BELOVED (אָהַב, H170; ἀγαπητός, G28). A term of endearing affection common to both Testaments. Heb. usage is primarily from two words and their derivatives: ahebh (and ahabh), to breathe after, to love, to lust; dodh, to love (as between sexes), an object of love, a beloved, Song of Solomon 1:13; Hos 3:1), Both terms are elevated in Scripture, as agapetos, above erotic sense and emotion to include intellectual good will, self-giving, and spiritual love. “Beloved” appears in the RSV forty-four times in the OT, twenty-eight of which are in the Song of Solomon. “Beloved” was originally an epithet of the fertility god, but in this colorful courtship dialogue it is used exclusively by the maiden as a term of respectful endearment to her lover, “my beloved.” In David’s elegy he sang of “Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely” (2 Sam 1:23). The prophet sang to “my beloved a love song concerning his vineyard” (Isa 5:1). The most exalted use is that of God’s love for His chosen (Deut 33:12; Neh 13:26; Ps 60:5; Jer 11:15; 12:7; Dan 9:23; etc.).

In the NT “beloved” is used exclusively in the divine and Christian manner of spiritual love. This love is uniquely Christian in its beauty, unity and endearment. Agapetos (beloved) appears forty-seven times in the NT, the first three in the synoptic gospels where God identifies His “beloved Son” (Matt 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; also Mark, Luke). The meaning implies “chosen,” an act of will rather than of feeling. Paul made use of the term thirty-two times in all his letters except Galatians and Titus, with reference to many individuals named and to the “brethren” (Acts 15:25; Rom 1:7 etc.). It appears twelve times in the epistles of John.

Bibliography B. Davie Napier, Song of the Vineyard (1962), 153, 354-356; C. Milo Connick, Jesus, the Man, the Mission, and the Message (1963), 142-145; H. M. Buck, People of the Lord (1966), 67, 227.