HESED

Proverbs 20:6 records: "Many a man claims to have hesed, but a faithful man, who can find?"

Not only is a person with hesed truthful, he is also faithful. The proverb indicates that many people may claim to have hesed for you, but only a very few will demonstrate it by actually remaining faithful. [source: http://www.theology.edu/theology/appen02.htm]

The folks at Radio Bible Class put it this way: "Hesed is difficult to translate because it stands for a cluster of ideas--love, mercy, grace, kindness. It wraps up in itself all the positive attributes of God. Hesed is one of the Lord's most treasured characteristics.

Hesed is a quality that moves someone to act for the benefit of someone else without considering "what's in it for me?"

It may be translated as "loyal love." Sometimes the emphasis is on "loyal" and other times the emphasis is on "love."