Meaning of LOVE

It is a term in the Bible that is a translation of several others. In Hebrew, in the OT, we have the following:

(a) "ahabah", related to the verb "aheb". It's used:
of Jacob's love for Rachel (Gen. 29:20);

of David's love for Jonathan (2 Sam.1:26);

of Amnon's love for Tamar;
of love towards one's fellow men, repaid with hatred (Ps. 109:4, 5);
of the husband's love for his wife (Prov. 5:19);

of the effect of love on human relationships (Prov. 10:12);

of Jehovah's love toward his people (Jer. 31:3; Hos. 3:1; Zeph. 3:17);
(2) "ohabim", of acts of love (Prov. 8:18);

(3) "dod," as above (Prov. 7:18; Song 1:2, 4; 4:10, etc.; Ezek. 23:17).

In the NT, “love” is translated by a Greek term, “agapë.” The word "eros", which is not used in the NT, always carried the idea, in greater or lesser intensity, of desire and greed. With "agapë" the love of divine origin is designated:

from the Father to the Son (John 3:35, where the related verb, “agapaõ”) is used,
from God to the world (Jn. 3:16, same observation as in the previous case),
of God to believers (Rom. 5:5), or
the love of God in us, working toward others (2 Cor. 5:14),
given in 1 Cor. 13 the most complete set of qualities of this love.

The word “philanthropia” designates love directed toward man (Tit. 3:4). More accurately, the verbal form is used, designating the action.

In this regard, it is worth highlighting that the first mention of love in the Bible is the love of father to son (Gen. 22:2), from Abraham to Isaac; The second mention is the love of the husband towards the wife (Gen. 24:67), from Isaac to Rebekah. These two loves are two beautiful types of love:

(a) from the Father to the Son (John 3:35), and

(b) from the Son to his Church (Eph. 5:25).

A fundamental statement in Scripture is that God is love. It is not merely one of his attributes, but the very essence of his being is love.

Hence sin results in division, separation, alienation. Hence also the emphasis on focusing human behavior on the love of God and neighbor (Mt. 22:34-40; Mr. 12:28-33).

This love, to be genuine, must first of all be based on a genuine relationship with God, and must come from God himself; imitations are not valid (1 Cor. 13:3).

It can only arise from a living relationship with God already known through Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:14-21 with Eph. 5:1-2). Anything that does not arise from a vital relationship with God is not the “agapë” love described in 1 Cor. 13, but the merely natural effect.