A Merciful God

This chapter of The Mercy of God in the Old Testament takes up consideration of one of the key elements in Israel’s Compassion Creed, the description of God as compassionate or merciful. God’s compassionate nature is expressed in a variety of ways, principally with the adjectival form רחום, noun רחמים, and verb רחם. Humans and other deities may at times be said to be merciful, but ancient Israel understood their God to be merciful to them in a sustained way. While not reducible to a mere emotion, there is an affective component of mercy, including God’s mercy. God’s mercy is demonstrated supremely in his treatment of his people at the exodus and again in the return from exile. God shows compassion to the vulnerable and takes account of human frailty.