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אַהֲבָה

ahava

pronounced a-ha-VAH

Love — given and chosen

also written: ahavah

In Scripture World English Bible

“‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.

Leviticus 19:18 Ahava commanded — proof it is an act, not only a feeling

Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for love is strong as death. Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a very flame of Yahweh.

Song of Solomon 8:6 The great ahava passage — love as a fire nothing outlasts

Yahweh appeared of old to me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you.

Jeremiah 31:3 Ahavat olam — God's everlasting love as the reason Israel is drawn back

We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.

1 John 4:16 The New Testament makes love God's own nature

Taught in

Ruth offering barley to Naomi, illustrated in ivory and ochre on an indigo background in a woodcut style

Ahava and Hesed: Love in the Book of Ruth

Full guide: 6 min · 6 chapters · 4 Hebrew words

Nearby words

ahavאָהַב hesedחֶסֶד hesed ve emetחֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת

How it reads in the app

The same lexicon, opened in IsraelForYou: pick a word from the list and its card opens — script, sound, and every verse it lives in.

Hebrew words
  • אהב ahav To love — the root behind ahava
  • חסד hesed Covenant loyalty — steadfast, unfailing love
  • אהבה ahava Love — given and chosen
  • חסד ואמת hesed ve emet “Loving kindness and truth” — the pair God…