Hesed in the Psalms

“Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the hesed 1 of the Lord.”

–Psalm 107:43

1. Read the selection of passages about hesed between persons.

a. Is hesed an act of mutual obligation or gracious condescension?

b. Is there an emotional element to hesed?

c. Is hesed always offered to someone in need?

d. Does hesed necessarily accompany a relationship?

e. If you only had these verses, what words might you use to translate hesed?

2. Read the passages about God’s hesed. How is God’s hesed different from ours? Do humans show hesed to God?

3. How is hesed different from “love” in Jer 2:2 and Jer 31:3? 2 Name at least one way hesed differs from agape.

4. Read the beautiful Psalm 36. We have seen that hesed gets translated many was, including “steadfast love”,
“lovingkindness”, “loyalty”, “unfailing love”, “mercy”, “love”, “goodness”, etc. How would you translate it here?

5. What examples of God’s hesed toward you touch you most deeply? Are there particular times in your daily life
and routine when you are aware of God’s hesed toward you?

Ω

Fun fact: The word “lovingkindness” was coined around 1535 specifically to translate the Latin misericordia, itself a
translation of the Hebrew word hesed in the Psalms.

Bonus Fun fact: The Hasidic Jews derive their name from the Hebrew word hasid, meaning “pious”, which is in turn
related to the word hesed.

1
NRSV: “loving deeds”.
2
See also Ex 20:5-6 and Esther 2:17.
The Holy Huddle 1 Friday, December 18th, 2015
The Holy Huddle 2 Friday, December 18th, 2015
 Examples of Hesed (Translations Masked)
HESED BETWEEN PEOPLE

Jacob asks Joseph to bury him with his ancestors rather than in Egypt (Gen 47:29): “If I have found favor with you,
put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal hesed and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt.”
[Expressed in proper burial.]

Abraham's request of Sarah (Gen 20:13): “And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her,
'This is the hesed you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother.'” [Expressed in
Sarah’s lying for Abraham.]

Lot’s desperate request of the angels (Gen 19:19): “your servant has found favor with you, and you have shown me
great hesed in saving my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, for fear the disaster will overtake me and I die.”
[Expressed in their allowing Lot to flee to a nearby city.]

A king and his subjects (2 Sam 2:5): “David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, 'May
you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this hesed to Saul your lord, and buried him!'”

Ruth with Naomi and Boaz (Ruth 1:8; 3:10): “Go back each of you to your mother's house. May the LORD deal hesed
with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The LORD grant that you may find security, each of you
in the house of your husband”; “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter; this last instance of your hesed
is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.” [Expressed in providing for
Naomi.]

Rahab and the spies (Joshua 2:12): “Now then, since I have dealt hesed with you, swear to me by the LORD that you
in turn will deal hesed with my family. Give me a sign of good faith that you will spare my father and mother, my
brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” [Expressed in Rahab's care
for the Israelites and their sparing her kin.]

Abraham and Abimelech (Gen 21:23): “Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with
me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but as I have dealt hesed with you, you will deal with me and with
the land where you have resided as an alien.” [Expressed in their covenant.]

David and Jonathon, after David asks Jon to cover for him with Saul (1 Sam 20:8): “Therefore deal hesed with your
servant, for you have brought your servant into a sacred covenant with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me
yourself; why should you bring me to your father?” [Expressed in Jon's protecting David from Saul.]

Abner, torqued about accusations of betrayal (2 Sam 3:8): “Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said.
So he answered, “Am I a dog’s head—on Judah’s side? This very day I am hesed to the house of your father Saul
and to his family and friends. I haven’t handed you over to David.” [Expressed in not betraying Saul’s friends.]

Ben-Hadad’s officials proposing they plead with Ahab for mercy (2 Kings 20:31): “Look, we have heard that the kings
of Israel are hesed . Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads.
Perhaps he will spare your life.” [Expressed in sparing Ben-Hadad’s life.]

In the Proverbs (Prov 11:17, 21:21): “Those who are hesed benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on
themselves”; “Whoever pursues righteousness and hesed finds life, prosperity and honor”

The Holy Huddle 3 Friday, December 18th, 2015

 HESED BETWEEN GOD AND PEOPLE

The Sinai covenant is repeatedly referred to as a “covenant of hesed” (Deut 7:9): “Know therefore that the Lord your
God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of hesed to a thousand generations of those who love
him and keep his commandments.” [Expressed in rescuing Israel from Egypt; see also Deut 7:12; 1 Ki 8:23; Ne
1:5; 9:32; Prov 31:26; Dn 9:4, etc.]

What the Lord requires (Mic 6:8): “what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love hesed, and to
walk humbly with your God?” [Expressed in righteous living.]

Hosea calls Israel to repentance (Hos 10:12): “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap hesed; break up your fallow
ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.”

God promises betrothal to Israel (Hos 2:16-20): “On that day, says the LORD, you will call me, "My husband," and no
longer will you call me, "My Baal." For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be
mentioned by name no more. I will make for you a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the
air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I
will make you lie down in safety. And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in
righteousness and in justice, in hesed, and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall
know the LORD.” [Expressed in God's commitment to loving provision.]

God's self-description (Ex 34:6-7): “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding
in hesed and faithfulness, keeping hesed for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and
sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty” [Expressed notable in his forgiveness and justice. Also Mic 7:18, which
says that God “delights in hesed”.]

In the Messiah (Isa 55:3; Acts 13:34-35): “I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my hesed promised to
David.”; “God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, ‘I will give you
the holy and hesed promised to David.’” [Expressed in God’s sending the Messiah and his resurrection.]

HESED IN THE PSALMS (SEE ALSO 85:10; 86:5; 89; 136; 103; 106; 107)

(Ps 23:6): “Surely goodness and hesed shall follow me all the days of my life.” [Expressed in God's provision.]

(Ps 36:7-9): “How precious is your hesed, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast
on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the
fountain of life; in your light we see light.”

(Ps 33:18): “Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his hesed”

(Ps 63:1, 3): “A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul
thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water… Because your hesed
is better than life, my lips will praise you.”

BONUS: The parable of the unforgiving servant uses the Greek eleos, which is the word most often used to translate
hesed. This parable ends with the statement, “‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours
because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had hesed on your fellow servant just as I had [hesed] on you?’

The Holy Huddle 4 Friday, December 18th, 2015

 Examples of Hesed
HESED BETWEEN PEOPLE

Jacob asks Joseph to bury him with his ancestors rather than in Egypt (Gen 47:29): “If I have found favor with you,
put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal loyally and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt.”
[Expressed in proper burial.]

Abraham's request of Sarah (Gen 20:13): “And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her,
'This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother.'”
[Expressed in Sarah’s lying for Abraham.]

Lot’s desperate request of the angels (Gen 19:19): “your servant has found favor with you, and you have shown me
great kindness in saving my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, for fear the disaster will overtake me and I die.”
[Expressed in their allowing Lot to flee to a nearby city.]

A king and his subjects (2 Sam 2:5): “David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, 'May
you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord, and buried him!'”

Ruth with Naomi and Boaz (Ruth 1:8; 3:10): “Go back each of you to your mother's house. May the LORD deal kindly
with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The LORD grant that you may find security, each of you
in the house of your husband”; “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty
is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.” [Expressed in providing for
Naomi.]

Rahab and the spies (Joshua 2:12): “Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the LORD that you
in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith that you will spare my father and mother, my
brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” [Expressed in Rahab's care
for the Israelites and their sparing her kin.]

Abraham and Abimelech (Gen 21:23): “Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with
me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but as I have dealt loyally with you, you will deal with me and with
the land where you have resided as an alien.” [Expressed in their covenant.]

David and Jonathon, after David asks Jon to cover for him with Saul (1 Sam 20:8): “Therefore deal kindly with your
servant, for you have brought your servant into a sacred covenant with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me
yourself; why should you bring me to your father?” [Expressed in Jon's protecting David from Saul.]

Abner, torqued about accusations of betrayal (2 Sam 3:8): “Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said.
So he answered, “Am I a dog’s head—on Judah’s side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul
and to his family and friends. I haven’t handed you over to David.” [Expressed in not betraying Saul’s friends.]

Ben-Hadad’s officials proposing they plead with Ahab for mercy (2 Kings 20:31): “Look, we have heard that the kings
of Israel are merciful. Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our
heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.” [Expressed in sparing Ben-Hadad’s life.]

In the Proverbs (Prov 11:17, 21:21): “Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on
themselves”; “Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor”

The Holy Huddle 5 Friday, December 18th, 2015

 HESED BETWEEN GOD AND PEOPLE

The Sinai covenant is repeatedly referred to as a “covenant of love [hesed]” (Deut 7:9): “Know therefore that the
Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those
who love him and keep his commandments.” [Expressed in rescuing Israel from Egypt; see also Deut 7:12; 1 Ki
8:23; Ne 1:5; 9:32; Prov 31:26; Dn 9:4, etc.]

What the Lord requires (Mic 6:8): “what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to
walk humbly with your God?” [Expressed in righteous living.]

Hosea calls Israel to repentance (Hos 10:12): “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your
fallow ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.”

God promises betrothal to Israel (Hos 2:16-20): “On that day, says the LORD, you will call me, "My husband," and no
longer will you call me, "My Baal." For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be
mentioned by name no more. I will make for you a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the
air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I
will make you lie down in safety. And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in
righteousness and in justice, in love, and in compassion. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall
know the LORD.” [Expressed in God's commitment to loving provision.]

God's self-description (Ex 34:6-7): “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger,
abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.
Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished” [Expressed notable in his forgiveness and justice. Also Mic 7:18,
which says that God “delights in mercy”.]

In the Messiah (Isa 55:3; Acts 13:34-35): “I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to
David.”; “God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, ‘I will give you
the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’” [Expressed in God’s sending the Messiah and his resurrection.]

HESED IN THE PSALMS (SEE ALSO 85:10; 86:5; 89; 136; 103; 106; 107)

(Ps 23:6): “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” [Expressed in God's provision.]

(Ps 36:7-9): “How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with
you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”

(Ps 33:18): “Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his unfailing love”

(Ps 63:1, 3): “A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul
thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water… Because your love is
better than life, my lips will praise you.”

BONUS NT reference: The parable of the unforgiving servant uses the Greek eleos, which is the word most often used
to translate hesed. This parable ends with this: “‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours
because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had [mercy] on you?’”

The Holy Huddle 6 Friday, December 18th, 2015

Leader’s Notes

Hesed, which occurs 246 times in the OT, is both important to understanding God's relationship with humans and is
challenging to translate because of its vast semantic range: The LXX translates it primarily as eleos, or “mercy”, but also
as “righteousness”, “grace”, “glory” and “hope”. In the Hebrew text it is paralleled with a spectrum of words including
“faithfulness”, “goodness”, “strength” and “salvation”. English translations use “kindness”, “love”, “steadfast love”,
“loyalty”, “favor”, “devotion” and “mercy”, etc. That there is no consensus on how to translate this word is
demonstrated by looking at a sampling of Psalms (5, 6, 13, 17, 18, 21, 23, 25, 26 and 31) in the NIV and NRSV. The NRSV
translates hesed as “steadfast love” in all these cases except for Ps 23, where it’s “mercy”, probably because that
wording is precious to readers. The NIV translates it in these psalms as “great love”, “unfailing love”, “love”, and
“mercy”. Whole books have been written on just this word, and there has been much scholarly debate on the
relationship between hesed and covenant.

Understanding this word is not just important to us because it appears well over 100 times in the Psalms. This word is
important because it is one of the words God uses to describe himself, as in Exodus 34:6-7, when he says to Moses, “The
Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in hesed and faithfulness, maintaining
hesed to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” Tonight we will look at the way this word is used and
define it for ourselves, inductively, in order to get a greater understanding of its depths.

The Holy Huddle 7 Friday, December 18th, 2015