Genesis 27:4 English Standard Version (ESV) and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

The first use of the love is ahab (pronounced a-hav) meaning human appetite for objects such as food. If I did not know the bible and someone had said to me that God is love, then my expectation for the use of the word love would have been much earlier than chapter 27.

Perhaps this is because the expression of love is non-verbal. Actions precede speech. Because we do not always understand actions in context, a deeper understanding is required to translate actions into words. Saying I love you without the context of action is meaningless. The speaker cannot convey with understanding the concept of meaning without action. It then becomes defined by the hearer in terms of their understanding. So how do we understand love?

This first use example is only one expression of love but is a prime example of human conditioning. Our appetites are satisfied and we are pleased by the act. The act satisfies an appetite and how does one experience appetite? A hunger precedes appetite in some form. Food is the most simple and basic experience because we hungered from birth with no understanding of the concept.

The mother knows what the baby needs and her body responds by nature to nurture. It is a time tested example of meeting needs because she can and is willing. Because this is only the first expression of love the baby responds to the act with satisfaction. The baby’s hunger is satisfied.

As we grow and our world becomes more complex this expression of satisfying the human appetite become more complex. The expression of love becomes more complex with changes in appetites but the basic principle still exists. Someone needs to satisfy the hunger in order to express some variant of love. If someone else is not willing to satisfy those hungers we will seek to satisfy them on our own.