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LOVINGKINDNESS.—Two ideas are blended in this expressive word; it denotes kindness which springs from the loyalty of love. It is the frequent tr. [Note: translate or translation.] (30 times in the AV [Note: Authorized Version.] , 42 times in the RV [Note: Revised Version.] ) of the Heb. word chesedh, which G. A. Smith renders ‘leal love’ (Book of the Twelve Prophets, i. 243 n). The EV [Note: English Version.] most frequently tr. [Note: translate or translation.] chesedh ‘mercy’ and not seldom ‘kindness.’ The Amer. RV [Note: Revised Version.] gives ‘lovingkindness’ uniformly when the reference is to God’s love to man. The adoption of this helpful suggestion would bring out the connexion between ‘lovingkindness’ as a fundamental attribute of the Divine nature (Exo_34:6 f. etc.), its poetic personification (Psa_42:8; Psa_57:3; Psa_89:14), and the appeal to God to be true to Himself,—to save and to redeem ‘for His lovingkindness’ sake’ (Psa_6:4; Psa_44:26; Psa_115:1). For the combination of ‘lovingkindness’ with ‘faithfulness’ see Psa_89:1-52, where each word occurs seven times, and cf. Lam_3:22 f., Isa_55:3. Cf. also Love.
J. G. Tasker.