Reference: Rama
Easton
(Mt 2:18), the Greek form of Ramah. (1.) A city first mentioned in Jos 18:25, near Gibeah of Benjamin. It was fortified by Baasha, king of Israel (1Ki 15:17-22; 2Ch 16:1-6). Asa, king of Judah, employed Benhadad the Syrian king to drive Baasha from this city (1Ki 15:18,20). Isaiah (Isa 10:29) refers to it, and also Jeremiah, who was once a prisoner there among the other captives of Jerusalem when it was taken by Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 39:8-12; 40:1). Rachel, whose tomb lies close to Bethlehem, is represented as weeping in Ramah (Jer 31:15) for her slaughtered children. This prophecy is illustrated and fulfilled in the re-awakening of Rachel's grief at the slaughter of the infants in Bethlehem (Mt 2:18). It is identified with the modern village of er-Ram, between Gibeon and Beeroth, about 5 miles due north of Jerusalem. (See Samuel.)
(2.) A town identified with Rameh, on the border of Asher, about 13 miles south-east of Tyre, "on a solitary hill in the midst of a basin of green fields" (Jos 19:29).
(3.) One of the "fenced cities" of Naphtali (Jos 19:36), on a mountain slope, about seven and a half miles west-south-west of Safed, and 15 miles west of the north end of the Sea of Galilee, the present large and well-built village of Rameh.
(4.) The same as Ramathaim-zophim (q.v.), a town of Mount Ephraim (1Sa 1:1,19).
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then the border turns [to] Ramah, and up to the fortified city of Tyre, [where] the border turns [to] Hosah; {it ends} at the sea, from Hebel to Aczib.
There was a certain man from Ramathaim Zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh {and returned} to their house at Ramah. Then Elkanah {had sexual relations with} Hannah his wife, and Yahweh remembered her.
Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and he built Ramah {to hinder the coming and going of anyone to Asa} king of Judah. Asa took all of the silver and gold remaining in the storerooms of the house of Yahweh and in the treasury rooms of the house of the king, and he gave them into the hand of his servants; so King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,
Asa took all of the silver and gold remaining in the storerooms of the house of Yahweh and in the treasury rooms of the house of the king, and he gave them into the hand of his servants; so King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, "[Let there be] a covenant between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel that he may go up [away] from me." read more. Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and he attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maacah, and all of Kinnereth, in addition to all the land of Naphtali.
Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and he attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maacah, and all of Kinnereth, in addition to all the land of Naphtali. When Baasha heard, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in Tirzah. read more. Then King Asa proclaimed among all of Israel that there was no one free from obligation, so they carried the stones of Ramah and its wood with which Baasha had built, and King Asa rebuilt Geba in Benjamin with them, and the Mizpah.
Joram the king returned to Jezreel to heal from the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted at Ramah when Hazael king of Aram fought him. Ahaziah the son of Joram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he [was] ill.
They crossed over [the] pass; Geba [is] a place of overnight lodging for us. Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul has fled.
Thus says Yahweh, "A voice [is] heard in Ramah, lamentation, [the] weeping of bitterness. Rachel [is] weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted because of her children, for they are no [more]."
And the Chaldeans burned the palace of the king and the houses of the people with fire and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. Then the rest of the people who were left in the city, and those deserting who had deserted to him, and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, deported [to] Babylon. read more. And some of the poor people, {who had nothing}, Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, left in the land of Judah. And he gave them vineyards and fields on that day. And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon commanded concerning Jeremiah {through} Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, {saying}, "Take him and set your eyes on him. And you must not do something bad to him, {but only} that which he speaks to you, so do with him."
The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, had let him go from Ramah, {where he had been taken} bound in chains in the midst of all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being deported [to] Babylon.
"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because {they exist no longer}."
"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because {they exist no longer}."
Fausets
RAMA or RAMAH ("an elevated spot".)
1. In Benjamin (Jer 31:15; Mt 2:18). The cry of the weeping mothers and of Rachel is poetically represented as heard as far as Rama, on the E. side of the N. road between Jerusalem and Bethel; Rama where Nebuzaradan gathered the captive Jews to take them to Babylon. Not far from Gibeah of Saul (1Sa 22:6; Ho 5:8; Isa 10:28-32). Now Er Ram, five miles from Jerusalem (Jg 4:5; 19:13; Jos 18:25). There is an Er Ram one mile and a half E. of Bethlehem; but explain Jer 31:15 as above.
Baasha fortified it, to prevent his subjects from going S. to Jerusalem to the great feasts, and so joining the kingdom of Judah (1Ki 15:17-21; 2Ch 16:1-5). (See BAASHA; ASA.) The coincidence is dear between Rama's being built by Israel, its overthrow by Judah, and the emigration from Israel to Judah owing to Jeroboam's idolatry (1Ki 12:26; 2Ch 11:14-17); yet the events are named separately, and their connection only inferred by comparison of distinct passages, a minute proof of genuineness. Its people returned after the captivity (Ezr 2:26; Ne 7:30). The Rama, Ne 11:33, was further W.
2. The house of Elkanah, Samuel's father (1Sa 1:19; 2:11). Samuel's birthplace, residence, and place of burial. Here he built an altar to Jehovah (1Sa 7:17; 8:4; 15:34; 16:13; 19:18; 25:1; 28:3). Contracted from Ramathaim Zophim, in Mount Ephraim (which included under its name the northern parts of Benjamin, Bethel, and Ataroth: 2Ch 13:19; 15:8; Jg 4:5; 1Sa 1:1). Muslim, Jewish, and Christian tradition places Samuel's home on the height Neby Samwil, four miles N.W. of Jerusalem, than which it is loftier. Arculf (A.D. 700) identifies it as "Saint Samuel."
The professed tomb is a wooden box; below it is a cave excavated like Abraham's burial place at Hebron, from the rock, and dosed against entrance except by a narrow opening in the top, through which pilgrims pass their lamps and petitions to the sacred vault beneath. The city where Samuel anointed Saul (1 Samuel 9-10) was probably not Samuel's own city Rama, for the city of Saul's anointing was near Rachel's sepulchre adjoining Bethlehem (1Sa 10:2), whereas Mount Ephraim wherein was Ramathaim Zophim did not reach so far S. Near Neby Samwil, the probable site of Samuel's Rama, is the well of Sechu to which Saul came on his way to Rama, now "Samuel's fountain" near Beit Isku. Beit Haninah (probably Naioth) is near (1Sa 19:18-24). Hosea (Ho 5:8) refers to Rama. The appended "Zophim" distinguishes it from Rama of Benjamin. Elkanah's ancestor Zuph may have been the origin of the "Zophim."
3. A fortress of Naphtali in the mountainous region N.W. of the sea, of Galilee. Now Rameh, eight miles E.S.E. of Safed, on the main track between Akka and the N. of the sea of Galilee, on the slope of a lofty hill.
4. On Asher's boundary between Tyre and Sidon; a Rama is still three miles E. of Tyre.
5. Ramoth Gilead (2Ki 8:29; 2Ch 22:6).
6. Re-occupied by Benjamin on the return from Babylon (Ne 11:33). Identified by Grove with Ramleh.
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And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the {Israelites} went up to her for judgment.
And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the {Israelites} went up to her for judgment.
And he said to his servant, "Come, let us approach one of these places; we will spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah."
Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh {and returned} to their house at Ramah. Then Elkanah {had sexual relations with} Hannah his wife, and Yahweh remembered her.
Then Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house. Now the boy was serving Yahweh {in the presence of} Eli the priest.
Then {he returned} to Ramah, because his house was there, and there he judged Israel, and he built an altar to Yahweh there.
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.
As you go from with me {today}, you will find two men near the burial site of Rachel in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, 'The female donkeys that you went to search for have been found.' Now look, your father {is no longer concerned about} the female donkeys and has begun worrying about you, saying, 'What should I do about my son?'
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. Then the Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon David from that day {on}. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.
So David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth.
So David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. And it was told to Saul, "David [is] in Naioth in Ramah." read more. So Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw the company of the prophets prophesying and Samuel standing [as] chief over them, then the Spirit of God came upon Saul's messengers, and they also prophesied. So they told Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. Again Saul sent messengers a third [time], and they also prophesied. Then he also went to Ramah. When he came to the great cistern which [was] in Secu, he asked and said, "Where [are] Samuel and David?" Someone said, "Look [they are] in Naioth in Ramah." So he went there to Naioth in Ramah and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and {he walked along prophesying} until he came to Naioth in Ramah. He also stripped [off] his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all night. Therefore they say, "[Is] Saul also among the prophets?"
Now Saul heard that David and the men who [were] with him had been located. Saul [was] sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk [tree] at Ramah. Now his spear [was] in his hand and all his servants [were] stationed around him.
Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him. They buried him at his house at Ramah. Then David got up and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
(Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him, and they had buried him in Ramah, his [own] city. And Saul had expelled the mediums and the soothsayers from the land.)
Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and he built Ramah {to hinder the coming and going of anyone to Asa} king of Judah. Asa took all of the silver and gold remaining in the storerooms of the house of Yahweh and in the treasury rooms of the house of the king, and he gave them into the hand of his servants; so King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, read more. "[Let there be] a covenant between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel that he may go up [away] from me." Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and he attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maacah, and all of Kinnereth, in addition to all the land of Naphtali. When Baasha heard, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in Tirzah.
Joram the king returned to Jezreel to heal from the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted at Ramah when Hazael king of Aram fought him. Ahaziah the son of Joram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he [was] ill.
And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages.
And when Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the vile idols from all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of Yahweh that was in front of the portico of Yahweh.
the people of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one;
The men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one.
He has come to Aiath, he has passed through Migron; at Micmash he deposited his baggage. They crossed over [the] pass; Geba [is] a place of overnight lodging for us. Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul has fled. read more. Daughter of Gallim, cry out [with] your voice; Laishah, listen! {Anathoth is poor}. Madmenah flees! The inhabitants of Gebim bring themselves into safety! {This day} {taking a stand} at Nob, he will shake his fist [at] the mountain of the daughter of Zion, [at] the hill of Jerusalem.
Thus says Yahweh, "A voice [is] heard in Ramah, lamentation, [the] weeping of bitterness. Rachel [is] weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted because of her children, for they are no [more]."
Thus says Yahweh, "A voice [is] heard in Ramah, lamentation, [the] weeping of bitterness. Rachel [is] weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted because of her children, for they are no [more]."
Blow the {horn} in Gibeah, [the] trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm [in] Beth-aven; [look] behind you, Benjamin.
Blow the {horn} in Gibeah, [the] trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm [in] Beth-aven; [look] behind you, Benjamin.
"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because {they exist no longer}."
Morish
Ra'ma
The place where Rachel was said to be 'weeping for her children.' The prophecy is in the N.T. applied to the occasion of the massacre of the infants by Herod. Mt 2:18. The same as RAMAH No. 1.
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"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because {they exist no longer}."
Smith
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Thus says Yahweh, "A voice [is] heard in Ramah, lamentation, [the] weeping of bitterness. Rachel [is] weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted because of her children, for they are no [more]."
And he was there until the death of Herod, in order that what was said by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, "Out of Egypt I called my son."