A Hebrew verb meaning to love deeply, have compassion, show tender mercy. Derived from the noun rechem (womb), this word carries the connotation of the deep, visceral love a mother has for her child — a love rooted in the very body. When applied to God, it describes His most intimate, tender, and unconditional compassion.
The womb-connection of racham reveals something extraordinary about God's nature: His compassion is not cold pity but maternal, visceral, and deeply personal. In Isaiah 49:15, God asks, 'Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion (racham) on the son of her womb?' — and answers that even if she could, He will not forget His people. This word is central to understanding God's covenant love as more than legal obligation — it is the love of a parent whose child is part of their own body. The plural form rachamim becomes one of the most important words for divine mercy in both Hebrew Scripture and Jewish liturgy.