Eleēmōn appears only twice in the NT (Matthew 5:7; Hebrews 2:17), but the noun eleos (G1656, mercy) appears 78 times and the verb eleeō (G1653, to have mercy) 29 times. Eleēmōn describes a person characterized by eleos — one who feels the suffering of another and acts to relieve it. The word carries both emotional resonance (being moved by another's pain) and practical action (doing something about it). In Hebrews 2:17, Jesus is called a 'merciful [eleēmōn] and faithful high priest' — he had to become fully human precisely so he could identify with and help those who suffer.
The Beatitude in Matthew 5:7 — 'Blessed are the merciful [eleēmones], for they will receive mercy' — establishes a reciprocal principle: those who extend mercy will receive it. This is not salvation by works but a relational principle of spiritual formation: those who have truly received God's mercy will show it to others; those who withhold mercy reveal they have not truly grasped it. The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:23-35) illustrates the catastrophic failure of receiving forgiveness without extending it. James 2:13 adds: 'Mercy triumphs over judgment.' The eleēmōn life is the overflow of a heart that has encountered grace.