She also defines human חֶסֶד (1985: 131) as ‘a freely undertaken carrying through of an existing commitment to another who is in a situation of need’. Hills, however, had earlier1 spoken of human חֶסֶד as an enduring responsibility for another in which there is ‘implied an unconditional, lifelong commitment to him and his need’. The methodology adopted in the present study has shown that a deep, enduring, personal commitment to each other is an essential feature of situations in which one human