"pity, mercy, compassion, Mt. 9:13; 12:7; Lk. 1:50, 78; meton. benefit which results from compassion, kindness, mercies, blessing, Lk. 1:54, 58, 72; 10:37; Rom. 9:23"
Definition and meaning
pity, mercy, compassion, Mt. 9:13; 12:7; Lk. 1:50, 78; meton. benefit which results from compassion, kindness, mercies, blessing, Lk. 1:54, 58, 72; 10:37; Rom. 9:23
In the original Greek the word is written: ἔλεος
Historical context
Rome had controlled Judea since 63 BC. Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple into one of the most magnificent structures in the ancient world — and simultaneously murdered members of his own family. The common people paid multiple layers of taxation and were politically powerless. Into that world a carpenter from Galilee began teaching that the kingdom of God had arrived.
The people who first heard this word were not reading a book — they were living through empires, oppression, exile, and covenant. Every word carried the weight of that reality. Understanding it changes how you read Scripture.
Scripture references
These are the most notable occurrences of eleos (G1656) across the King James Bible.
But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
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Common questions
Strong's G1656 (eleos) is a Greek word that means: pity, mercy, compassion, Mt. 9:13; 12:7; Lk. 1:50, 78; meton. benefit which results from compassion, kindness, mercies, blessing, Lk. 1:54, 58, 72; 10:37; Rom. 9:23 It appears 27 times in the King James Bible.
The word eleos (G1656) appears 27 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G1656 is eleos, a Greek word defined as: pity, mercy, compassion, Mt. 9:13; 12:7; Lk. 1:50, 78; meton. benefit which results from compassion, kindness, mercies, blessing, Lk. 1:54, 58, 72; 10. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
eleos is a Greek word found in the New Testament.