H7358 H7358
womb — the uterus as the organ of conception and birth, used both literally and in figurative expressions for origin
Rechem (also racham) is the concrete anatomical noun for womb or uterus, appearing 26 times across legal, narrative, poetic, and prophetic texts. Its most distinctive usage is in the idiom peter rechem, 'the one who opens the womb' — the firstborn who belongs to YHWH by right of the Exodus redemption (Exod 13:2, 12, 15; Num 3:12; 18:15). God's sovereign control over the womb is a recurring theological motif: He closed every womb in Abimelech's household (Gen 20:18), opened Leah's womb when she was unloved (Gen 29:31), and remembered Rachel (Gen 30:22). Jeremiah was known and consecrated in the womb before birth (Jer 1:5), a text echoed in Paul's self-understanding (Gal 1:15). Job poignantly asks why he did not die at birth, 'from the womb' (Job 3:11; 10:18; 31:15). The psalmist's trust reaches back to the maternal body: 'upon you I was cast from the womb' (Ps 22:10; 58:3). The cognate noun rachamim ('compassion') derives from this root, linking maternal bodily experience to divine mercy — a connection visible across Semitic languages.
Senses
1. womb — The physical uterus or womb as the organ of conception and birth, used across several theological idioms. Central to the firstborn consecration formula peter rechem, 'opener of the womb' (Exod 13:2, 12; Num 18:15). Expresses God's sovereign control over fertility: closing (Gen 20:18) and opening (Gen 29:31; 30:22) the womb. In prophetic and poetic texts, 'from the womb' signals divine election before birth (Jer 1:5; Isa 46:3; Ps 22:10). The etymological link to rachamim ('compassion, mercy') reveals how Hebrew roots maternal tenderness in the visceral reality of the womb. 26×
AR["رَحِمًا", "رَحِمٍ", "رَحِمَهَا", "رَحِمِهَا", "مِن-الرَّحِمِ", "مِنَ-الرَّحِمِ", "مِنَ-رَحِم"]·ben["-গর্ভ-থেকে", "গর্ভ", "গর্ভ-থেকে", "গর্ভের", "তার-গর্ভ"]·DE["Mutterschoß", "erbarmte-sich", "ihr-womb", "vom-Mutterleib", "von-der-womb", "von-der-womb-von", "von-erbarmte-sich", "womb"]·EN["a-womb", "from-the-womb", "from-the-womb-of", "from-womb", "her-womb", "womb"]·FR["de-matrice", "de-sein", "sa-sein", "sein"]·heb["מ-רחם", "רחם", "רחמה"]·HI["कोख-से", "गरभ", "गर्भ", "गर्भ-का", "गर्भ-से", "से-गर्भ"]·ID["dari-rahim", "rahim", "rahimnya"]·IT["[רחם]", "da-grembo", "dal-grembo", "grembo", "lei-grembo", "womb"]·jav["guwa-garba", "guwagarba", "guwanipun", "kadursilanan", "kandhutan", "kandutan", "lan-susu", "saking-guwa-garba", "saking-guwa-garba,", "saking-guà-garba"]·KO["~에서-태", "그녀-의-태", "에서-태", "에서-태에서", "태", "태-에서", "태-에서부터", "태를"]·PT["de-ventre", "desde-o-ventre", "do-ventre", "do-ventre,", "do-útero", "ventre", "ventre-dela"]·RU["из-утробы", "из-чрева", "от-утробы", "от-чрева", "утробу", "чрево-её"]·ES["de-la-matriz", "de-vientre", "del-vientre", "desde-el-vientre", "desde-la-matriz", "desde-matriz", "desde-vientre", "matriz", "su-vientre"]·SW["kutoka-tumbo-la-uzazi", "kutoka-tumboni", "tangu-tumbo-la-uzazi", "tumbo", "tumbo-lake", "tumboni", "uke"]·TR["-rahimleri", "ana-rahminden", "ana-rahminden-", "den-rahim", "rahim", "rahimden", "rahimin", "rahmi", "rahmin", "rahminden", "rahminden-", "rahmini"]·urd["-رحم-سے", "اُس-کا-رحم", "رحم", "رحم سے", "رحم-سے", "رحم-کا", "رحم-کے", "مِن-رَحِم"]
Gen 20:18, Gen 29:31, Gen 30:22, Exod 13:2, Exod 13:12, Exod 13:15, Exod 34:19, Num 3:12, Num 8:16, Num 12:12, Num 18:15, 1 Sam 1:5 (+14 more)
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† רֶ֫חֶם, רַ֫חַם n.m. Ho 9:14 womb (f. Je 20:17, unless הֲרַת a noun, cf. AlbrZAW xvi. 81 SS);—abs. ר׳ Gn 20:18 +, רַ֫חַם Ju 5:30, רָ֑חֶם Je 20:17 +, רָ֑חַם Gn 49:25 +; cstr. רֶ֫חֶם Nu 12:12 Jb 3:11; sf. רַחְמָהּ Gn 29:31 +, רַחְמָהֿ Je 20:17 (Ges§ 91e; >f. abs. Köii. 1, 159); du. רַחֲמָתַיִם Ju 5:30;— 1. womb, Gn 49:25 (J) Je 20:17; Jb 24:20; מֵרחם i.e. from birth Je 20:17 ψ 22:11; 58:4; Jb 3:11…