Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes: Language, Part 2 (chesed)

I need to apologize, I think, for disappearing so long from my own blog. Things got really busy at church and work, with little warning. I’ve been a bit overwhelmed. Nothing horrible, just too much to do in not enough time.

We’re considering Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible, by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien — an excellent book.

However, I do need to note that Alan was right in his comment that the authors are sometimes very weak in their biblical application of the principles they present. But I find their points regarding the challenge of reading the Bible with Western eyes extremely helpful.

That is, the general principles they teach are, to me, extremely helpful and insightful. They add a few tools to my hermeneutical toolbox, which I greatly appreciate. Unfortunately, their book is much weaker in some of the examples they give of how to apply these tools.

But I can figure that part out for myself. And I think the readers can, too. The value in this book is not a handful of revised readings of verses, but a significant improvement in the reader’s ability to interpret the Bible for himself.

In this chapter of their book, the authors point out the difficulty of translating biblical words that have no exact English equivalent. The authors give as an example the struggle of translators to deal with the Hebrew word chesed.

In the ESV and NET Bible, chesed is routinely translated “steadfast love” when used in reference to God. The KJV tends to use “lovingkindness,” which is not quite the same. The NIV tends to use “love” — which is even less exact. “Steadfast love” comes closer than the rest, but doesn’t quite get it.

As the authors explain,

Old Testament scholars will be quick to point out the challenge of translating chesed (pronounced KHEH-sed). In the NASB, we see it translated lots of ways: lovingkindness (Gen 24:27), loyalty (Hos 6:4), loveliness (Is 40:6) and mercy (2 Sam 15:20). Chesed doesn’t mean lots of things. But we need lots of English words to circle around a concept for which we don’t have a word. Chesed is “a kindly-loyal-merciful-faithful-(the-sort-that- shows-up-in-actions) kind of love.”

(Kindle Locations 756-758). Hmm …

That’s pretty much right, but we should go a little deeper than the authors. This is from an article, by Norman H. Snaith, in A Theological Word Book of the Bible, edited by Alan Richardson (New York: MacMillan, 1951), pp. 136-7 —

The word is used only in cases where there is some recognized tie between the parties concerned. It is not used indiscriminately of kindness in general, haphazard, kindly deeds; this is why Coverdale [an early translator of the Bible into English] was careful to avoid using the word ‘kindness’ in respect of God’s dealings with his people Israel. The theological importance of the word chesed is that it stands more than any other word for the attitude which both parties to a covenant ought to maintain towards each other.

Chesed thus includes the idea of covenant loyalty. Paul sometimes uses for this idea the Greek word pistis, which we translate either “faith” or “faithfulness.”

(Rom 3:3-4 NET)  ³ What then? If some did not believe, does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness [translated “faith” in KJV] of God?  ⁴ Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”

(Gal 2:20 NET) I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God [translated “faith in the Son of God” in the NIV and others], who loved me and gave himself for me.

We easily see that Paul’s use of pistis in Rom 3:3 captures the same thought as chesed in many Hebrew scriptures. And Gal 2:20 is grammatically parallel, crediting Jesus with this same chesed. (And this tells us something about what it means to have “faith” in Jesus.)

When we recognize the frequent use of chesed in the Old Testament to refer to God’s attitude toward Israel as well as to individual children of God (around 100 uses!), we would be very surprised if the New Testament does not carry forward that same teaching.

The same article explains,

The widening of the meaning of the Hebrew chesed, used as the covenant word and especially of the covenant between God and Israel, is due to the history of God’s dealings with his covenant-people. The continual waywardness of Israel has made it inevitable that, if God is never going to let Israel go, then his relation to his people must in the main be one of loving-kindness, mercy, and goodness, all of it entirely undeserved. For this reason the predominant use of the word comes to include mercy and forgiveness as a main constituent in God’s determined faithfulness to his part of the bargain. It is obvious, time and again, from the context that if God is to maintain the covenant he must exercise mercy to an unexampled degree. For this reason the Greek translators of the Old Testament (third century BC onwards) used the Greek eleos (mercy, pity) as their regular rendering, and Jerome (end of fourth century AD and beginning of fifth) followed with the Latin misericordia.

The loving-kindness of God towards Israel is therefore wholly undeserved on Israel’s part. If Israel received the proper treatment for her stubborn refusal to walk in God’s way, there would be no prospect for her of anything but destruction, since God’s demand for right action never wavers one whit. Strict, however, as the demands for righteousness are, the prophets were sure that God’s yearnings for the people of his choice are stronger still. Here is the great dilemma of the prophets, and indeed the dilemma of us all to this day. Which comes first, mercy or justice?

Oh, wow. As we focus on a translation problem, we find ourselves drawn into a level of understanding largely invisible in the English.  In fact, we begin to find the gospel — grace — taught in the Psalms and Prophets. And if we study a bit on chesed, we begin to understand Paul better, because Paul is speaking of God’s grace to the church — his elect people — in Old Testament terms!

The same article points out —

The nearest New Testament equivalent to the Hebrew chesed is charis (grace), as Luther realized when he used the German Gnade for both words.

Luther — the Reformer who was all about grace — chose to translate chesed as “grace” — in parallel with the grace taught in the New Testament. And it makes sense. Indeed, if Luther is right, the Old Testament offers a great deal of commentary on the nature of Christian grace!

(Psa 23:6 ESV) Surely goodness and mercy [faithfulness or grace] shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

(Isa 55:3 ESV) Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love [sure faithfulness or sure grace] for David.

(Jer 31:3 ESV) the LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness [or grace] to you.

(Hos 6:6 ESV) For I desire steadfast love [a heart for covenant faithfulness or grace or loyalty] and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

(Mic 6:8 ESV) 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 [faithfulness or grace], and to walk humbly with your God?

(Mic 7:18 ESV) Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love [faithfulness or grace or even faith].

Chesed, you see, in reference to God, is not just love or mercy, but a love coming from his faithfulness to his covenant. It’s grace, but not just forgiveness. It’s also the love that accompanies forgiveness and grace. God doesn’t forgive solely because of his covenant with Abraham. He loves, shows mercy, and continues to love and show mercy in the face of sin and stubbornness.

It’s not just being bound by a promise. Rather, it’s like marriage, where the promise and the faithfulness and the loyalty all go together because of an intense, over-arching love.

(Hos 2:19 ESV) And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love [faithfulness or grace] and in mercy.

It’s the reason your wife still loves you even when you forget your anniversary or say something incredibly rude and offensive around her friends. She has chesed for you. It’s not because you’re the most wonderful man on the planet — but because she sees the wonderfulness in you even when it’s deeply buried in your weakness.

One final note: To go even deeper, we can compare God’s chesed for Israel (and the church) with God’s chesed for individuals. It’s not quite the same, and getting that part wrong is what leads to many contemporary theological debates that might be resolved if we introduced into the debates the Old Testament’s presentation of God’s nature.

You see, when the language of the Jews shifted from Hebrew, to Aramaic, to Greek, it became easy to assume that the New Testament and Old Testament present two entirely different perspectives on God, the gospel, and grace. And that false assumption has cost us the joy of understanding God’s grace as well as we could — and hidden much of the Old Testament’s teaching from our eyes as we wrongly assume that the Old Testament is all about legalism. But when Paul — Paul! — discussed grace and God’s faithfulness, he’s presenting his understanding of the Old Testament. Really.

(2Ti 3:16-1 ESV) ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.