The Gift of Barzillai

“But show kindness

to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead

and let them be among those

who eat at your table.”

First Kings 2:7, NIV

Now the phrase “show kindness” in this

Scripture is translated a variety of different ways:

· Contemporary English and New Century:

“be kind”

· English Standard and Revised Standard:

“deal loyally”

· Holman Christian Standard:

“show loyalty”

· Jubilee Bible 2000:

“show mercy”

· New American:

“be true”

· New American Standard

and New International:

“show kindness”

· Wycliffe Bible:

“yield grace”

Part of the reason for this variety is that

the word in the Hebrew – hesed - has such a

broad and deep meaning; and yet it is one of

the most important concepts in the Bible, for

it speaks to us of a covenantal love which is

absolutely essential both in our relationship to

God as well as in our relationships with others.

Hesed means to show great love to someone by

being faithful to them, or one could word that

in the reverse, that hesed means to show great

loyalty to someone by being loving to them.

What is important is that this Hebrew word

combines a great love which exudes kindness

with a phenomenal steadfast faithfulness, in

relatively equal measure, so that reoccurring
kindnesses are shown with unshakeable acts of

loyalty. Thus throughout the Old Testament,

the word hesed emphasizes the faithful, loving

covenant relationship between two people or

between God and us. Hence hesed is at the core

of all covenantal relationships.

When my wife, Marcia, and I were married,

the rings we exchanged had the following Hebrew
Scripture engraved on them, which we then sang

in English during our wedding as part of our

vows to God, and to each other:

I will celebrate Your love forever,

Yahweh;
Age on Age,

my words proclaim Your love.
For I claim that love [hesed]

Is built to last forever,
Founded firm, Your faithfulness.

Psalm 89:1-2

These verses were engraved on our rings

because they were already engraved upon our
hearts, for hesed is a love that has some meat to

it. It is not here today and gone tomorrow. Rather

it is the basis for an intimate covenant

relationship – a sacred promise that will last for

the duration – that no matter what happens, or

how difficult life or circumstances become, or

how difficult or troublesome the other person

becomes, or how difficult or troublesome we

become, we will faithfully love them. We will

continue to walk with them in covenant. It speaks

of a relationship that is set apart, that is holy, that

is like a strong wall that will not allow anyone or

anything to breach it. Hesed implies not a feeling

that we have for each other that can easily

dissipate when things do not go the way we

planned, but a sacred covenant to always want

what is best for the other person. Thus it is not

what most people might call a romantic

love that can run hot and cold, but a covenantal

love that is set in stone, set in bedrock, set in the

Rock of ages, and will remain come what may.

So as David prepared to die, there were two

men whom he felt that he had not punished
enough for what they had done to him; but there

was just one man whom David felt he had not
blessed enough with what he had done for him,

and that was Barzillai. Thus David wanted his son
Solomon to continue to bless Barzillai through

Barzillai’s son and his descendants.

Now, it is easy enough to understand David’s

unresolved anger in regards to Joab and Shimei,
for the Scriptures record David’s conflicts with

these two men in much detail. However, much

less is written about Barzillai. Hence out of all

of the people who had been a blessing to David

in his life, why did David single out Barzillai’s

descendants for Solomon’s special attention?

Even during the time that David fled from his

son Absalom, there were many others who took

a stand shoulder-to-shoulder beside David, and

even two other men mentioned in the Scriptures

that gave him a gift at the very same time as

Barzillai. So why is Barzillai the only person who

got singled out for Solomon’s ongoing blessing?

Why were two men, Joab and Shimei, to receive

the sting of David’s unresolved anger, but only

one person, Barzillai, to receive the kiss of David’s

unresolved covenantal steadfast love?