Re: Biblical Hebrew

Peter Clark scripsit:

>         Sure; one word for mercy (although relatively rare, compared with "hesed"
> "grace, loving-kindness") is racham, although in general it has connotations
> of "to have compassion" or "cherishing." The specific word for "womb" (as
> opposed to "belly") is rechem. It's not quite clear whether which word
> derives from which; scholars? In any case, the extension is clearly
> understandable if you've been around expectant mothers. Think tender, caring,
> expectant, loving, motherly, and there you go. And even if its just a
> coincidence, it's a very nice one.
The concepts "womb", "bowels", and "compassion" seem to be clearly connected.
There are several biblical references to offspring being born from one's
bowels (Gen. 15:4 and 25:23, e.g.), and to the bowels as the organ of
compassion:

        Genesis 43:30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his
        brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his
        chamber, and wept there.

In New Testament language we frequently hear of "the bowels of Christ" meaning
Christ's compassion: one example is Oliver Cromwell's famous warning on
religious toleration:

        I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you
        may be mistaken.

--
John Cowan   <jcowan@...>   http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
"One time I called in to the central system and started working on a big
thick 'sed' and 'awk' heavy duty data bashing script.  One of the geologists
came by, looked over my shoulder and said 'Oh, that happens to me too.
Try hanging up and phoning in again.'"  --Beverly Erlebacher

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