Did God Directly Form Us in the Womb?

As you read this section, keep in mind that the New Testament is not merely a history book, it's meant to change us to become more and more like Jesus. When we read any passages in the New Testament, our goal should be to discern what God wants us to believe and do so that we can be obedient to Him.

When we study the Bible, it's very easy to get the wrong impression and form the wrong views if we only look at a few Bible passages (this is explained in detail in my article called How to Study the Bible). For example, notice that in several places we're told that God directly forms people in the womb:

"Your hands shaped me and made [asah] me. Will you now turn and destroy me? Remember that you molded [asah] me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit." (Job 10:8-12)

"Did not he who made [asah] me in the womb make [asah] them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?" (Job 31:15)

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb [beten]. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made [asah] in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body" (Psalms 139:13-16)

"The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed [yasar] you in the womb [beten] I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."" (Jeremiah 1:4-5)

"Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create [bara] us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?" (Malachi 2:10)

If we only look at the above passages, it would be easy to assume that the Bible says that God directly forms each person in the womb.

But notice that in these passages, God used the exact same Hebrew words to say that He formed the nation of Israel in the womb (Bible commentaries point out that "Jacob" and "Jeshurun" are poetic synonyms for the nation of Israel here):

"But now, this is what the LORD says - he who created [bara] you, Jacob, he who formed [yasar] you, Israel: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine...I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth - everyone who is called by my name, whom I created [bara] for my glory, whom I formed [yasar] and made [asah]."...I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed [yasar] for myself that they may proclaim my praise."" (Isaiah 43:1-21)

"But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. This is what the LORD says - he who made [asah] you, who formed [yasar] you in the womb [beten], and who will help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen...Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant. I have made [yasar] you, you are my servant; Israel, I will not forget you...This is what the LORD says - your Redeemer, who formed [yasar] you in the womb [beten]: I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself" (Isaiah 44:1-24)

In the above two passages, God said that He had formed the nation of Israel in the womb, and He used the exact same Hebrew words that we saw in the previous passages. The nation itself was not formed in a literal womb, so God was using figurative, colorful, flowery, or poetic language to describe Israel's formation. Since God used the exact same wording that we saw in the previous passages to figuratively describe His forming the nation of Israel in the womb, we can't be dogmatic that the previous passages literally describe God forming people in the womb. In fact, if you look closely at Job 10:8-12 (above), you can clearly see that it's using figurative, colorful, flowery, or poetic language (e.g., describing God's hands shaping Job, and God molding him like clay, and God curdling him like cheese). Similarly, if you look closely at Psalms 139:13-16 (above), you can clearly see that it's using figurative, colorful, flowery, or poetic language because David (who wrote that psalm) was formed in his mother's womb, not in the depths of the earth.

All of the passages in this section are using figurative descriptions of people (or the nation of Israel) being formed in the womb. They're not making literal statements about the womb. God does not literally form or knit anyone in the womb.