7360. racham or rachamah
Lexical Summary
racham or rachamah: To have compassion, to show mercy, womb (as a noun)

Original Word: רָחָם
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: racham
Pronunciation: rah-KHAHM or rah-khah-MAH
Phonetic Spelling: (raw-khawm')
KJV: gier-eagle
NASB: carrion vulture
Word Origin: [from H7355 (רָחַם - have compassion)]

1. a kind of vulture (supposed to be tender towards its young)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
gier- eagle

Or (feminine) rachamah {raw-khaw-maw'}; from racham; a kind of vulture (supposed to be tender towards its young) -- gier- eagle.

see HEBREW racham

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
carrion vulture
NASB Translation
carrion vulture (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
רָחָם noun [masculine] carrion-vulture; — absolute ׳הָר Leviticus 11:18 (Samaritan רחמה; so perhaps read) = הָרָחָ֫מָה "" Deuteronomy 14:17 (on accent see Dr; compare Ges§ 90f).

רָחָ֫מָה noun [masculine] id.; Deuteronomy 14:17, see foregoing.

רחן (apparently √ of following; meaning dubious).

Topical Lexicon
Identification of the Bird

The term designates a large carrion-eating raptor native to the Near East—most commonly understood as a vulture or kite. Its behavior of circling over decay and living off dead flesh made it a vivid emblem of impurity to ancient Israel. Early Jewish commentators (e.g., the Targums) link it to a variety of vulture, while later naturalists have proposed the Egyptian vulture or the black kite. Whatever exact species is intended, the defining trait is scavenging on carcasses.

Canonical Appearances

1. Leviticus 11:18 lists the bird among creatures Israel must not eat.
2. Deuteronomy 14:17 repeats the prohibition when Moses rehearses the dietary code on the plains of Moab.

“You are not to eat the short-eared owl, the fisher owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the commorant, the vulture, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, or the bat.” (Deuteronomy 14:16–18; emphasis added)

Historical Significance in Israel’s Dietary Laws

The ban served at least three purposes:
• Health: Carrion feeders concentrate disease; avoiding them protected the community from infection.
• Moral pedagogy: By rejecting what thrives on corruption, Israel enacted a living parable of separation from moral decay (Leviticus 11:44).
• Covenant identity: Distinct food practices reinforced national holiness so that Israel would “be Mine” (Leviticus 20:26). The vulture stands as a symbol of what God’s people must not assimilate.

Symbolic and Theological Implications

1. Death and judgment. Vultures gather where the slain lie (Job 39:30; Matthew 24:28). By branding the bird unclean, Torah visually linked death with ceremonial defilement and anticipated final judgment.
2. Holiness of life. In the Gospel era, believers are urged to avoid spiritual “carrion”—teachings and practices that sap life (2 Timothy 2:16–17). The Old Testament image warns against nourishing the soul on death.
3. Resurrection hope. A scavenger’s presence presupposes a corpse; banning its flesh testified that God’s people are oriented toward life, culminating in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, “who abolished death and illuminated life and immortality” (2 Timothy 1:10).

Connection to the Holiness Code

Leviticus frames clean/unclean laws between two affirmations of God’s holiness (Leviticus 11:44–45). The carrion bird, feeding on death outside camp, contrasts with sacrifices consumed on the altar inside the sanctuary. Thus dietary discernment mirrored liturgical reality: what entered the body paralleled what entered God’s altar.

Lessons for Contemporary Ministry

• Discipleship: Just as Israel distinguished edible from inedible, the church must distinguish edifying teaching from toxic error (Hebrews 13:9).
• Mission: The vulture’s scavenging reminds believers that humanity without Christ is spiritually lifeless. The gospel calls us to bring the bread of life rather than feed on corruption (John 6:35).
• Stewardship of creation: While unclean for food, vultures serve an ecological role by removing carrion. Recognizing this balances prohibition with appreciation for God’s wider purposes in creation.

Christological Foreshadowing

Uncleanness attached to the vulture underscores humanity’s plight under sin. In His atoning death, Christ “became sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21), taking on the defilement symbolized by carrion to make His people clean (Hebrews 9:13–14). The bird’s exclusion from the Israelite table points forward to the Lamb whose flesh and blood grant eternal life (John 6:53).

Summary

Though appearing only twice, the word enriches biblical theology by illustrating separation from death, the call to holiness, and the anticipation of the One who conquers corruption. The scavenging raptor, unfit for Israel’s diet, becomes a compelling reminder that God’s people feast on life, not death.

Forms and Transliterations
הָרָחָ֖מָה הָרָחָֽם׃ הרחם׃ הרחמה hā·rā·ḥā·māh hā·rā·ḥām haraCham haraChamah hārāḥām hārāḥāmāh
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Leviticus 11:18
HEB: הַקָּאָ֖ת וְאֶת־ הָרָחָֽם׃
NAS: and the pelican and the carrion vulture,
KJV: and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
INT: and the white and the pelican and the carrion

Deuteronomy 14:17
HEB: וְהַקָּאָ֥ת וְאֶֽת־ הָרָחָ֖מָה וְאֶת־ הַשָּׁלָֽךְ׃
NAS: the pelican, the carrion vulture, the cormorant,
KJV: And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
INT: the pelican the carrion the cormorant

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 7360
2 Occurrences


hā·rā·ḥām — 1 Occ.
hā·rā·ḥā·māh — 1 Occ.

7359
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