Day 12 of 75 · The reign foundations
R-Ḥ-M
raḥme: compassion
דרחם · רחמי
ܕ݁ܪܳܚܶܡ · ܪܳܚܶܡܝ
The feel
R-Ḥ-M is the root of deep compassion and tender love. It carries affection, pity, and tenderness together, and the same root gives the word for womb. Another noun from it, raḥma, means friend and appears 24 times. The verb rḥem, to love or have mercy on, appears 74 times in the Gospels.
The root family
| Word | Pattern | Script | Standard | Qala rendering |
|---|
| rḥem | verb, Peal · 74× | ܪܚܡ | to love | to love; to have mercy on; to feel for |
| raḥma | noun · 24× | ܪܚܡܐ | friend | friend, dear one |
| raḥma | noun (womb) | ܪܚܡܐ | womb | womb: the root's body-image |
The verb appears in the simple Peal, rḥem, to love or hold dear, and in the Ethpaal, etraḥam (with ʿal), to be moved with compassion or have mercy on someone.
In his voice
Matthew 9:27
As Yeshua moved on from there, two blind men followed him, crying out, "Have compassion on us, Son of David!"
etraḥam ʿlayn, "have compassion on us." The reflexive stem, from the root that also names the womb. The two blind men ask Yeshua to be moved inside himself on their behalf.
Matthew 9:36
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, for they were worn out and scattered, like sheep with no shepherd.
etraḥam ʿlayhon, "he had compassion for them." The same stem as in 9:27. What the blind men asked for happens in him when he sees the crowds.
Matthew 11:19
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and of those who miss the mark.' Yet wisdom is proven right by what she does."
raḥma, "friend." It is a noun from the same root as womb and compassion. His critics use it to insult him for his closeness to tax collectors.
Practice
Think of one person who is struggling right now, and do one small kind thing for them today. Before you do it, say raḥme, compassion, aloud.
Connections