לֹא רֻחָמָה
𐤋𐤀 𐤓𐤇𐤌𐤄
Lo Ruchamah
H3819 particle
SILEX Entry
Definition
A proper noun, specifically a symbolic personal name meaning 'not shown compassion' or 'not pitied'. Used of a daughter born to the prophet Hosea, symbolizing the withdrawal of divine compassion or mercy toward the northern kingdom of Israel in the prophetic context.
Semantic Range
not shown compassion, not pitied, personified withdrawal of compassion (symbolic name), lacking mercy (prophetic oracle)
Root / Etymology
A compound of two elements: לֹא (lôʼ, 'not'), functioning as a negation, and רֻחָמָה (ruchāmāh), the passive participle of the root רָחַם (to show compassion, to have mercy), meaning 'shown compassion' or 'pitied.' Thus לֹא רֻחָמָה means 'not shown compassion.'
Historical & Contextual Notes
Lo-Ruchamah appears solely in the book of Hosea (Hosea 1:6, 1:8), as the symbolic name given to Hosea's daughter, part of a sequence of children whose names represent divine messages to the northern kingdom (Israel) during the 8th century BCE. The name communicates a withdrawal of Yahweh's compassion towards Israel in response to apostasy, preceding a promised future restoration. In this context, לֹא רֻחָמָה serves not as an ordinary personal name, but as a prophetic oracle. English versions often obscure the nuance by rendering the name as 'Lo-ruhamah' without conveying the Hebrew's full semantic content. The element רֻחָמָה, as a passive participle, is not used widely as a standalone name outside of this prophetic context. 'Lo-' functions as a negating particle in many Hebrew names with symbolic meaning. Later Jewish and Christian interpretive traditions sometimes use the name as a symbol of estrangement and eventual reconciliation, but the original context is specific to Hosea's sign-act prophecy for the northern Israelites.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from לֹא and רָחַם; not pitied; Lo-Ruchamah, the symbolic name of a son of Hosea; Lo-ruhamah.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
לא (l-ʾ) — negation, denial, refusal
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1093 | בְּלוֹ | and not |
| H3789 | כָּתַב | not |
| H3808 | לֹא | without |
| H3809 | לָא | is it not? |
| H3810 | לֹא דְבַר | not |
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3819-01 |
לֹ֣א | lo | HTn |
not | not | 2 |
H3819-02 |
רֻחָ֑מָה | ruchamah | HNp |
Ruhamah | Not-shown-compassion | 2 |
Occurrences in Scripture
4 total occurrences