[b]Genesis 6:8 – “But Noach found grace in the sight of ADONAI.”[/b] 2580 chen, khane; from 2603; graciousness, i.e. subj. (kindness, favor) or objective (beauty):-favour, grace (-ious), pleasant, precious, [well-] favoured. Dictionary Trace - 2603 chanan, khaw-nan'; a prim. root [comp. 2583]; prop. to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor, bestow; causat. to implore (i.e. move to favor by petition):-beseech, X fair, (be, find, shew) favour (-able), be (deal), give, grant (gracious [-ly]), intreat, (be) merciful, have (shew) mercy (on, upon), have pity upon, pray, make supplication, X very. [b]Genesis 6:5-9 - "ADONAI saw that the people on earth were very wicked, that all the imaginings of their hearts were always of evil only. ADONAI regretted that he had made humankind on the earth; it grieved his heart. ADONAI said, 'I will wipe out humankind, whom I have created, from the whole earth; and not only human beings, but animals, creeping things and birds in the air; for I regret that I ever made them.’ But Noach found grace in the sight of ADONAI. Here is the history of Noach. In his generation, Noach was a man righteous and wholehearted; Noach walked with G-d."[/b] Notice, in Genesis 6:5-9, that Noah found G-d's grace, but, he was a righteous man. This is the opposite of those who did not find G-d's grace, they were evil all of the time. So, grace is associated with righteous behavior. All of the following Torah verses use this Hebrew word, grace (chen). Let’s look at each of them so that we can gain some insight as to how this word is used: [b]Genesis 18:1-5 - "ADONAI appeared to Avraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance to the tent during the heat of the day. He raised his eyes and looked, and there in front of him stood three men. On seeing them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, prostrated himself on the ground, and said, ‘My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please don't leave your servant. Please let me send for some water, so that you can wash your feet; then rest under the tree, and I will bring a piece of bread. Now that you have come to your servant, refresh yourselves before going on. Very well, they replied, "do what you have said.’”[/b] What I would like to point out here is in the verses just before this one; Abraham obeyed G-d and circumcised himself and his whole household. [b]Genesis 17:23 - "Avraham took Yishma'el his son, all the slaves born in his house and all who had been bought with his money, every male among the people in Avraham's household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin that very day, just as G-d had said to him”[/b] Before we find grace, we find obedience. The following verses indicate that Abraham obeyed the law: [b]Genesis 26:1-5 - "A famine came over the land, not the same as the first famine, which had taken place when Avraham was alive. Yitz'chak went to G'rar, to Avimelekh king of the P'lishtim. ADONAI appeared to him and said, ‘Don't go down into Egypt, but live where I tell you. Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you, because I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants. I will fulfill the oath which I swore to Avraham your father - I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, I will give all these lands to your descendants, and by your descendants all the nations of the earth will bless themselves. All this is because Avraham heeded what I said and did what I told him to do, he followed my mitzvot, my regulations and my teachings.’”[/b] Here, we see that Abraham was justified by grace trough faith, but, he still obeyed G-d's requirements. Commands, decrees, and Torah. G-d seems to give grace to those who are obedient to His Torah, yet even the Torah observant, like Abraham, do not deserve the grace. Grace comes by faith, but faith is demonstrated by righteous actions. [b]Genesis 19:15-21 - "When morning came, the angels told Lot to hurry. ‘Get up’" they said, ‘and take your wife and your two daughters who are here; otherwise you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.’ But he dallied, so the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand and the hands of his two daughters -ADONAI was being merciful to him - and led them, leaving them outside the city. When they had brought them out, he said, ‘Flee for your life! Don't look behind you, and don't stop anywhere in the plain, but escape to the hills! Otherwise you will be swept away.’ Lot said to them, ‘Please, no, my lord! Here, your servant has already found favor in your sight, and you have shown me even greater mercy by saving my life. But I can't escape to the hills, because I'm afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. Look, there's a town nearby to flee to, and it's a small one. Please let me escape there - isn't it just a small one? -and that way I will stay alive.’ He replied, ‘All right, I agree to what you have asked. I won't overthrow the city of which you have spoken.’”[/b] [b]Genesis 30:25-27 -"After Rachel had given birth to Yosef, Ya'akov said to Lavan, 'Send me on my way, so that I can return to my own place, to my own country. Let me take my wives, for whom I have served you, and my children; and let me go. You know very well how faithfully I have served you.’ Lavan answered him, 'if you regard me with favor, then please listen: I have observed the signs that ADONAI has blessed me on account of you.’”[/b] In Genesis 19 we see G-d's grace being bestowed on Lot. This is interesting because the last verses of chapter 18 indicate that G-d is going to protect the righteous of Sodom. So, Lot is considered righteous, therefore he receives grace. [b]Genesis 34:1-12 – “Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her. His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as my wife." When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home. Then Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. Now Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter--a thing that should not be done. But Hamor said to them, 'My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it.' Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, 'Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife.' Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor."[/b] In this story, we have a wicked man who wants grace from Dinah's family. He does not find grace, but rather death. Again, we see a link between righteousness and grace, or rather the opposite: the wicked find no grace. I have listed the rest of the verses in the Tanach which contain our word "grace": Genesis 39:2-5, Genesis 39:19-23,Genesis 47:23-30 Genesis 49:33 - 50:6, Exodus 3:20-22, Exodus 3:20-22, Exodus 12:35-36, Exodus 33:12-17, Exodus 34:8-14, Numbers 11:10-15, Numbers 32:4-7, Deuteronomy 24:1-4, Ruth 2:2, Ruth 2:10, Ruth 2:13, 1 Samuel 1:18, 1 Samuel 16:22, 1 Samuel 20:3, 1 Samuel 20:29, 1 Samuel 25:8, 1 Samuel 27:5, 2 Samuel 14:22, 2 Samuel 15:25, 2 Samuel 16:4, 1 Kings 11:19, EST 2:15, EST 2:17, EST 5:2, EST 5:8, EST 7:3, EST 8:5, Proverbs 3:4, Proverbs 5:19, Proverbs 11:16, Proverbs 13:15, Proverbs 17:8, Proverbs 22:1, Proverbs 28:23, Proverbs 31:30, Proverbs 1:9, Proverbs 3:22, Proverbs 3:34, Proverbs 4:9, Proverbs 22:11, Ecc. 9:11, Ecc. 10:12, Jud 6:17, Psalms 45:2, Psalms 84:11, Jer. 31:2, Zec. 4:7, Zec. 12:10, Nah. 3:4 After looking at each of these passages, it appears that the righteous find grace, not because they deserve it, but rather because G-d is favorably disposed towards those who obey Torah.