Psalm 117.1-2
Praise YAHWEH Himself את,
all the
nations!
Shout
praises to Him,
all peoples!
117:2 Indeed,
His kindness is mighty concerning us!
And the faithfulness
of YAHWEH is to eternity!
Praise YAH!
Kindness is a primary concept in Scripture.
There are many different forms of kindness we encounter.
Because of this we often tend to use different terms
to express the type of kindness we’re experiencing.
Even within Scripture we find several different “interpretations”
of what the terms mean.
There is only one basic word in Hebrew for it, chesed,
although it takes two different forms.
The concept of kindness occurs 287 times
in the Hebrew text of The Old Covenant.
It identifies a major aspect of the very character of YAHWEH.
It's a central feature in The Old Covenant.
Without the kindness of YAHWEH we would all be in serious trouble.
James Strong’s Concordance provides some basic definitions for us to work with.
Please keep in mind that everything after the (-)
is how the word is actually used in the KJV Bible.
it is not part of the definition.
It’s only how the word is used in the KJV.
There is a Greek term used
to "translate” chesed in the Septuagint.
It is dikaiosune.
Here is James Strong's definition:
1343. dikaiosu/nh dikaiosune,
dik-ah-yos-oo´-nay; from 1342;
equity
(of character or act); specially
(Christian) justification:
{Equity means fairness, impartiality, justice.} -
righteousness.
This term is translated
as both "kindness" and
"righteousness"
in the Septuagint.
But you can quickly see that it does not mean
"kindness”,
except perhaps in the sense of fairness to another.
Please note that it is never
translated as "kindness"
in The New Covenant.
Now, here's the Hebrew term that is the foundation of "righteousness":
6666. h∂q∂dVx tsdaqah, tsed-aw-kaw´; from 6663;
rightness (abstractly), subjectively (rectitude),
objectively (justice), morally (virtue)
or figuratively (prosperity):
- justice, moderately, right(-eous)
(act, -ly, -ness).
[6663. qAdDx tsadaq, tsaw dak-´; a
primitive root;
to be
(causatively, make) right (in a moral or forensic sense):
This term helps to define 6666.]
- cleanse,
clear self, (be, do) just(-ice, -ify, -ify self),
(be turn to)
righteous(-ness).
Note that this term is never translated as "kindness”.
Kindness comes from certain other Hebrew terms.
This term, #6666, identifies "rightness of
action”,
and is often translated as "justice".
This study reveals a more clear picture
of the true meaning of the terms involved.
Already you can recognize there's a problem
with the way certain terms are "translated”.
The primary goal of this
study
is to help eliminate
confusion within The Scriptures.
The current state of
affairs has left us
with
innumerable “translations”
that are not really
"translations" at all.
Instead, they are
misleading presentations
of the
"traditions of men".
There's a special term
for this. It's called eisegesis.
It means placing one's
own ideas into a text
to make it conform to
one's own world view or belief system.
Exegesis, on the other hand,
is seeking to discover
what the text actually says, and means.
In this word study the
following conventions will be used:
Bold = best translation
{ } = Writer's
insertions for purposes of clarity.
[not used] = the term is not translated in the KJV as the key word for this
study.
HEBREW TERMS:
2616. dAsDj chacçad, khaw-sad´; a primitive root;
properly, perhaps
to bow (the neck only
(compare 2603) in courtesy to an equal),
i.e. to be kind;
also
(by euphem. (compare l288), but rarely) to reprove:
- shew self merciful,
put to shame. [occurs 247 times]
2617. dRsRj checçed, kheh´-sed; from 2616; kindness;
by implication (towards God) piety:
rarely
(by opposition) reproof, or (subject.) beauty:
- favour,
good deed(-liness, -ness),
kindly, (loving-)kindness, merciful (kindness),
mercy, pity, reproach, wicked thing. [occurs 40 times]
GREEK TERMS:
The following four terms are only
used two times;
therefore they are relatively insignificant
to this study.
These
terms deal more with affection than with kindness.
5360. filadelfi÷a philadelphia,
fil-ad-el-fee´-ah; from 5361;
fraternal
affection:
— brotherly love (kindness), love of the brethren.
[occurs 1 time]
5361. fila¿delfoß philadelphos,
fil-ad´-el-fos; from 5384 and 80;
fond of brethren, i.e. fraternal:
- love as brethren. [not used]
5362. fi÷landroß philandros, fil´-an-dros; from 5384 and 435;
fond of man, i.e. affectionate as a wife:
- love their husbands. [not used]
5363. filanqrwpi÷a philanthropia,
fil-an-thro-pee´-ah;
from the same as 5364;
fondness of mankind, i.e. benevolence (“philanthropy”):
-kindness, love towards man. [occurs 1 time]
5364. filanqrw¿pwß philanthropos, fil-an-thro´-poce;
adverb from a compound of
5384 and 444;
fondly to man
(“philanthropically”), i.e. humanely:
- courteously. [not used]
The following four terms are connected.
The basic sense is usefulness, or benefit, but not kindness.
5541. crhsteuomai chresteuomai,
khraste-yoo´-om-ahee;
middle voice from 5543;
to show oneself useful,
i.e. act benevolently: {benefit}
- be
kind. [occurs 1 time]
5542. crhstologi÷a chrestologia,
khrase-tol-og-ee´-ah;
from a compound of 5543 and 3004;
fair speech, i.e.
plausibility: - good
words.
[not used]
5543. crhsto/ß chrestos,
khrase-tos´;
rom 5530; employed,
i.e. (by implication) useful (in manner or morals): {beneficial}
- better, easy, good(-ness), gracious, kind. [not used]
5544. crhsto/thß chrestotes,
khray-stot´-ace;
from 5543; usefulness, i.e. morally,
excellence (in character or
demeanor):
—
gentleness, good(-ness), kindness. [occurs 4 times]
There is only one fundamental Hebrew term for kind/kindness.
Unfortunately far too often
this term is translated as “mercy”, “merciful”, or “pity”,
and not kindness, its meaning by definition.
Please refer to the word studies on mercy and pity for more information on those terms.
There is no specifically equivalent Greek term.
There are a couple of Greek terms
that are "translated" as "kindness”,
but that is not their proper meaning, as noted above.
Also, they do not occur very often.
Indeed, they more properly refer to
something useful or beneficial
- but not to "kindness"
per se.
This reveals one of the difficulties
encountered
in translating from one language to
another.
When an equivalent term does not
exist
a "substitution" is made
by the translator.
But not all "substituted"
words
give the proper sense of the original language term,
resulting in confusion, and even
deception.
A listing of the verses in which
these terms occur
is not provided since there are 287 occurrences in
Hebrew
with none, effectively, in Greek.
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