7358. rechem
Lexical Summary
rechem: womb, birth, maiden

Original Word: רֶחֶם
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: rechem
Pronunciation: REH-khem
Phonetic Spelling: (rekh'-em)
KJV: matrix, womb
NASB: womb, birth, maiden, maidens, mother, wombs
Word Origin: [from H7355 (רָחַם - have compassion)]

1. the womb

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
matrix, womb

From racham; the womb (compare racham) -- matrix, womb.

see HEBREW racham

see HEBREW racham

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
womb
NASB Translation
birth (3), born* (1), maiden (1), maidens (1), mother (1), womb (22), wombs (1).

Topical Lexicon
Semantic Range and Thematic Core

רֶחֶם (rechem) denotes the physical womb and, by extension, the tender mercy that springs from it. The term appears about twenty-six times, almost always emphasizing either (1) the mysterious sanctuary in which God fashions life or (2) the life-affirming claim that the Lord lays upon what “opens the womb.” The concrete and the metaphorical remain inseparable: because the womb shelters the helpless, rechem becomes a window into the heart of God, whose compassion protects and nurtures His people.

Literary Distribution

• Torah: Concentrated in legislation on the firstborn (Exodus 13:2, 12, 15; 34:19; Numbers 3:12; 8:16; 18:15).
• Historical and Poetic Books: Proverbs of blessing and lament (Genesis 49:25; Job 3:11; 31:15; Psalms 22:10; 71:6; 110:3).
• Prophets: Vocational call narratives and promises of restoration (Isaiah 44:2, 24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; Ezekiel 20:26).

The Womb as Sanctuary of Life

From the start, Scripture regards the womb as a holy place where the Creator acts directly.

Psalm 22:10: “From my mother’s womb You have been my God.”
Job 31:15: “Did not He who made me in the womb make him, and did not the same One fashion us in the womb?”

Such texts present life in utero as God’s personal craftsmanship. Consequently, to harm life in the womb is to oppose the Creator’s handiwork—an ethic that undergirds biblical opposition to violence against the innocent (compare Exodus 21:22-25).

“Opening the Womb” and the Firstborn

Eight occurrences join rechem with פֶּטֶר (peter, “one who opens”), establishing the principle that the first issue of every womb belongs to the LORD.

Exodus 13:2: “Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me.”
Numbers 18:15: “The firstborn of every womb, whether man or beast… is Mine.”

Historically this ordinance proclaimed (1) God’s deliverance in the plague of the firstborn, (2) His ownership of all life, and (3) a foreshadowing of the true Firstborn, Jesus Christ, later identified in Luke 2:23 as fulfilling “every firstborn male shall be called holy to the Lord” (citing Exodus 13:2).

Rechem and Prophetic Calling

Several prophets trace their vocation to God’s action in the womb, affirming both divine sovereignty and human dignity.

Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart.”
Isaiah 49:1: “The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.”

These texts assure believers that God’s purposes precede birth, encouraging surrender to His call and supporting ministries that defend the unborn and nurture children toward their God-given destinies.

Metaphorical Extension to Compassion

Though other forms of the root more frequently express “mercy,” the very choice of rechem for womb implies that compassion is womb-like: warm, protective, self-giving. When Scripture describes God’s mercy, it often links back to this visceral image (for example, Isaiah 49:15 uses the related verb). Human compassion, therefore, is not merely emotional sympathy but a commitment to shelter life as the womb does—an ethic foundational for pastoral care, adoption, foster ministry, and pro-life advocacy.

Christological Fulfillment

Luke deliberately cites Exodus 13 to show that Jesus, the true Firstborn, embodies all that rechem signifies. His incarnation begins in Mary’s womb (Luke 1:31), and His redemptive mission secures the release of every “firstborn” who trusts in Him (Hebrews 12:23). Thus, the consecration of the womb’s first issue finds ultimate expression in the consecrated body of Christ.

Practical Ministry Implications

1. Sanctity of Life: Every stage of human development is under divine claim; Christian ethics must protect life from conception to natural death.
2. Parental Dedication: Presenting children to the Lord continues the firstborn principle, recognizing God’s ownership.
3. Pastoral Compassion: As rechem shelters, so the church is called to wrap the vulnerable—unborn, orphan, widow, refugee—in tangible mercy.
4. Vocational Confidence: Believers can serve boldly, trusting that God’s purposes for them were woven “from the womb.”

See Also

• Beten (בֶּטֶן 990): another word for “womb.”
• Racham (7355): verb “to show mercy.”
• Rachamim (7356): plural noun “compassions, mercies.”

Forms and Transliterations
בָּרֶ֥חֶם ברחם וְרַחְמָ֖הֿ ורחמה מֵ֭רֶחֶם מֵרֶ֖חֶם מֵרֶ֣חֶם מֵרֶ֥חֶם מֵרָ֑חֶם מרחם רֶ֖חֶם רֶ֙חֶם֙ רֶ֜חֶם רֶ֠חֶם רֶ֣חֶם רֶ֨חֶם ׀ רַחְמָ֑הּ רַחְמָֽהּ׃ רחם רחמה רחמה׃ bā·re·ḥem baRechem bāreḥem mê·rā·ḥem mê·re·ḥem meRachem mêrāḥem meRechem mêreḥem rachMah raḥ·māh raḥmāh re·ḥem Rechem reḥem verachMah wə·raḥ·māh wəraḥmāh
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 20:18
HEB: בְּעַ֥ד כָּל־ רֶ֖חֶם לְבֵ֣ית אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ
NAS: all the wombs of the household
KJV: closed up all the wombs of the house
INT: about all the wombs of the household of Abimelech

Genesis 29:31
HEB: וַיִּפְתַּ֖ח אֶת־ רַחְמָ֑הּ וְרָחֵ֖ל עֲקָרָֽה׃
NAS: and He opened her womb, but Rachel
KJV: he opened her womb: but Rachel
INT: Leah opened her womb Rachel was barren

Genesis 30:22
HEB: וַיִּפְתַּ֖ח אֶת־ רַחְמָֽהּ׃
NAS: gave heed to her and opened her womb.
KJV: hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
INT: God to her and opened her womb

Exodus 13:2
HEB: פֶּ֤טֶר כָּל־ רֶ֙חֶם֙ בִּבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל
NAS: of every womb among the sons
KJV: whatsoever openeth the womb among the children
INT: the first of every womb the sons of Israel

Exodus 13:12
HEB: כָל־ פֶּֽטֶר־ רֶ֖חֶם לַֽיהֹוָ֑ה וְכָל־
NAS: of every womb, and the first offspring
KJV: all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling
INT: of every the first womb to the LORD of every

Exodus 13:15
HEB: כָּל־ פֶּ֤טֶר רֶ֙חֶם֙ הַזְּכָרִ֔ים וְכָל־
NAS: of every womb, but every
KJV: all that openeth the matrix, being males;
INT: of every the first womb the males every

Exodus 34:19
HEB: כָּל־ פֶּ֥טֶר רֶ֖חֶם לִ֑י וְכָֽל־
NAS: from every womb belongs to Me, and all
KJV: All that openeth the matrix [is] mine; and every firstling
INT: every the first womb and all livestock

Numbers 3:12
HEB: בְּכ֛וֹר פֶּ֥טֶר רֶ֖חֶם מִבְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל
NAS: the first issue of the womb among
KJV: that openeth the matrix among the children
INT: firstborn the first of the womb the sons of Israel

Numbers 8:16
HEB: פִּטְרַ֨ת כָּל־ רֶ֜חֶם בְּכ֥וֹר כֹּל֙
NAS: first issue of the womb, the firstborn
KJV: instead of such as open every womb, [even instead of] the firstborn
INT: first of every of the womb the firstborn of all

Numbers 12:12
HEB: אֲשֶׁ֤ר בְּצֵאתוֹ֙ מֵרֶ֣חֶם אִמּ֔וֹ וַיֵּאָכֵ֖ל
NAS: from his mother's womb!
KJV: of his mother's womb.
INT: whose comes womb his mother's eaten

Numbers 18:15
HEB: כָּל־ פֶּ֣טֶר רֶ֠חֶם לְֽכָל־ בָּשָׂ֞ר
NAS: first issue of the womb of all
KJV: Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh,
INT: Every first of the womb of all flesh

1 Samuel 1:5
HEB: וַֽיהוָ֖ה סָגַ֥ר רַחְמָֽהּ׃
NAS: but the LORD had closed her womb.
KJV: but the LORD had shut up her womb.
INT: the LORD had closed her womb

1 Samuel 1:6
HEB: יְהוָ֖ה בְּעַ֥ד רַחְמָֽהּ׃
NAS: the LORD had closed her womb.
KJV: had shut up her womb.
INT: the LORD up her womb

Job 3:11
HEB: לָ֤מָּה לֹּ֣א מֵרֶ֣חֶם אָמ֑וּת מִבֶּ֖טֶן
NAS: did I not die at birth, Come forth
KJV: Why died I not from the womb? [why] did I [not] give up the ghost
INT: Why at birth die the womb

Job 10:18
HEB: וְלָ֣מָּה מֵ֭רֶחֶם הֹצֵאתָ֑נִי אֶ֝גְוַ֗ע
NAS: then have You brought me out of the womb? Would that I had died
KJV: Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost,
INT: Why matrix brought die

Job 24:20
HEB: יִשְׁכָּ֘חֵ֤הוּ רֶ֨חֶם ׀ מְתָ֘ק֤וֹ רִמָּ֗ה
NAS: A mother will forget him; The worm
KJV: The womb shall forget him; the worm
INT: will forget A mother sweetly the worm

Job 31:15
HEB: עָשָׂ֑הוּ וַ֝יְכֻנֶ֗נּוּ בָּרֶ֥חֶם אֶחָֽד׃
KJV: fashion us in the womb?
INT: make fashion matrix and the same

Job 38:8
HEB: יָ֑ם בְּ֝גִיח֗וֹ מֵרֶ֥חֶם יֵצֵֽא׃
NAS: it went out from the womb;
KJV: [as if] it had issued out of the womb?
INT: the sea bursting the womb went

Psalm 22:10
HEB: עָ֭לֶיךָ הָשְׁלַ֣כְתִּי מֵרָ֑חֶם מִבֶּ֥טֶן אִ֝מִּ֗י
NAS: Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God
KJV: I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou [art] my God
INT: upon was cast birth womb my mother's

Psalm 58:3
HEB: זֹ֣רוּ רְשָׁעִ֣ים מֵרָ֑חֶם תָּע֥וּ מִ֝בֶּ֗טֶן
NAS: are estranged from the womb; These who speak
KJV: are estranged from the womb: they go astray
INT: are estranged the wicked the womb go birth

Psalm 110:3
HEB: בְּֽהַדְרֵי־ קֹ֭דֶשׁ מֵרֶ֣חֶם מִשְׁחָ֑ר לְ֝ךָ֗
NAS: array, from the womb of the dawn,
KJV: of holiness from the womb of the morning:
INT: array holy the womb of the dawn You the dew

Jeremiah 1:5
HEB: וּבְטֶ֛רֶם תֵּצֵ֥א מֵרֶ֖חֶם הִקְדַּשְׁתִּ֑יךָ נָבִ֥יא
KJV: thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified
INT: and before forth of the womb consecrated A prophet

Jeremiah 20:17
HEB: לֹא־ מוֹתְתַ֖נִי מֵרָ֑חֶם וַתְּהִי־ לִ֤י
NAS: me before birth, So that my mother
KJV: Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother
INT: did not kill birth have been my mother

Jeremiah 20:17
HEB: אִמִּי֙ קִבְרִ֔י וְרַחְמָ֖הֿ הֲרַ֥ת עוֹלָֽם׃
NAS: my grave, And her womb ever
KJV: might have been my grave, and her womb [to be] always
INT: my mother my grave womb pregnant ever

Jeremiah 20:18
HEB: לָ֤מָּה זֶּה֙ מֵרֶ֣חֶם יָצָ֔אתִי לִרְא֥וֹת
NAS: come forth from the womb To look
KJV: Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see
INT: Why ever the womb come to look

26 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 7358
26 Occurrences


bā·re·ḥem — 1 Occ.
mê·rā·ḥem — 3 Occ.
mê·re·ḥem — 7 Occ.
raḥ·māh — 4 Occ.
re·ḥem — 10 Occ.
wə·raḥ·māh — 1 Occ.

7357
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