Introduction / Glossary

We’ll start by establishing a shared vocabulary. I will take you on a tour of the key words used in the original languages, and then I will provide working English definitions which we will use going forward.

This glossary gets us started. When appropriate, we will dig deeper into these terms as we progress through the book.

The Hebrew and Greek terms for this principle are variously rendered into English as mercy, grace, love, kindness, lovingkindness, goodness, compassion, favor, pity, sympathy, loyalty, righteousness, justice and a handful of others.

The non-English terms in the following chart represent a family of words. For example, chêsêd is a noun, châsad is a verb, châsı̂yd is an adjective, etc. For simplicity’s sake, I will use one term from each family to represent the whole family of words.

When greater precision is warranted, I will embed a reference number in the Scripture quotation, like so:

Have mercy[5] on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love;[1] according to Your great compassion[3] blot out my transgressions. ~ Psalm 51:1

In this example, [5] indicates a form of chên is used in the original language, while [1] indicates chêsêd and [3] indicates racham.

There is no single English word that faithfully captures the full meaning of chêsêd. When Myles Coverdale translated the Bible into English in 1535, he felt God’s mercy was so unique that we needed a brand-new word for it, so he coined the term “lovingkindness.” Unfortunately, this beautiful word has fallen out of use.

Newer translations use a wider variety of renderings to capture the subtleties in meaning that are dictated by context. For example, the NIV often renders chêsêd as “covenant of love” when the topic is God’s relationship with His people. This emphasizes the loving promises God has made to His children as an expression of His mercy.

chêsêd literally means “a bowing of the neck.” Figuratively, it refers to someone bowing their head in the presence of a superior. This assumes an unequal relationship where one party lacks something the other party possesses. An illustration of this would be a loyal subject kneeling before royalty. 

From the perspective of the petitioner, it shows trust and vulnerability. Bowing the head exposed the neck, which requires courage.

From the perspective of the benefactor, there is a clear inclination to help. The kindness shown is unearned, and it is given simply because someone needs help, even if the reason they need help is due to their own failure.

Closely related ideas include love, grace, kindness, loyalty, fidelity, faithfulness and steadfastness. 

When a form of chêsêd is used to identify those who practice mercy, it is rendered as saints, righteous ones or pious ones.

The word hasidism (as in Hasidic Judaism) is derived from chêsêd. This conservative community of Jews emphasize piety, reverence, devotion and separation.

The Greek goddess of mercy and compassion was Elea. From her name, we get éleos, which means “kindness shown to those in misery”.

Kyrie eleison, a Greek phrase used in many churches as part of prayer or worship, literally means “Lord (kyrie), have mercy (elesion).”

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Because Your love[1] is better than life, my lips will glorify You. ~ Psalm 63:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy[2] He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead … ~ 1 Peter 1:3

Literally, racham refers to the womb, while splánchnon and oiktirmós refers to the bowels. These terms are used in a wider sense to include any of the internal organs.

A related word is “viscera” which refers to our internal abdominal organs. From this, we get “visceral” which can be used figuratively to describe something that is emotionally raw and powerful.

In the ancient world, the internal organs were considered the seat of human emotion. This is a reference to a person’s innermost being.

While saying “I love you from the bottom of my bowels” may sound a little odd to modern English speakers, it does graphically illustrate a form of love that is rooted deeply within someone.

Today, we prefer to refer to the heart instead of the viscera. Hearing someone say “I love you with all of my heart” packs quite a punch.

With these terms, there are connotations of intensity, tenderness, gentleness, familiarity, empathy, sympathy and affection.

There is a strong emphasis on personal relationships. These terms can be used to describe how parents (mothers in particular) feel about their children. There is a protective and nurturing component embedded within racham.

Those who embody this principle on behalf of someone in need are willing to serve as an advocate and champion.

Compassion prompts a response driven by love. When someone you care about is in need, you have a stronger desire to satisfy their need. When someone you love mistreats you, you are more willing to forgive them.

God is the template for compassion. He sets the example we are to follow. He wants us to treat each other like He has chosen to treat us.

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I love You,[3] O Lord, my strength. ~ Psalm 18:1

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness[4s] and compassion,[4o] then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ~ Philippians 2:1 2

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,[4s/o] kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ~ Colossians 3:12

chên is a Hebrew term used to describe what someone would do when they gave money to a beggar sitting near the city gate. The giver would literally stoop down to the beggar’s level to help them.

The equivalent Greek term is cháris (from which we get the English words charity and cherish). 

chên/cháris is a kind response to a desperate need, even if it requires being inconvenienced to meet the need. It is a response to personal misery. It is relief.

It is also unearned and unmerited. Thus, there are no formal obligations for either party. It is a “no strings attached” response to a person’s need.

We also have the related term clemency, which includes the principle of forbearance. This occurs when an authority figure (such as a judge) treats someone with lenience even though harsher treatment would be just and fair. The opposite of clemency is savagery, brutality and/or cruelty. 

In secular literature, these terms could be used to describe anything that was beautiful or lovely, but Scripture typically uses these terms to refer to an act of kindness or a show of favor.

Those who show grace are gracious. They understand that grace is not a passive thing; it is proactive. It is not an abstract concept; it is a tangible activity. The gracious give with the right attitude.

While the need itself is not a cause for joy, a gracious person can find delight and satisfaction in having the opportunity and the means to alleviate needs. 

When you see someone show grace you can easily recognize it for what it is: something beautiful.

When we use this word in a greeting (as in “grace be to you”) we are wishing that person to find favor in their interactions with others.

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Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful[5] to me and answer me. ~ Psalm 27:7

He mocks proud mockers but gives grace[5] to the humble. ~ Proverbs 3:34

But He gives us more grace.[6] That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor[6] to the humble.” ~ James 4:6

Genesis 15:6 contains one of the most important, fundamental truths in all of Scripture. 

Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.[7] ~ Genesis 15:6

It is cited multiple times in the New Testament. It teaches us how we are to respond to God. 

To be righteous means to be God-aligned or God-approved. By believing God, Abram showed that he agreed with God, and God approved.

For the sake of this definition, we don’t even need to know what it was that God said. Whatever it was, Abram believed God. It was because of this faith that God declared him to be righteous.

Initially, the Hebrew word tsedâqâh described something straight (as opposed to crooked). In time, it came to mean something that was right or “as it should be.” When used as a verb, it means returning something to how it should be (i.e., “to make it right”).

tsedâqâh can also be used to describe legal proceedings. In a courtroom, there is a plaintiff, a defendant and a judge. The plaintiff, claiming to be a victim of the defendant, seeks justice from the court. If the plaintiff’s claims have merit, then the judge will determine retribution and restitution. Will someone be punished? Will someone be compensated?

How is this relevant to mercy? By the time an incident got to court, the wronged party had been injured in some way, and they needed relief. Justice would be served when that need was met … when the suffering was redressed … when the wrong was made right.

This sense of justice spans many activities. Each one of us have a responsibility to help people in need.

Additionally, God’s people have a joint responsibility to seek justice in the world at large. While I will occasionally touch on the large-scale implications of justice, my primary focus in this book is to mobilize individuals to practice mercy.

Related terms include rebuilding, repairing, restoring and healing. The aim is to provide long-term solutions rather than temporary relief. 

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What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[8] ~ Romans 4:3

Whoever pursues righteousness[7] and love[1] finds life, prosperity and honor. ~ Proverbs 21:21

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right[8] is righteous,[8] just as He is righteous.[8] ~ 1 John 3:7

I love technical terms with precise definitions. Unfortunately, these terms are imprecise, particularly in Hebrew. For example, chêsêd is variously rendered as lovingkindness, mercy, favor, kindness, goodness, etc. chên can be mercy, grace, kindness, generosity, etc.

While the concepts are unique, they are functionally similar and share the common ground of helping others. In this book, I will lean heavily on the word mercy, but I will also use compassion, kindness, generosity, grace, righteousness or justice when warranted.

“Mercy” is derived from the Old French merci, which means to pay or reward someone. The earliest users of merci were indigents who had received some coins or scraps of food from a passer-by. They would express their gratitude by offering up a short prayer – “may God reward you” – to ask God to repay the giver’s generosity. Over time, this was shortened to a single word: merci. 

merci was adopted into English and gradually came to mean any reward, payment or wage. From this Latin root, we also got the words merchant and mercenary (i.e., a person who gives or does something if compensated).

In religious circles, it initially referred to the reward God gave to those who helped the helpless. Now, mercy is defined as the act of kindly and selflessly helping someone in need.

There are some important components to this definition of mercy: a benefactor, someone in need and an act of kindness. If just one of these things is missing, it can still be nice, but it might not be mercy. For instance, giving a birthday gift is kind, but if it isn’t meeting a need, then it isn’t necessarily mercy.

When we think of mercy, we usually think of it as a character quality of God. He demonstrated unmatched mercy by making it possible for us to have eternal life. His mercy is unchanging, and we should always be grateful that He is so perfectly merciful.

Some of God’s attributes are solely His own. The theological term for these attributes is incommunicable. We can’t have these incommunicable attributes because they are nontransferable. Only God is omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (present everywhere), and omniscient (all-knowing). We cannot imitate God in these ways. He doesn’t expect us to try.

Mercy is different. It is communicable. It is a quality of His that He expects us to adopt.

God does more than show mercy. He sets the example we are to follow. He wants us to be merciful like He is merciful.

Related concepts to mercy include generosity (to freely give a gift), forgiveness (to cancel a debt, financial or otherwise) and forbearance (to withhold an unpleasant, yet fair, consequence).