חֵסֵדchêçêd
חֶ֫סֶד: goodness, kindness
Pronunciation: kheh'-sed · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H2617
Meanings
I. of man
1. kindness, of men towards men, in doing favours and benefits (1 Samuel 20:15; 2 Samuel 16:17; Psalms 141:5)
2. kindness, mercy, (especially as extended to the lowly, needy and miserable) (Proverbs 20:28; Job 6:14; Proverbs 11:17)
3. affection, (rarely) (Jeremiah 2:2; Hosea 6:4; Hosea 6:6)
4. lovely appearance (Isaiah 40:6; 1 Peter 1:24)
II. kindness, lovingkindness, of God, in condescending to the needs of his creatures (Jonah 2:9; Psalms 144:2; Psalms 59:18)
1. specifically lovingkindness
a. in redemption from enemies and troubles (Genesis 19:19; Genesis 39:21; Exodus 15:13)
b. in preservation of life from death (Psalms 6:5; Psalms 86:13; Job 10:12)
c. in quickening of spiritual life (Psalms 109:26; Psalms 119:41; Psalms 119:76)
d. in redemption from sin (Psalms 25:7; Psalms 51:3)
e. in keeping the covenants, keep-eth the covenant and the lovingkindness (Micah 7:20; Deuteronomy 7:9; Deuteronomy 7:12)
2. חֶסֶד is grouped with other divine attributes (Genesis 24:27; Psalms 25:10; Psalms 41:11)
3. the kindness of God is
a. abundant, plenteous in kindness (Numbers 14:18; Nehemiah 9:17; Joel 2:13)
b. great in extent, greatness of thy mercy (Numbers 14:19; Psalms 145:8; Exodus 34:7)
c. everlasting (Jeremiah 33:11; 1 Chronicles 16:34; 1 Chronicles 16:41)
d. good (Psalms 69:17; Psalms 109:21; Psalms 63:4)
4. promised in the Davidic covenant Psalm, mercies, deeds of kindness, the historic displays of lovingkindness to Israel (Genesis 32:11; Isaiah 63:7; Psalms 25:6)
חֶ֫סֶד: shame, reproach (Leviticus 20:17; Proverbs 14:34)
Same root
- חָסַדchâçad · H2616properly, perhaps to bow (the neck only in courtesy to an equal), i.e. to be kind; also (by euphemistically, but rarely) to reprove
- ΒηθεσδάBēthesdá · G964house of kindness; Beth-esda, a pool in Jerusalem
- בֶּן־חֶסֶדBen-Cheçed · H1136Ben-Chesed, an Israelite
- חֶסֶדCheçed · H2618Chesed, an Israelite
- חֲסַדְיָהChăçadyâh · H2619Chasadjah, an Israelite
- יוּשַׁב חֶסֶדYûwshab Cheçed · H3142Jushab-Chesed, an Israelite
Where it appears
Appears 247 times in the Bible.
- Genesis 19:19 “You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die.
- Genesis 20:13 When God called me to leave my father’s home and to travel from place to place, I told her, ‘Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’”
- Genesis 21:23 “Swear to me in God’s name that you will never deceive me, my children, or any of my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country where you are living as a foreigner.”
- Genesis 24:12 “O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham.
- Genesis 24:14 This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.”
- Genesis 24:27 “Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.”
See every passage
- Genesis 19:19, 20:13, 21:23, 24:12, 24:14, 24:27, 24:49, 32:10, 39:21, 40:14, 47:29
- Exodus 15:13, 20:6, 34:6, 34:7
- Leviticus 20:17
- Numbers 14:18, 14:19
- Deuteronomy 5:10, 7:9, 7:12
- Joshua 2:12, 2:14
- Judges 1:24, 8:35
- Ruth 1:8, 2:20, 3:10
- 1 Samuel 15:6, 20:8, 20:14, 20:15
- 2 Samuel 2:5, 2:6, 3:8, 7:15, 9:1, 9:3, 9:7, 10:2, 15:20, 16:17, 22:51
- 1 Kings 2:7, 3:6, 8:23, 20:31
- 1 Chronicles 16:34, 16:41, 17:13, 19:2
- 2 Chronicles 1:8, 5:13, 6:14, 6:42, 7:3, 7:6, 20:21, 24:22, 32:32, 35:26
- Ezra 3:11, 7:28, 9:9
- Nehemiah 1:5, 9:17, 9:32, 13:14, 13:22
- Esther 2:9, 2:17
- Job 6:14, 10:12, 37:13
- Psalms 5:7, 6:4, 13:5, 17:7, 18:50, 21:7, 23:6, 25:6, 25:7, 25:10, 26:3, 31:7, 31:16, 31:21, 32:10, 33:5, 33:18, 33:22, 36:5, 36:7, 36:10, 40:10, 40:11, 42:8, 44:26, 48:9, 51:1, 52:1, 52:8, 57:3, 57:10, 59:10, 59:16, 59:17, 61:7, 62:12, 63:3, 66:20, 69:13, 69:16, 77:8, 85:7, 85:10, 86:5, 86:13, 86:15, 88:11, 89:1, 89:2, 89:14, 89:24, 89:28, 89:33, 89:49, 90:14, 92:2, 94:18, 98:3, 100:5, 101:1, 103:4, 103:8, 103:11, 103:17, 106:1, 106:7, 106:45, 107:1, 107:8, 107:15, 107:21, 107:31, 107:43, 108:4, 109:12, 109:16, 109:21, 109:26, 115:1, 117:2, 118:1, 118:2, 118:3, 118:4, 118:29, 119:41, 119:64, 119:76, 119:88, 119:124, 119:149, 119:159, 130:7, 136:1, 136:2, 136:3, 136:4, 136:5, 136:6, 136:7, 136:8, 136:9, 136:10, 136:11, 136:12, 136:13, 136:14, 136:15, 136:16, 136:17, 136:18, 136:19, 136:20, 136:21, 136:22, 136:23, 136:24, 136:25, 136:26, 138:2, 138:8, 141:5, 143:8, 143:12, 144:2, 145:8, 147:11
- Proverbs 3:3, 11:17, 14:22, 14:34, 16:6, 19:22, 20:6, 20:28, 21:21, 31:26
- Isaiah 16:5, 40:6, 54:8, 54:10, 55:3, 57:1, 63:7
- Jeremiah 2:2, 9:24, 16:5, 31:3, 32:18, 33:11
- Lamentations 3:22, 3:32
- Daniel 1:9, 9:4
- Hosea 2:19, 4:1, 6:4, 6:6, 10:12, 12:6
- Joel 2:13
- Jonah 2:8, 4:2
- Micah 6:8, 7:18, 7:20
- Zechariah 7:9
Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).