An entry in the 7 Scrolls Bible Dictionary, with every example verse shown in the Berean Standard Bible.
What is the biblical definition of love?
In the Bible, love is committed, self-giving care for the good of another. It describes God's character and is the command that sums up the law: love God and love your neighbor.
How often does the Bible use the word love?
| Word form (BSB) | Times used | Verses |
|---|---|---|
| love | 372 | 331 |
| loved | 82 | 74 |
| loves | 62 | 54 |
| loving | 194 | 192 |
| beloved | 110 | 106 |
| All listed forms | 820 | 718 |
Books where these words appear in the most verses: Psalms (165), Song of Solomon (46), John (39), Proverbs (34), 1 John (30).
The form loving is inflated by the phrase loving devotion, which is how the BSB usually renders the Hebrew hesed. Those verses are mostly about loyal, merciful kindness, a theme explored on the mercy page.
How we counted: a whole-word, case-insensitive search of every verse of the Berean Standard Bible (31,086 verses in our data) for each listed English form. Counts describe the English translation, not the Hebrew or Greek behind it, and include every sense of the word.
How does the Bible use love?
How does the Old Testament describe love?
The Hebrew Bible commands love in two directions. Deuteronomy 6:5 calls Israel to love the LORD with all heart, soul and strength. Leviticus 19:18 adds love for one's neighbor, set against revenge and grudges. Because love can be commanded, it is more than an emotion.
The word hesed adds loyalty. It is the faithful love of a covenant, kept even when the other side fails. Deuteronomy 7:9 speaks of God keeping a covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations. Human love appears too, as when Jacob served seven years for Rachel in Genesis 29:20.
What Greek words for love does the New Testament use?
The main word is agapē with its verb agapaō. The New Testament also uses phileō, the love of friends. In John 21:15–17 Jesus and Peter use both verbs. Some readers see a sharp contrast there, but John also says the Father loves the Son with each verb (John 3:35 and John 5:20), so the difference should not be pressed too hard.
The word erōs, romantic desire, never appears in the New Testament. Popular lists of four Greek loves come from wider Greek usage more than from the Bible itself.
What does 1 Corinthians 13 say love is?
Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 13 to a church split by rivalry over spiritual gifts. Verse 2 says that even mountain-moving faith is nothing without love. Verses 4–7 then describe love by what it does: it is patient and kind, and it does not envy or boast. The chapter ends with faith, hope and love, and names love as the greatest.
Is biblical love just a feeling?
No, though feelings are not excluded. 1 John 3:18 asks for love in action and truth, not only in words. Jesus told his followers to love their enemies in Matthew 5:44, which no one does by feeling alone. The clearest picture is in John 3:16: love is shown by giving. Romans 5:8 says God proved that love while people were still sinners.
Key Bible verses about love
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 BSB
God's love for the world is measured by what God gave.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
1 Corinthians 13:4 BSB
The start of Paul's portrait of love, told through actions and restraint.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8 BSB
A short claim with wide reach: love belongs to God's nature.
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:5 BSB
The great command to love God with the whole self, later quoted by Jesus.
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:18 BSB
The first place the Bible says to love your neighbor as yourself.
But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 BSB
Love shown before it was returned, while people were still sinners.
A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
John 13:34 BSB
Jesus makes his own love the pattern for how his followers love each other.
What are the Hebrew and Greek words behind it?
Hebrew: ahavah — love
The general Hebrew word for love, used for God, spouses, friends and neighbors.
Hebrew: hesed — loyal love, loving devotion
Love that keeps faith inside a relationship. It is often paired with faithfulness.
Greek: agapē — love, self-giving love
The New Testament's main noun for love, used in 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 4.
Greek: phileō — to love as a friend, to be fond of
A warm, personal word, related to philos, friend.
Love vs grace: what is the difference?
Love names the motive; grace names the way that love reaches people who have not earned it. Love can be shared between equals, as between friends. Grace always flows from the one who gives to the one who cannot repay.
Why does love matter?
Jesus said the whole law hangs on two commands to love, in Matthew 22:37–39. Paul says the same in Romans 13:10: love is the fulfillment of the law. Reading the commandments without love misses their point.
Love also guards against a thin view of God. 1 John 4:10 says love starts with God's love for people, not with theirs for God. That word sits beside grace and covenant in our dictionary of Bible words because each one helps explain the others.
Quick check
In 1 Corinthians 13:13, which of faith, hope and love is the greatest?
Love (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Where does the command to love your neighbor as yourself first appear?
Leviticus 19:18. Jesus quotes it in Matthew 22:39.
Which short verse says that God is love?
1 John 4:8, repeated in 1 John 4:16.
Related Bible words
In summary
- Biblical love is a commitment to another person's good, not only a feeling.
- The Old Testament links love to loyalty and covenant through the word hesed.
- The New Testament mainly uses agapē; erōs never appears.
- 1 Corinthians 13 defines love by what it does and does not do.
- Love for God and neighbor sums up the law (Matthew 22:37–39, Romans 13:10).