Bible Word Study
רְחוּם
Rᵉchûwm · Rechum, the name of a Persian and of three Israelites
רְחוּם
Rechum, the name of a Persian and of three Israelites
Definition
רְחוּם (Rechum) is a proper noun referring to four distinct individuals in the Old Testament. The most prominent is Rehum the chancellor, a Persian official who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls and sent a letter of accusation to King Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:8-9, 4:17, 4:23). Another is Rehum the Levite, who sealed the covenant of renewal under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 10:25). The name also appears for a leader of the returning exiles (Ezra 2:2) and a priestly family head (Nehemiah 12:3).
Biblical Usage
This name is used exclusively in the post-exilic books of Ezra and Nehemiah, appearing eight times. It is applied to both Israelites and a Persian official, reflecting the administrative and communal context of the restoration period. Key contexts include opposition to rebuilding (Ezra 4:8-23), covenant renewal (Nehemiah 10:25), and lists of returning exiles and priests (Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 12:3).
Etymology
רְחוּם is a shortened form of the Hebrew adjective רַחוּם (rachum, H7349), meaning 'compassionate' or 'merciful.' It derives from the root רחם (r-ch-m), associated with womb, compassion, and tender love. As a name, it likely carried the sense of 'the compassionate one' or 'one who is shown mercy.'
Semantic Range
While a personal name, its etymological connection to 'compassion' (rachum) subtly reflects a key attribute of God, who is frequently described as 'compassionate and gracious' (Exodus 34:6). For the post-exilic community, bearing or encountering a name meaning 'compassion' could have served as a reminder of God's merciful character during a period of rebuilding and spiritual renewal. In the Persian period, names often held significant meaning or reflected cultural interaction. A Persian official bearing a Hebrew-derived name (or its Aramaic equivalent) indicates the cross-cultural administrative environment of the empire. For Israelites, using a name meaning 'compassion' may have expressed hope or gratitude for God's mercy in restoring them from exile. רַחוּם (rachum, H7349) — The adjective meaning 'compassionate,' from which the name Rechum is derived.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]