Stories of Kindness in the Bible

What does God want from me?

If you have begun your own personal Christian journey, that may well be a question you’ve asked yourself. The book of Proverbs gives us one part of the answer, and what it says may surprise you: “What is desired in a man is kindness” (Proverbs 19:22).

To dig into what kindness means in Scripture, let’s briefly look at the Hebrew and Greek words behind the English translation, and then consider five stories of kindness in the Bible.

Kindness in Hebrew and Greek

The word kindness appears in 41 verses in the New King James Version. In the majority of the Old Testament passages that include the English word kindness, it is a translation of the Hebrew word hesed.

Hesed is one of the most significant words in the Old Testament. It is often associated with God’s covenant with Israel. It is most often translated “mercy.” However, a substantial number of verses have “kindness” or “lovingkindness.”

Three Greek words are translated “kindness.” Chrēstotēs accounts for five of the eight occurrences of the word kindness in the NKJV New Testament. This word has also been translated “goodness,” “gentleness” and “good.”

The other words translated as “kindness” in the NKJV are philanthrōpia and philadelphia. Both of these words can refer to love.

Example 1: the kindness of Rahab

The tribes of Israel were poised just to the east of the Jordan River, ready to cross into the land God had promised them. While they waited, Joshua sent two spies into the land. They stopped in Jericho at the home of Rahab (Joshua 1:10-11; 2:1).

When the king of Jericho learned that the spies had been seen with Rahab, he ordered her to send them out to him (Joshua 2:2-3). She chose to hide them rather than betray them (verse 4).

As a result, these men were able to make their escape, eventually returning to Joshua to provide him with the information they had gathered about the enemy (verses 22-23). Before these men left, however, Rahab made a request.

Kindness is not an accident of circumstances, but a deliberate act of the will to treat others with compassion, mercy and love. What she asked was that, in return for the kindness she had shown by hiding them, they show kindness to her family by protecting them during the coming battle (verses 12-13).

The word kindness appears twice in verse 12, once referring to Rahab’s protection of the spies, and once referring to the spies’ protection of her family. In both cases, kindness is a translation of the Hebrew hesed.

This passage highlights the connection between kindness and mercy.

Example 2: the kindness of the men of Jabesh Gilead

Israel’s first king had fallen. Having lost three of his sons in battle with the Philistines and being severely wounded, Saul committed suicide rather than allow himself to be captured by the enemy (1 Samuel 31:1-6).

Shortly after the king’s death, David heard that the men of Jabesh Gilead had retrieved Saul’s body and buried it. This act prompted David to send these men a message, telling them, “You are blessed of the LORD, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul” (2 Samuel 2:5).

Why was this act so special that it attracted David’s attention?

It was an act of loyalty and kindness to Saul and his family.

The Philistines had beheaded the corpses of Saul and his three slain sons before hanging them on the wall of Beth Shan (1 Samuel 31:8-12). For their bodies to hang on the wall, much like hanging on a tree, would have been considered a curse (Deuteronomy 21:23). It would have brought shame to the family.

And the act of the men of Jabesh Gilead was also one of great courage. At the time, Beth Shan was a “strongly fortified city” that had continued to exist as “an island of Egyptian domination in the midst of Saul’s kingdom” (The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands, p. 118).

The men of Jabesh Gilead risked their lives to bury the bodies of Saul and his three sons, thus ending the shame for his family. That was an act of extraordinary kindness.

Example 3: the kindness of Joseph of Arimathea

All four Gospel accounts mention Joseph of Arimathea, and they do so only once and in the same context. The fact that all four mention this one incident hints at its significance.

Shortly after Jesus died, and before sunset, Joseph went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body (Matthew 27:57-58; Mark 15:42-43; Luke 23:50-52; John 19:38). Although this was an act of respect toward Jesus, it would also have been a significant act of kindness to His family of Jesus.

As explained in the preceding vignette about the men of Jabesh Gilead, for a body to hang on a tree signified that the person was “accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:23). It was the kind of shame that the religious leaders intended for Jesus, but it also affected His family.

Like the men of Jabesh Gilead, Joseph of Arimathea took a risk. His risk, though, was a different sort. It was not so much a risk to his life as a risk to his reputation and status.

Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, the religious body that had condemned Christ. However, he had not consented to that judicial decision (Luke 23:51). That may well be part of the reason Luke described him as “a good and just man” (verse 50) immediately after noting that Joseph was a member of the council.

As this example and the preceding one demonstrate, kindness sometimes involves risk.

Example 4: the kindness of Tabitha (Dorcas)

Peter found himself among a gathering of widows, all sobbing in grief. They had lost their dear friend Tabitha (Dorcas in Greek), a woman who had showered them with love through the clothing she had made for them (Acts 9:36-39).

At this point, neither Peter nor any of the other apostles had called on God to resurrect a believer. Stephen, the first recorded martyr, had been stoned (Acts 7:59-60), yet even he, “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5), had not been resurrected.

Nevertheless, Peter cleared the room in which Tabitha’s body rested and then prayed to God. In a scene reminiscent of Jesus’ resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:43), Peter commanded the dead woman: “Tabitha, arise” (Acts 9:40).

Why did Peter take such dramatic action?

The brief account in Acts does not tell us the reason. What it does, however, is showcase the effect Tabitha’s death had on some of the most vulnerable people in that society.

Tabitha did not merely act in kindness once, but lived a life characterized by this godly trait. She lived a life that lifted up the hearts of so many widows.

Perhaps that is what motivated Peter to ask God for the amazing miracle that occurred.

Example 5: the kindness of the people of Malta

Paul, having been falsely charged and arrested in Jerusalem, was being transported by ship to stand trial before Caesar when a violent storm arose and ran the ship aground on the island of Malta. Tired and wet, all 276 people who had been aboard the ship made it to shore from their battered and broken vessel (Acts 27:37, 44).

Without dry clothing, food or shelter, the survivors were essentially helpless. Recognizing the plight of this disparate group of travelers, the people of Malta “showed . . . unusual kindness” (Acts 28:2).

This is the only New Testament passage in the NKJV that uses the word kindness to describe what people did. (There are passages, such as those about Joseph of Arimathea and Tabitha, that describe acts of kindness, but without using the word.)

All the other uses of the word kindness in the NKJV New Testament are either descriptions of God’s kindness or exhortations for believers to display kindness.

What was so remarkable about the people of Malta is that they were willing to take care of complete strangers—and not just a few! There were 276 people who needed attention.

Doing so must have put quite a strain on the resources of these kind and generous people of Malta. And yet they not only supplied the survivors’ immediate needs, but “provided such things as were necessary” when Paul and the others left Malta (verse 10).

In this case, kindness is linked to hospitality and generosity.

Kindness and Christianity

Kindness in both the Old Testament and the New Testament is always portrayed in a positive light. More than that, as noted in the introduction to this article, the book of Proverbs makes it clear that this is “desired in a man” (Proverbs 19:22).

The New Testament is in agreement. Kindness is a vital trait for Christians.

Paul included kindness (chrēstotēs) in the list of the fruit of the Spirit. It is a trait that true Christians, filled with God’s Spirit, will grow in and display.

At times, kindness takes courage. At times, it takes sacrifice. Kindness is not an accident of circumstances, but a deliberate act of the will to treat others with compassion, mercy and love.

It’s not surprising that Paul describes love itself this way: “Love suffers long and is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4).

How about you? Will you make your life story one of kindness?

Study more about kindness in our article “Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness” and our Journey reading “Kindness: Knowing What’s Needed.”