Hebrew word · H2616
חָסַד
titchasad
be kind
A rare verb meaning 'to reproach, revile, bring into disgrace.' Its related noun ḥesed (II) means 'shame' or 'disgraceful thing.' The root is entirely separate in meaning from the very common ḥesed (I), 'loyal love, covenant kindness,' even though the two are spelled with the same letters.
Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) to be good, be kind
1a) (Hithpael) to show kindness to oneself
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of Proverbs 25:10
- Range of meaning
A rare verb meaning 'to reproach, revile, bring into disgrace.' Its related noun ḥesed (II) means 'shame' or 'disgraceful thing.' The root is entirely separate in meaning from the very common ḥesed (I), 'loyal love, covenant kindness,' even though the two are spelled with the same letters.
- Against the English
English versions say 'put to shame' or 'bring shame upon,' which is accurate. What English cannot show is that, to a Hebrew ear, the word sounds exactly like the vocabulary of loyalty. Strong's numbering also files both meanings under H2616, so readers using Strong's-based tools can be misled into linking this verse to 'mercy' or 'kindness.' The supplied data rightly separates the shame sense as H2616B.
- How it drifted
No drift in English itself. The risk is that concordance-based study merges two homonyms (different words that happen to look alike).
- Used elsewhere in the period
This is the only place the verb appears in the Hebrew Bible. The noun ḥesed II appears in Lev 20:17 (a man marrying his sister: 'it is a disgrace') and Prov 14:34 ('sin is a disgrace to any people'). Related Aramaic and Syriac words (ḥsd) mean 'to revile, reproach,' which confirms the sense (BDB; HALOT).
- Range of meaning
A reflexive form of the verb from the root ḥ-s-d. Hebrew grammars call this form the Hithpael. Here it means 'show oneself / behave as ḥāsîd'. It is found only here and in the parallel 2 Samuel 22:26. The more common verb root ḥ-s-d II means 'to shame, reproach', but that is a different word.
- Against the English
Most English versions use 'show yourself ___', which is accurate. KJV and WEB put it in the future ('thou wilt shew'). BSB and others use the present. The Hebrew verb form can carry either. Here it states a general truth that David learned from experience.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Only here and in 2 Samuel 22:26. The poet seems to have coined the verb from the adjective so that the sound would repeat: ḥāsîd / titḥassād.
Where it appears
2 Samuel · 1
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2 Samuel 22:26 תִּתְחַסָּ֑ד you show yourself faithful
To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 18:25 תִּתְחַסָּ֑ד you show yourself faithful
To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
Here: A rare verb made from the same root as ḥāsîd. In the Bible it appears only here and in 2 Samuel 22:26. The form means 'you show yourself to be ḥāsîd' or 'you act the loyal partner'. God answers loyalty with his own loyalty.
Proverbs · 1
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Proverbs 25:10 יְחַסֶּדְךָ֥ he should bring shame you
lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your infamy never go away.
Here: 'He will reproach you.' The verb names an outward act: denouncing you or holding you up to public disgrace, not just leaving you feeling embarrassed. It is spelled with the same letters as the root of ḥesed, 'loyal love', but it is a different word that means the opposite.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.