesed will yield acts of service because acts of service come out of a heart of gratitude for the khesed God has shown to us.
The Greek word eleos does not replace the Hebrew word khesed but fulfills and broadens it, making divine mercy active, relational, and inclusive, while still rooted in the covenantal loyalty of khesed. Khesed is made complete because of Christ’s atonement on the cross. Christ embodies the essence of khesed in the New Testament. His death on the cross completes God’s covenantal love for mankind. Most writers of Greek used the word agape (ἀγάπη) for this type of love because it reflected covenantal, unconditional, love. By accepting Christ’s actions for us, we can also do the same for our fellow man:
James shows its ethical dimension: Mercy (eleos) triumphs over judgment (Ja 2:13).
Titus tells us its relationship to our future hope: He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy (eleos) (Tt 3:5).
So, we see that khesed is a character of God that is multifaceted in meaning and in application. That is not surprising since God himself is also multifaceted. It is a type of love that only he can truly express. We are to try and emulate him in this regard, but it is difficult for humans to do without the aid from God in the help of the Holy Spirit who he bestows to us once we acknowledge him as sending Jesus Christ to be the atonement for our sin. I hope you have done that. If not, today is the day for salvation (2Co 6:2).
Stay tuned. Next time, we’ll discuss another characteristic of God that is important for us to understand.
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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens