Hebrew Anatomy Part 5: The Womb

​So far in this series, we’ve looked at the heart, the liver, the kidneys, and the nose. This time, we’ll look at something that is specific to women: the womb. While this article is a short one, I believe it is nevertheless a crucial part of what this article series is building up to. 

To begin, as always, we’ll look at the word in question in Hebrew. This word is רחם (rechem); a noun translated almost exclusively as “womb.” Its first use is in Bereshiyt (Gen.) 20:18, where it describes the household of Abimelech having all the wombs closed up. Here are a couple verses that utilize this word:

31 Now יהוה saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. – Gen. 29:31

14 Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Yisra’el, and the Levites shall be Mine. 15 After that, the Levites shall go in to do the service of the Tent of Appointment: and you shall cleanse them, and offer them as a wave offering. 16 For they are wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Yisra’el, I have taken them to Me. – Num. 8:14-16

This word, rechem, is derived (as Hebrew nouns are) from the verb of the same spelling, pronounced racham. You may know words like “rachamim” such as appears in some Messianic praise music. If you’re unfamiliar, the word racham means “compassion” and if often translated as compassion, mercy, or even pity. Below are some verses that feature the word racham:

19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the Name of יהוה before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” – Ex. 33:19

10 Foreigners will build up your walls, And their kings will minister to you; For in My wrath I struck you, And in My favor I have had compassion on you. – Is. 60:10

It is interesting to note that these words are related for a number of reasons. First, look at the first example from Gen. 29:31. Leah was “unloved” so Elohim opened her womb. Sounds simple. But what sort of action was this on the part of Elohim? Clearly, He looked to Leah and was moved to help her; that is, He had compassion on her.

Just as the heart is the seat of the mind; just as the liver is the seat of honor/glory; just as the kidneys are the seat of the “deepest, most tender emotions,” so too, is the womb an organ that anchors a spiritual (or “soulish” if you will) element of humanity.

If you’re a mother, you know the deep longing and compassion and mercy (and yes, sometimes even pity) that you feel toward your children. Those that you have carried in your womb. It’s a bond that is clearly physical and emotional, but also spiritual. You develop a “compassionate” attitude toward your child while the child gestates within the organ of compassion itself!

At the risk of getting political (then again, shouldn’t we all?), look now towards the modern West. The United States, Canada, the UK, and most of the modern industrialized world has seen a number of revolutions. One of the larger ones has been the “women’s revolution” and in the United States at the very least, the marches are still going strong. One of the major tenets of these “feminist revolutions” has been to increase exposure and access to abortion. I know I can’t be the only one who has seen these women, often celebrities, in the public square. Campaigns such as “shout your abortion” are gaining media attention, and worse, the attention of young, impressionable minds.
But an interesting thing I personally noticed about many of these women. They claim to be proud of having gotten an abortion, and have a cold, perhaps heartless attitude toward the Unborn. Perhaps the words we’ve looked at above will help you understand why.

If you harm the liver physically, you harm the honor/glory spiritually. If you harm the heart physically, you harm the mind. And so on it goes. As we’ve continually examined in this series, the physical parts of the human body are connected with and related to the spiritual parts of the body (as I like to say, the soulish part).

Perhaps – and this is solely my personal theory based on observation of American culture – those who so adamantly brag about abortion, who are so proud to have removed their child from their womb; perhaps the reason they can be so harsh, cold, and unloving toward the unborn, is simply because they’ve damaged their “organ of compassion.” The natural physical and spiritual function of the womb in a woman is to serve as a chamber of growing compassion. So what happens when it is damaged?

As an aside, I realize men are perfectly capable of being compassionate even though we do not have a womb. Just as even someone with a dysfunctional nose can still get angry (see Part 4). But on the whole, in general, we find women more naturally nurturing and more naturally compassionate. I believe this is yet another example of how the Words of Elohim are ingrained not only in Scripture, but in the way He built our bodies.

Be Berean.

Shalom. 

Uploaded 3/26/19.​