Chesed

The Hebrew word chesed can sometimes refer to kindness or mercy. It can also refer to faithfulness or loyalty. Most often it is translated as “steadfast love.”

Chesed is often used as a characteristic of God. God’s chesed is an essential part of His character. When He appears to Moses, God describes Himself as abounding in chesed and keeping chesed for thousands (Exod 34:6–7). His chesed is associated with His covenant love for Israel. In the Ten Commandments, God describes Himself as showing chesed to those who love and obey Him (Exod 20:6; Deut 5:10). This description is echoed throughout the ot (Neh 1:5; Dan 9:4; Jer 32:18). Solomon praises God’s chesed that He showed to David (1 Kgs 3:5). He also asserts that there is no God that is chesed like God, fulfilling all His promises to David (1 Kgs 8:23–4).

God’s chesed is often described in terms of His mercy or compassion. In appealing to God to pardon the sins of the people, Moses appeals to God’s chesed (Num 14:18–19). When the Israelites confess their sins in Nehemiah, they also note that God did not forsake the rebellious wilderness generation because He abounds in chesed (Neh 9:17). In addition, Ezra shows that God did not forsake the exiles, but instead extended His chesed to them (Ezra 9:9). The prophets often encourage people to return to God citing His chesed along with His grace (Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2).

The term chesed is most prevalent in the Psalms. Believers are asked to focus upon chesed in praise (Pss 36:5; 59:17; 61:7; 89:1). The phrase “His chesed endures forever” is often repeated as a chorus of praise (Pss 118:1–4; 136:1–26; see also 1 Chr 16:34; 2 Chr 7:3; 20:21). In psalms of lament, the psalmist often asks God to deliver him for the sake of His chesed (Pss 6:4; 31:16; 109:26) or to remember His chesed and save him (Pss 25:6–7; 69:13–15). God’s chesed is also the basis of the psalmist’s trust (Pss 130:7; 143:8). The king can trust God because of His chesed (Psa 21:7). Psalm 23 concludes with an affirmation that goodness and chesed will follow him because God is the psalmist’s shepherd.

Chesed is also a characteristic God desires in His people—something He desires over sacrifice (Hos 6:6). Zechariah instructs the people to show chesed to one another (Zech 7:9). Micah explains that God requires justice, chesed, and humility (Mic 6:8). The psalmist shows that God takes pleasure in those who trust in His chesed (Psa 147:11). Proverbs often encourages chesed along with wisdom (Prov 3:1–4). A person with chesed benefits from it (Prov 11:17), and those who pursue chesed will find life, righteousness, and honor (Prov 21:21). The ideal woman of Proverbs 31 speaks with wisdom and teaches with chesed (Prov 31:26).

When people use it in reference to other people it often refers to kindness. Lot thanks the angels who visited him for their chesed when they warn him to leave Sodom (Gen 19:14). Joseph asked Pharaoh’s cupbearer to remember him and show him chesed by mentioning him to Pharaoh (Gen 40:14). Rahab asks the spies in Jericho to return her chesed to them by showing chesed to her family’s house (Josh 2:12).

Sometimes, chesed carries a sense of covenant obligation. David asks Jonathan to show chesed to him because they made a covenant together (1 Sam 20:8); later, David later shows chesed to Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth (2 Sam 9:7).

Miles Custis

Further Reading

Chesed (ḥesed II), nom. loyalty, faithfulness, goodness NIDOTTE

Chesed ḥesed kindness TLOT

Chesed (ḥesed) kindness, loving-kindness, mercy and similar words TWOT

Loving-Kindness Vine’s

The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible WHHB