Bible word study

Chacad (Strong’s H2616): Meaning in the Bible

Chacad (חָסַד) is the Hebrew word numbered H2616 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as properly, perhaps to bow (the neck only [compare H2603] in courtesy to an equal), i.e. to be kind; also (by euphemistically [compare H1288], but rarely) to reprove. In the King James Bible it is translated shew self merciful, put to shame..

• Original wordחָסַד
• Transliterationchâçad
• Pronunciationkhaw-sad'
• Part of speechverb (v)
• Strong’s numberH2616
• LanguageHebrew

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. a primitive root

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Chacad appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Chacad (H2616) stands behind 3 English renderings in 3 verses across 3 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in 2 Samuel (1), Psalms (1), Proverbs (1).

How the King James Bible renders Chacad, by count

• merciful2 of 3 (67 percent)
• shame1 of 3 (33 percent)

Three places to read Chacad

• 2 Samuel 22:26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.
• Psalms 18:25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
• Proverbs 25:10 Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Chacad in the original Hebrew lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

Related words