racham · compassion

What it means

racham (רַחַם) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “compassion”.

Deep compassion, tender mercy like that of a mother; also the womb.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. A deep tenderness, like a mother's.
2. The part of a mother's body where the child grows before birth.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Compassion, mercies: the tenderness felt in the inner parts. BDB explains it as the plural of the word for the womb, and that is why in some passages it means the womb. It is from the same root as רָחַם, ‘have compassion’ (H7355).

• “His mercies {are} many” 2 Samuel 24:14Lamentations 3:22Psalms 51:1
• God’s mercies in the history of Israel Nehemiah 9:19Nehemiah 9:27Isaiah 63:7
• Finding mercy before another Genesis 43:141 Kings 8:50
• “His inner parts were stirred” Genesis 43:301 Kings 3:26
• The womb Genesis 49:25Isaiah 46:3

Historical and cultural background

Before Solomon, the true mother is revealed because “her inner parts were stirred for her son” (1 Kings 3:26). David prefers to fall “into the hand of YHWH, for his mercies {are} many” (2 Samuel 24:14).

How we translate it

“Compassion” 16 times, “mercies” 14 and “mercy” 7: “mercies” above all in the Psalms, Nehemiah and Samuel (“his mercies {are} many”, 2 Samuel 24:14), “compassion” in the prophets and in Daniel (“because of your great compassion”, Daniel 9:18). The image of the inner parts is kept: “his inner parts were stirred for his brother” (Genesis 43:30). Where the sense is the womb it reads “womb” (Genesis 49:25; Isaiah 46:3). In Judges 5:30, “A girl”, with a note on the literal sense.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• compassion ×16
• mercies ×14
• mercy ×7
• womb ×4
• inner parts ×2
• girl ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×3
• Deuteronomy×1
• Judges×1
• 2 Samuel×1
• 1 Kings×2
• 1 Chronicles×1
• 2 Chronicles×1
• Nehemiah×5
• Psalms×11
• Proverbs×2
• Isaiah×5
• Jeremiah×2
• Lamentations×1
• Ezekiel×1
• Daniel×3
• Hosea×1
• Amos×1
• Zechariah×2

• Genesis 43:14

  May El Shaddai give you mercy before the man, so that he releases to you your other brother and Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

• Genesis 43:30

  Joseph hurried out, for his inner parts were stirred for his brother, and he sought a place to weep; he went into the inner room and wept there.

• Genesis 49:25

  by the El of your father, who will help you, and by Shaddai, who will bless you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

• Deuteronomy 13:17

  Nothing of what is devoted to destruction shall cling to your hand, so that YHWH may turn from the burning of his anger and give you mercy and have mercy on you and multiply you, as he swore to your fathers,

• Judges 5:30

  ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil? A girl, two girls for each head of a man; spoil of dyed cloth for Sisera, spoil of dyed cloth embroidered; dyed cloth, two embroideries, for the necks of the spoil.’

• 2 Samuel 24:14

  David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of YHWH, for his mercies are many; but into the hand of man let me not fall.”

• 1 Kings 3:26

  Then the woman whose son was the living one said to the king, because her inner parts were stirred for her son, and she said, “Pardon me, my lord, give her the living newborn, and do not by any means put him to death!” But this one said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; cut him!”

• 1 Kings 8:50

  and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have transgressed against you; and grant them mercy before their captors, that they may have mercy on them;

• 1 Chronicles 21:13

  David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me fall, please, into the hand of YHWH, for very great are his mercies; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”

• 2 Chronicles 30:9

  For when you return to YHWH, your brothers and your sons will find mercy before their captors and return to this land; for YHWH your Elohim is gracious and merciful, and he will not turn away his face from you if you return to him.”

• Nehemiah 1:11

  I beg you, Adonai, let your ear, I beg you, be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name; and give success, I beg you, to your servant today, and grant him mercy before this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.

• Nehemiah 9:19

  you, in your many mercies, did not abandon them in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud did not depart from over them by day, to lead them on the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they should go.

• Nehemiah 9:27

  So you gave them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them; and in the time of their distress they would cry out to you, and you from the heavens would hear, and according to your many mercies you would give them saviors, and they would save them from the hand of their adversaries.

• Nehemiah 9:28

  But when they had rest they would again do evil before you; and you would abandon them into the hand of their enemies, who dominated them; and they would turn again and cry out to you, and you from the heavens would hear and deliver them according to your mercies many times.

• Nehemiah 9:31

  Yet in your many mercies you did not make an end of them nor abandon them, for a gracious and merciful El are you.

• Psalms 25:6

  Remember your mercies, YHWH, and your acts of loyal love, for they are from eternity.

• Psalms 40:11

  You, YHWH, will not withhold your mercies from me; your loyal love and your truth will continually guard me.

• Psalms 51:1

  For the director. A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Show me favor, Elohim, according to your loyal love; according to the abundance of your mercies blot out my transgressions.

• Psalms 69:16

  Answer me, YHWH, for good is your loyal love; according to the abundance of your mercies turn to me.

• Psalms 77:9

  Has El forgotten to show favor? Or has he shut up in anger his compassion? Selah.

• Psalms 79:8

  Do not remember against us the iniquities of the ancestors; quickly let your compassion come to meet us, for we have been brought low greatly.

• Psalms 103:4

  who redeems from the pit your life, who crowns you with loyal love and compassion,

• Psalms 106:46

  And he granted them compassion before all who took them captive.

• Psalms 119:77

  Let your mercies come to me, and I will live, for your instruction is my delight.

• Psalms 119:156

  Your mercies are many, YHWH; according to your rules give me life.

• Psalms 145:9

  Good is YHWH to all, and his compassion is over all his works.

• Proverbs 12:10

  The righteous knows the soul of his livestock, but the mercies of the wicked are cruel.

• Proverbs 30:16

  Sheol, and the closed womb, the earth not satisfied with water, and the fire that does not say, “Enough.”

• Isaiah 46:3

  “Listen to me, house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, you who have been loaded on me from the womb, who have been carried from the mother’s womb:

• Isaiah 47:6

  I was angry with my people, I profaned my inheritance, and I gave them into your hand; you showed them no compassion; on the old man you made your yoke very heavy.

• Isaiah 54:7

  “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you.

• Isaiah 63:7

  The acts of loyal love of YHWH I will recount, the praises of YHWH, according to all that YHWH has done for us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he has done for them according to his compassion and according to the abundance of his acts of loyal love.

• Isaiah 63:15

  Look from the heavens and see, from the residence of your holiness and of your beauty. Where are your zeal and your mighty deeds? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion toward me have been restrained.

• Jeremiah 16:5

  For thus says YHWH: Do not enter a house of funeral feasting, nor go to mourn, nor grieve for them, for I have withdrawn my peace from this people, declares YHWH, the loyal love and the compassion.

• Jeremiah 42:12

  And I will grant you compassion, and he will have compassion on you and let you return to your land.

• Lamentations 3:22

  The loyal loves of YHWH: indeed we have not been consumed, for his mercies have not come to an end.

• Ezekiel 20:26

  and I defiled them through their gifts, in their making pass every firstborn of the womb, so that I might devastate them, so that they might know that I am YHWH.’

• Daniel 1:9

  And Elohim gave Daniel loyal love and compassion before the chief of the officials.

• Daniel 9:9

  To Adonai our Elohim belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him,

• Daniel 9:18

  Incline, my Elohim, your ear and hear; open your eyes and see our desolations and the city over which your name is called; for not because of our righteous acts do we present our supplications before you, but because of your great compassion.

And 4 more times.