Of Healing, Wombs and Mercy

Recently, I listened to a teaching about healing. The teacher shared with the audience a selection of scriptures about healing, and the first one was Genesis 20:17-18. That caught my attention for a couple of reasons and led me on an interesting line of investigation and discovery.

Before we look at the passage, let’s set the table first. A number of years previously Sarai had given her maid Hagar to her husband, Abram, and Hagar bore him Ishmael. Then about 13 years later, יהוה appeared to Abram and changed his name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah at the same time He instituted circumcision for all the males in Abraham’s household. At that time also, He promised Abraham and Sarah that in a year’s time, Sarah would bear a child to Abraham (Genesis 17:15, 18:14).

Shortly after this promise was given, Abraham and Sarah settled in Gerar. Abraham said that Sarah was his sister, and the local king, Abimelech, believing Abraham, took Sarah for himself. Then יהוה appeared to Abimelech in a dream warning him that he was a dead man for having taken a man’s woman, for Abraham was Sarah’s husband. Reading the scripture, it looks like the death penalty would have been the extinction of the line of Abimelech. Now let’s look at the passage.

Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Genesis 20:17-18 NASB95

The first thing I realized (and verified) is that this instance of healing is the first one that we read about in the Bible. We do not read that there was any healing for the Egyptians when Pharaoh took Sarai in Genesis 12:17-20 and יהוה struck them with plagues. The second thing I realized is that this first instance of healing happened in a polygyny context; Abimelech already had a wife and Sarah was going to be the next wife. In addition, the female maidservants belonged to Abimelech. Upon Abraham’s intercession for them, all were healed and able to bear children.

Now, wombs in this passage is the Hebrew word רחם (rechem), H7358. The root word for rechem is the Hebrew word רחם (racham), H7355. racham means mercy, compassion, pity, and love. The first time we see רחם rechem is Genesis 20:18!

The next time we see רחם rechem is in Genesis 29:31 with respect to Leah’s womb.

Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 

Genesis 29:31 NASB95

After a number of children had been born to Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah, we see

Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb. 

Genesis 30:22 NASB95

The Hebrew word for Rachel’s womb, is indeed, רחם rechem!

There is one more word in this word family based on רחם racham that I would like to point out that I saw in the blueletterbible.com page for רחם rechem and that there is a third word based on רחם racham that is pronounced slightly differently and that’s H7356 רחם. Most of the time this is translated as mercy or compassion, etc, but in Genesis 49:25, it is translated as womb. But what’s even more interesting is in Judges 5:30, in Deborah’s song of victory,

A maiden, two maidens for every warrior;

 רַחַם רַחֲמָתַיִם לְרֹאשׁ גֶּבֶר

Judges 5:30

Literally, this is “a womb, two wombs for head of the mighty”. But because this is based on mercy, the warrior is given one or more women when the spoils are divided! To whom is mercy being shown? The implications are quite fascinating!

Now, רחם rechem is not the only Hebrew word that is translated into English as womb.

When the twins Esau and Jacob were wrestling in their mother Rebekah’s womb, she went to יהוה to inquire about this strange situation.

The first thing we see is that יהוה will respond to prayer for healing barrenness whether for a polygynous or monogamous household; it does not matter. As the writer of Hebrews observes

Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Hebrews 13:4 NASB95

The English word womb in Genesis 25:23-24 is the Hebrew word בטן beten H990. According to blueletterbible.org, this word comes from an unused root that seems to mean “hollow”. It is not connected to רחם in any way.

When Rachel becomes jealous of her sister, she confronts her husband, Jacob, and demands he give her children.

Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.” Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

Genesis 30:1-2

Here, Jacob is using בטן beten instead of רחם rechem. He was angry at her and likely not feeling too merciful at the moment to be that direct.

Ultimately, the decision of whether to open or close a woman’s womb belongs to the Most High. Looking at these passages, to close a womb supernaturally requires supernatural healing which He can and does provide in His perfect timing and deep mercy and compassion. What’s truly fascinating is how mercy towards women and their need to bear children seems more evident in a group situation such as with Abimelech and his household, Jacob’s household, and the aftermath of war where men die and women are left fatherless or widowed. In the latter case, the mighty man of war is a picture of the Lord of Hosts in taking one or more women to himself out of compassion and He does describe Himself doing just that for Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:5-8).

Oh Lord God, blessed are you for your great mercies and compassion to your people Israel!