Day 14 of 75 · The reign foundations
Ḥ-N-N
ḥnana: mercy
חננה
ܚܢܳܢܶܗ
The feel
Ḥnana is favor shown, kindness given by someone who could hold it back to someone who cannot demand it. It names mercy done to another person. In Matthew the Qala renders it compassion, where most translations say mercy, and in Luke it says mercy. The noun appears 9 times in the Gospels.
The root family
| Word | Pattern | Script | Standard | Qala rendering |
|---|
| ḥnana | noun · 9× | ܚܢܢܐ | mercy | compassion (Matthew); mercy (Luke) |
| Yoḥannan | personal name | ܝܘܚܢܢ | John | "Yah has shown favor": the Immerser's name |
| Ḥanna | personal name | ܚܢܐ | Hannah / Anna | "favor": the same root as a name |
In the Gospels this root appears as the noun ḥnana, inside names such as Yoḥannan (John) and Ḥanna (Anna), and three times as the Peal verb ḥan, to have mercy (Matthew 18:33, twice; Luke 18:13).
In his voice
Matthew 9:13
Go and learn what this means: I want compassion, not sacrifice. I did not come to call those doing what is right, but those who miss the mark."
ḥnana, "compassion." Yeshua quotes Hosea, where God prefers kindness shown to a person over offerings on an altar, and tells the experts to go and learn it.
Matthew 23:23
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, actors! You give a tenth of your mint and dill and cumin, but you have let go of the weightier matters of the Law: justice and compassion and faithfulness. These you should have done, without letting go of the others.
ḥnana, "compassion." It stands among the weightier matters of the Law, between justice and faithfulness.
Luke 1:50
His mercy is for those who fear him, from generation to generation.
ḥnaneh, "his mercy." This line is from Mary's song. The ending -eh, his, makes it God's mercy, shown to those who fear him.
Practice
Find one place today where you hold the stronger position, and use it to do a kindness the other person could not ask for. Afterward say ḥnana, mercy, aloud.
Connections