In Exodus 34:6, YHWH gives his name as:

YHWH, YHWH-El: merciful (rahum) and gracious (hannun), long-suffering (arek) and abundant in kindness (hesed) and truth (eret) (Exodus 34:6)

This was important to me since I’m pondering Jesus as identified in the letter to the church in Laodicea:

“The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation, says these things: (Rev 3:14)

This is a key to unlocking the “lukewarm warming” that is contaminating the spiritual climate of our time. But as I explored the connection between “kindness” (hesed) and “faithfulness, I found this:

Chesed is often translated as ‘loving kindness’ or ‘faithfulness’. ‘Faithfulness’ is used 60 times for this word in our English Bibles, while ‘kindness’ is used 9 or 10 times. It means unswerving love and undying devotion – it means we’re so committed to someone that we go on loving them, whatever happens.

The old English word ‘troth’ is close (the word ‘betrothed’ is still used by some). It may be very significant that the word ‘troth’ itself has died out, because this kind of loyalty has died out too. Love is too often known without loyalty. People enjoy love with someone for a while, then drop them for someone else.

David Pawson, Unlocking the Bible: A unique overview of the whole Bible. Collins, 2003. pgs 494-495.