Did people believe this at the times the various Bible books were written? Was it something that started with the New Testament? Or is it a more modern belief?
I would elaborate on why I’m a little doubtful that the authors of Genesis, Exodus, etc. thought of God as compassionate, but I’m not sure how to do that without crossing into Great Debate territory. Suffice it to say, my knowledge of the Bible is pretty limited, so I’m open to being told I’m completely wrong.
“But He, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them;
And often He restrained His anger
And did not arouse all His wrath.”
— Psalm 78:38
Wasn’t there something about rescuing the Israelites from slavery in that book? Seems a reasonably compassionate thing to do.
among others. (bolding mine)
From my searching, and my knowledge of the Bible, though I’m no expert, I’d say that the most often cited characteristics showing the compassion of God in the Old Testament are
Well, at the risk of treading on territory I was trying to avoid…
It seems like in the Old Testament at least God rewards people when they do what He wants and punishes them when they don’t. When the Jews follow His commands, they’re free and prosperous, when they don’t, they’re conquered and enslaved.
He also rescued the Jews from Egyptian slavery by inflicting plagues on the Egyptian people. Again, because the Pharoah wasn’t doing what God wanted him to do.
I guess my impression is that in much of the Bible God helps you out if you are sufficiently obedient. It’s not so much an act of compassion as a reward for good behavior. Well, except in the case of Job, where he’s made to suffer in spite of his good behavior. But still, it’s a test, right? To see if he maintains his faith in God in spite of it all.
Again, I’m far from a Bible expert and maybe my interpretation is dead wrong, but hopefully you can see from these examples where I’m getting the idea that the Biblical God (especially in the Old Testament) is all about reward and punishment. And yet my impression is that most Christians and Jews today would say that God helps people even if they don’t really deserve it.
Hence, my question.
But all this is compatible both with compassion and with the lack of it.
A compassionate and loving parent will use rewards and punishments to get their child to do what they want; so will an unloving, selfish parent. The difference is that, ultimately, what the compassionate parent wants is for their children to be healthy and happy and well-adjusted and good. "You’ll be better off if you do what Mom says"may be true whether or not Mom is a compassionate Mom.
Although from the other answers above, maybe the problem is with my definition of “compassionate”. If God is “compassionate” in the sense of “willing to forgive once you’re following His commandments again”, I can see how that’s in the Bible stories.
I guess I think of compassion as more like helping someone out just out of kindness or sympathy, not based on their behavior.
"For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.
— Deuteronomy 4:31
Yeah, AFAIK, this is GD territory.
I suspect it was a marketing decision. People tend to rebel against despotic, draconian deities and eventually the religion goes belly-up. So you might say the religion either had to evolve or become extinct.
Yeah, but a compassionate parent punishes their child in ways that don’t inflict permanent harm. Whereas God at times destroys cities and floods the planet.
Anyway, I sure this now seems like a thinly veiled attempt to put a “God isn’t depicted as compassionate in the Bible” thread in GQ, but really, that wasn’t my intent.
But if the answer is “He’s always been seen as compassionate, why would you think otherwise?” then I don’t really know how else to reply.
Ah, well. Maybe phrasing it in terms of “compassion” wasn’t the way to go.
Just think of God as the first compassionate conservative and all the behaviors become clear. 
Maybe they used the word compassion to try to butter Him up and curry favor, rather than to be completely truthful. You have to be careful when speaking to Power.
The problem you are having is that you are framing existence on earth as the only mode of existence. Christian theologians don’t view it that way. According to Christianity, life on Earth is merely temporal; heaven and hell are the point of it all.
So, Christian theologians often explain those wrathful actions as compassionate, since they deliver the innocent to heaven and terrify the sinful into living more pious lives. Take, for example, the reaction to the Black Death.
The Prior of Christchurch, Canterbury, 1348. This letter is generally known from its opening word as Terribilis:
“Terrible is God towards the sons of men, and by his command all things are subdued to the rule of his will. Those whom he loves he censures and chastises; that is, he punishes their shameful deeds in various ways during this mortal life so that they might not be condemned eternally. He often allows plagues, miserable famines, conflicts, wars, and other forms of suffering to arise, and uses them to terrify and torment men and so drive out their sins.”
Or, the Archbishop of York, John Thoresby, in 1361:
“Since the life of man on earth is a war, no wonder if those fighting amidst the miseries of this world are unsettled by the mutability of events: now favourable, now contrary. For Almighty God scourges every son he accepts and commonly shows harshness to his people, sending many evil infirmities and sufferings to those who are straying and heaping humiliations on their heads, so that they may repent and seek his name with more humility.”
Anyways, the point I’m trying to make is this: God has always been viewed as compassionate. Terrible, horrific killings can be compassionate, too, as long as you believe that heaven offers infinite bliss compared to earth.
Correction: Because God was hardening Pharaoh’s heart whenever he looked like he was going to do what Moses demanded. God was playing both sides of that story.
Really? What about free will?
That’s fascinating about theologians viewing the plagues as compassionate. Thanks, Wooden Taco.
Yes, but the Hebrews of Old Testament times seem to have had little or no idea of heaven as a place of infinite bliss or an eternal reward.
I suspect, in my non-expert opinion, that if you asked a Hebrew person from the time of the Old Testament or its writing your question about God being compassionate, the answer would have involved either “God is compassionate toward His own people, and this compassion may manifest itself in His destruction of their enemies,” or “God’s compassion doesn’t preclude his displeasure with and punishment of evil. In fact, punishing the bad guys helps (and thus, is a sign of compassion toward) the good guys.”
This sorta kinda fits the definition of divine grace, which is more of a Christian concept, though not totally absent from the Old Testament. (For lack of a better cite, here’s Wikipedia.)
Take a look…
The Bible itself says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart just so he could inflict multiple plagues on Egypt to show off his power.