Ramah (from Hebrew: "height") was, according to the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

, a city in ancient Israel in the land allocated to the tribe of Benjamin. It was located near Gibeon and Mizpah to the West, Gibeah to the South, and Geba to the East. It has been identified with modern Er-Ram, about north of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Biblical accounts

The city is first mentioned in , near Gibeah of Benjamin. In the

Book of Judges The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom ...

, a Levite came traveling to Gibeah, with Ramah just ahead ().

Ramathaim-zophim Ramathaim-Zophim ( he, רמתיים־צופים), also called Ramah () and Ramatha in the Douay–Rheims Bible translation (Ramathaimsophim in the Vulgate), is a city from the Hebrew Bible, the home town and resting place of prophet Samuel. The n ...

is the town that was home to

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

's mother

Hannah Hannah or Hanna may refer to: People, biblical figures, and fictional characters * Hannah (name), a female given name of Hebrew origin * Hanna (Arabic name), a family and a male given name of Christian Arab origin * Hanna (Irish surname), a famil ...

and his father Elkanah, from which they journeyed to the sanctuary at Shiloh, where Hannah prayed to God to end her barrenness and give her a child (). Ramah is mentioned in in reference to a meeting place during

's rule. Ramah was later fortified by Baasha, king of the northern kingdom, in order to control access to Jerusalem (; ). Asa, king of the southern kingdom of Judah, employed Ben-Hadad I, the Syrian king, successfully to attack Baasha at home and draw his forces away from this city (). The biblical account states that the fortifications were later dismantled by decree of King Asa and the materials used to fortify Judah's defenses at nearby Geba and Mizpah (; ). When Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians, those taken captive were assembled in Ramah before being moved to Babylon ( Jeremiah 40:1). Jeremiah said: :''A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more'' ( Jeremiah 31:15 NIV). Rachel – the ancestress of the three tribes,

Ephraim Ephraim (; he, ''ʾEp̄rayīm'', in pausa: ''ʾEp̄rāyīm'') was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph ben Jacob and Asenath. Asenath was an Ancient Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughte ...

, Manasseh, and Benjamin – had so desired children that she considered herself dead without them (). Jeremiah said that she was figuratively weeping because of the loss of the people killed or taken in captivity. And since she was the mother of Benjamin, it would fit because those in Ramah were Benjamites. In the New Testament, Ramah is mentioned in the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and ...

( 2:18), where it is stated that Jeremiah's prophecy about Rachel received "a second accomplishment" in the slaughter of boy children carried out when Herod was king: :''Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:'' :''A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.''.

References

External links

The Bible Dictionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: "Ramah"
Hebrew Bible cities Former populated places in Southwest Asia {{Hebrew-Bible-stub

Biblical accounts

See also

References

External links