Hesed

Occurrences in Scripture

Hesed is said to occur about 250 times in the Old Testament, many of them in the Psalms. Representative passages include the following.

• The character of God: God reveals himself to Moses as "abundant in goodness and truth" (Exodus 34:6). This expression recurs throughout the Old Testament, including in Jonah 4:2.
• Covenant love: God declares that he shows mercy to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments (Deuteronomy 5:10; 7:9).
• Faithfulness between people: In the Book of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz call Ruth's conduct hesed (Ruth 3:10). David and Jonathan pledge hesed to each other (1 Samuel 20:14–15), and David later honors that pledge toward Jonathan's son Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9:1).
• The prophetic demand: Hosea proclaims that God "desired mercy, and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6), and Micah names "to love mercy" among the things God requires (Micah 6:6–8).
• Confession amid suffering: "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not" (Lamentations 3:19–26).

Meaning and Background

Hesed is difficult to render with any single Korean word. It combines the senses of love, kindness, mercy, and faithfulness. It usually describes a disposition of never forsaking the other party within an existing relationship, especially a covenant relationship. It is frequently paired with the Hebrew word emet, usually rendered "truth."

The New Korean Revised Version renders it, depending on context, as inja (loving-kindness), inae (kindness), eunchong (favor), eunhye (grace), and other terms. The Revised New Korean Standard Version renders it in many places as "constant love." English Bibles likewise vary, translating it as "mercy," "lovingkindness," "steadfast love," and so on.

Connection with the New Testament

The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, generally rendered hesed as eleos (compassion, mercy). An example is Jesus' quotation of Hosea 6:6: "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice" (Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:7). Some scholars regard the phrase "full of grace and truth" in John 1:14 as an echo of "goodness and truth" in Exodus 34:6. Christians generally understand hesed as finding its continuation in the grace and love of God revealed through Jesus Christ.

Interpretation and Debate

Scholars have long debated whether hesed primarily emphasizes faithfulness as a covenant obligation or voluntary kindness that goes beyond obligation. Today many hold that the word encompasses both aspects.

Covenant theology in the Reformed tradition tends to emphasize hesed in connection with God's faithfulness in keeping his covenant. Other traditions place greater weight on its aspects of love and mercy.

Sermons sometimes present hesed as "unconditional love" or as equivalent to the New Testament term "grace" (charis). In the biblical text, however, hesed also refers to faithfulness shown by one person to another, and the Septuagint generally translated the word as "mercy" rather than "grace." Such presentations may therefore be described as interpretations that emphasize only part of the word's meaning.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, verses about "the lovingkindness of the LORD" from the Psalms and Lamentations are frequently used in preaching and worship music. The gospel song "Juui Inja-neun Kkeuti Eopgo" ("The Lord's Steadfast Love Never Ends"), based on Lamentations 3, is widely sung. The original term hesed is often introduced in sermons explaining God's unchanging love, and it is also used as a name for church groups and worship teams.