How can hesed equal mercy and disgrace, shame, and sexual misbehavior? My software opens the Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains. That is not what my hard copy of Strong's Concordance shows.
Well, I had included a screen shot but I don't see it now. There went the easy explanation. When I click on Mercy, Strong's H#2617, my software opens the Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domain (Old Testament). The definition there is - disgrace, shame, and sexual misbehavior. My hard copy of Strong's says merciful, among other things.
I've also just discovered that Strong's G#2617 says disgrace. Perhaps this is a software issue.
Look at how it's used in Leviticus 20:17 and Proverbs 14:34 (Sirach 14:2 if you have the Apocrypha). Just as English, Hebrew can have some odd homonyms. When looking through HALOT and DCH they each have חסד I and חסד II each with different definitions.
I'm not a Hebrew scholar, so I'm not sure if this example fits or not. The word "trunk' can mean the part of a tree, a part of an elephant, something you can put things in (suitcase) and a storage place at the back end of a car.
As a Hebrew scholar, I’d say the first problem is using Strong’s Concordance as a guide to meaning…
Thank you Morgan, that was helpful. I should have ran an inline search on hesed.
