# G1656 - eleos **Strong's:** [G1656](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1656/) · BLB lookup **Pronunciation:** el'-eh-os **Part of speech:** neuter noun (Attic Greek had it as masculine; Koine generally neuter) **Hebrew equivalents (LXX):** Predominantly [H2617 - hesed](/codex/h2617-hesed/) (*ḥesed*, covenant loyalty / steadfast love); also H7356 *raḥamim* (compassion / tender mercies); H2603 *ḥanan* (graciousness). **NT occurrences:** 27, concentrated in Luke (6), Romans (~9), James (3), with significant uses in Matthew, Ephesians, 1 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, 1-2 Peter, 2 John, Jude. **Cognate forms:** *eleeō* (verb, "to have mercy", used in the *Kyrie eleison* liturgical petition); *eleēmōn* (adjective, "merciful"); *eleēmosynē* (alms / works of mercy). ## Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG) 1. **Mercy / compassion**, the inner emotional response of pity / sympathy toward the suffering or undeserving. 2. **Active mercy / merciful action**, the *act* that flows from the inner disposition; concrete kindness shown to the needy. 3. **Covenantal-relational mercy (with OT-Hebrew weight)**, the LXX-shaped sense that absorbs the *ḥesed* tradition: *enduring covenant loyalty* expressed as kindness toward the weaker covenant partner. Distinct from generic Greek pity. 4. **Divine mercy (theological)**, the standing attribute of God toward sinners; the disposition that grounds justification, election, and the *eleos*-actions of providence. ## Theological force, *eleos* as the Greek absorption of Hebrew *ḥesed* The Greek classical-philosophical *eleos* and the biblical-LXX *eleos* differ significantly. **Aristotle** (*Rhetoric* II.8) defines *eleos* as "a feeling of pain at an unworthy or undeserved evil that befalls another", a sympathetic response to seeing suffering one *might oneself* have suffered. The classical sense is *aesthetic-emotional*. The **biblical-LXX *eleos***, by contrast, is shaped by the Hebrew *ḥesed* and *raḥamim* tradition. The translators' choice to render *ḥesed* with *eleos* in ~213 LXX cases imported the *covenantal-loyalty* dimension into the Greek word. Biblical *eleos* is *not* mere sympathy; it is *covenantal commitment expressed as kindness toward the helpless and undeserving*. This is the sense in which the NT operates. ### Stream 1, Divine mercy as covenant attribute The OT *ḥesed va-emet* divine-attribute pair ([Ex 34:6](/codex/exodus-34-6/); cf. [H2617 - hesed](/codex/h2617-hesed/)) becomes in LXX *eleos kai alētheia*. The NT picks up this LXX-Greek tradition with sustained intensity: - **[Luke 1:50](/codex/luke-1-50/), [54](/codex/luke-1-54/), [58](/codex/luke-1-58/), [72](/codex/luke-1-72/), [78](/codex/luke-1-78/)**, the Magnificat and Benedictus deploy *eleos* repeatedly, anchoring the Christ-event in the OT covenantal-mercy tradition: "His *eleos* is upon generation after generation" (1:50); "He has helped Israel His servant, in remembrance of *eleos*" (1:54); "to show *eleos* toward our fathers and to remember His holy covenant" (1:72); "the tender *eleos* of our God" (1:78) - **[Romans 9:15-16](/codex/romans-9-15-16/), [18](/codex/romans-9-18/), [23](/codex/romans-9-23/)**, Paul's covenant-election theology: "I will have *eleos* on whom I have *eleos*" (quoting [Ex 33:19](/codex/exodus-33-19/)); "He has *eleos* on whom He desires" - **[Romans 11:30-32](/codex/romans-11-30-32/)**, the Gentiles "have now been shown *eleos*" through Israel's disobedience; God shut up all in disobedience "that He might show *eleos* to all" - **[Ephesians 2:4](/codex/ephesians-2-4/)**, "but God, being rich in *eleos*, because of His great love..." - **[Titus 3:5](/codex/titus-3-5/)**, "He saved us... by His *eleos*, by the washing of regeneration" - **[1 Peter 1:3](/codex/1-peter-1-3/)**, "according to His great *eleos* He has caused us to be born again to a living hope" ### Stream 2, Mercy as Christian ethical norm What God shows His people, His people are to show one another: - **[Matthew 5:7](/codex/matthew-5-7/)**, "blessed are the merciful (*eleēmones*), for they shall *receive eleos*" - **[Matthew 9:13](/codex/matthew-9-13/); 12:7**, "I desire *eleos* and not sacrifice" (citing [Hosea 6:6](/codex/hosea-6-6/)) - **[Matthew 23:23](/codex/matthew-23-23/)**, "weightier matters of the law: justice and *eleos* and faithfulness" - **[Luke 10:37](/codex/luke-10-37/)**, the Good Samaritan: "the one who *showed eleos* toward him" - **[James 2:13](/codex/james-2-13/)**, "judgment will be merciless (*aneleos*) to one who has shown no *eleos*; *eleos* triumphs over judgment" - **[James 3:17](/codex/james-3-17/)**, wisdom from above is "full of *eleos* and good fruits" - **[Jude 22](/codex/jude-22/)-23**, "have *eleos* on some who are doubting" Mercy is not an *optional* Christian disposition but a *defining* one. The merciful *receive eleos*; the merciless do not. This is the structural-pastoral anchoring of the Christian doctrine of mercy. ### Stream 3, Mercy in the Apostolic Greeting A distinctive feature of the Pastoral Epistles is the addition of *eleos* to the standard Pauline greeting "grace and peace": - **[1 Timothy 1:2](/codex/1-timothy-1-2/); [2 Timothy 1:2](/codex/2-timothy-1-2/); [Titus 1:4](/codex/titus-1-4/)**, "grace, *mercy*, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" - **[2 John 3](/codex/2-john-3/)**, "grace, *mercy*, and peace will be with us" - **[Jude 2](/codex/jude-2/)**, "*mercy* and peace and love be multiplied to you" The threefold *charis-eleos-eirēnē* greeting reflects the Pastoral Epistles' more-explicit covenantal grounding (mercy *toward the helpless* added to grace *toward the undeserving* and peace *from God-the-Father*). ## Notable verses ### The OT-Hebrew background - **[Exodus 34:6-7](/codex/exodus-34-6-7/)**, *ḥesed va-emet* / LXX *eleos kai alētheia* - **[Hosea 6:6](/codex/hosea-6-6/)**, "I desire *ḥesed* and not sacrifice", quoted by Jesus ([Matt 9:13](/codex/matthew-9-13/); 12:7) ### The Christ-event as God's mercy - **[Luke 1:50](/codex/luke-1-50/), [54](/codex/luke-1-54/), [72](/codex/luke-1-72/), [78](/codex/luke-1-78/)**, Magnificat / Benedictus *eleos* concentration - **[Romans 9:15-23](/codex/romans-9-15-23/)**, election and divine mercy - **[Romans 11:30-32](/codex/romans-11-30-32/)**, mercy shut up all to disobedience - **[Ephesians 2:4-5](/codex/ephesians-2-4-5/)**, "God, being rich in mercy" - **[Titus 3.5](/codex/titus-3-5/)**, "saved by His mercy... washing of regeneration" - **[1 Peter 1.3](/codex/1-peter-1-3/)**, "according to His great mercy" ### Christian ethical norm - **[Matthew 5:7](/codex/matthew-5-7/)**, "blessed are the merciful" - **[Matthew 9.13](/codex/matthew-9-13/); [Matthew 12:7](/codex/matthew-12-7/)**, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice" - **[Matthew 23:23](/codex/matthew-23-23/)**, weightier matters of the law - **[Luke 10:37](/codex/luke-10-37/)**, Good Samaritan - **[James 2:13](/codex/james-2-13/)**, "*eleos* triumphs over judgment" - **[James 3:17](/codex/james-3-17/)**, wisdom from above - **[Jude 22](/codex/jude-22/)-23**, show mercy to doubters ### The Apostolic greeting - **[1 Timothy 1:2](/codex/1-timothy-1-2/); [2 Timothy 1:2](/codex/2-timothy-1-2/); [Titus 1.4](/codex/titus-1-4/)**, "grace, mercy, and peace" - **[2 John 3](/codex/2-john-3/); [Jude 2](/codex/jude-2/)** ### Petitions - **[Matthew 9:27](/codex/matthew-9-27/); 15:22; 17:15; 20:30-31**, "Son of David, have *eleos* on me!" (the standard cry-for-help) - **[Mark 5:19](/codex/mark-5-19/)**, "tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had *eleos* on you" - **[Luke 17:13](/codex/luke-17-13/); 18:13, 38-39**, *eleos*-petitions - **[Hebrews 4:16](/codex/hebrews-4-16/)**, "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive *eleos* and find grace to help in time of need" ## Patristic / scholarly note The Greek-classical to biblical-LXX shift in *eleos* is one of the central case studies in NT lexical theology. **G. Stählin** (*TDNT* article on *eleos*), comprehensively documents the *ḥesed* → *eleos* LXX-translation choice and its NT consequences. **Norman Snaith** (*The Distinctive Ideas of the Old Testament*, 1944), emphasizes the *ḥesed*-distinctiveness against generic Greek mercy. The **patristic liturgical tradition** preserves the *eleos*-vocabulary in the *Kyrie eleison* ("Lord, have mercy"), among the most ancient Christian liturgical petitions, drawing directly on the Synoptic *Kyrie, eleēson me!* cries. The Eastern Orthodox liturgy is particularly *eleos*-saturated (the *Kyrie eleison* recurs through every service). In Reformed theology, the *eleos* / *ḥesed* tradition undergirds the *unconditional mercy* dimension of soteriology. **Calvin** (*Institutes* III.21-23), divine election is grounded in *eleos*, not human worthiness; [Romans 9](/codex/romans-9/)-11 is the locus classicus. **B.B. Warfield** (*The Plan of Salvation*, 1915), develops the *eleos*-as-covenantal-attribute reading. The **misericordia / mercy / *eleos*** trajectory enters Western Christian ethics through Augustine (*De Civitate Dei* IX.5; X.5; etc.), *misericordia* is one of the central *practical* virtues of the Christian life. Aquinas (*Summa Theologiae* II-II, q. 30), *misericordia* as the *most-Christian-virtue* (more characteristic of God-as-Christian-revealed than purely-philosophical-justice). The Christian works-of-mercy tradition (corporal and spiritual works of mercy) institutionalizes the *eleos*-imperative. ## Verses in this codex _See Obsidian's backlinks pane for every verse page linking here._ Anchors: [Exodus 34.6-7](/codex/exodus-34-6-7/) (the OT divine-attribute), [Hosea 6.6](/codex/hosea-6-6/) (mercy not sacrifice), [Luke 1:50](/codex/luke-1-50/), [54](/codex/luke-1-54/), [72](/codex/luke-1-72/), [78](/codex/luke-1-78/) (Magnificat / Benedictus), [Matthew 5:7](/codex/matthew-5-7/) (Beatitude), [Ephesians 2:4-5](/codex/ephesians-2-4-5/) (rich in mercy), [Titus 3.5](/codex/titus-3-5/) (saved by mercy), [James 2:13](/codex/james-2-13/) (mercy triumphs over judgment), [Hebrews 4.16](/codex/hebrews-4-16/) (throne of grace). ## See also - [H2617 - hesed](/codex/h2617-hesed/), *ḥesed* (covenant loyalty / steadfast love), Hebrew correspondent - *H7356 - rachamim*, *raḥamim* (compassion / tender mercies) - [G5485 - charis](/codex/g5485-charis/), *charis* (grace), companion attribute - [H2580 - chen](/codex/h2580-chen/), *chen* (grace / favor), Hebrew companion - [Penal Substitutionary Atonement](/codex/penal-substitutionary-atonement/), the doctrine of mercy-grounded forgiveness - [Atheism Cannot Justify Compassion](/codex/atheism-cannot-justify-compassion/), adjacent apologetic; *eleos* as a virtue atheism cannot ground - Passages: [Exodus 34.6-7](/codex/exodus-34-6-7/), [Luke 1:50](/codex/luke-1-50/), [Matthew 5:7](/codex/matthew-5-7/), [Matthew 9.13](/codex/matthew-9-13/), [Ephesians 2:4-5](/codex/ephesians-2-4-5/), [Titus 3.5](/codex/titus-3-5/), [Hebrews 4.16](/codex/hebrews-4-16/), [James 2:13](/codex/james-2-13/)