Chesed

4th of the 10 sephirot

Chesed (חֶסֶד‏) is a word that occurs in the Hebrew Bible. It is variously translated as "lovingkindness", "kindness", "goodness", "mercy" and "steadfast love".

"I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight." (Jeremiah 9:23)

Quotes

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Hebrew Bible

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  • כִּי אִם־בְּזֹאת יִתְהַלֵּל הַמִּתְהַלֵּל הַשְׂכֵּל וְיָדֹעַ אוֹתִי כִּי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה עֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה בָּאָרֶץ כִּי־בְאֵלֶּה חָפַצְתִּי נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה׃
    • Jeremiah 9:23 (MT)
    • Translation:
      • But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.
  • כִּי חֶסֶד חָפַצְתִּי וְלֹא־זָבַח וְדַעַת אֱלֹהִים מֵעֹלוֹת׃
  • הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם מַה־טּוֹב וּמָה־יְהֹוָה דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ כִּי אִם־עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם־אֱלֹהֶיךָ׃
    • Micah 6:8 (MT)
    • Translation:
      • He has told you, O man, what is good;
          and what does the Lord require of you
        but to do justice, and to love kindness,
          and to walk humbly with your God?
  • חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת אַל־יַעַזְבֻךָ קׇשְׁרֵם עַל־גַּרְגְּרוֹתֶיךָ כׇּתְבֵם עַל־לוּחַ לִבֶּךָ׃

Commentary

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"Miles Coverdale, a sixteenth-century Bible translator in England … felt compelled to coin a new word to describe it: loving-kindness." (Rachel Held Evans: Wholehearted Faith)
  • Chesed is a covenantal love, a profound and committed and long-term love, a kind love—but not a romantic love. Among people, it can take the form of charity; from God to human, chesed has qualities of mercy, of grace, and of long-suffering. This kind of love so confounded Miles Coverdale, a sixteenth-century Bible translator in England, that as he worked to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into English, he felt compelled to coin a new word to describe it: loving-kindness.

See also

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