Lexical Summary
Ramah: Ramah
Original Word:רָמָה
Part of Speech:Proper Name Location
Transliteration:Ramah
Pronunciation:rah-MAH
Phonetic Spelling:(raw-maw')
KJV: Ramah
NASB:Ramah
Word Origin:[the same asH7413 (רָמָה - high place)]
1. Ramah, the name of four places in Israel
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Ramah
The same asramah; Ramah, the name of four places in Palestine -- Ramah.
see HEBREWramah
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
rumDefinition"height," the name of several places in Isr.
NASB TranslationRamah (35).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
II. usually with article , (except
Jeremiah 31:15;
Nehemiah 11:33):
,Hosea 5:8;1 Kings 15:17,21,22 2Chronicles 16:1,5,6;Judges 4:5;Judges 19:3;Isaiah 10:29;Jeremiah 31:15;Jeremiah 40:1;Joshua 18:25 (P),Ezra 2:26 =Nehemiah 7:30, probably alsoNehemiah 11:33; usually ; moderner-Râm, 5 miles north of Jerusalem, BuhlGeogr. 172.
(=
?), home of Samuel1 Samuel 1:19;1 Samuel 2:11;1 Samuel 7:17;1 Samuel 8:4;1 Samuel 15:34;1 Samuel 16:13;1 Samuel 19:18,22a (all with locative, ),1 Samuel 19:19;1 Samuel 19:22 b;1 Samuel 19:23;1 Samuel 19:23;1 Samuel 20:1;1 Samuel 25:1;1 Samuel 28:3, =1 Samuel 1:1 (see ); , ; perhaps (if distinct from
) =Besit-Rima, 13 miles east-northeast of Lydda (GASmGeogr. 254 BuhlGeogr. 170); orRâm-allah, 3 miles southwest of Bethel (EwHist. ii. 421 and others) [compare also ; Matthew 27:57 +].
Joshua 19:29 (P), ; perhapsRâmiye, approximately 12 miles east of Ladder of Tyre RobBR iii. 79 BuhlGeogr. 231.
,Joshua 19:36 (P), AL ; modernRâmeh, approximately 8 miles west-southwest of Safed BuhlGeogr. 222.
2 Kings 8:29 2Chronicles 22:6 , ;L .), see
— See DrHast. DB. RAMAH p. 847.
1 Samuel 1:1, see II. above
Topical Lexicon
OverviewRamah (“height”) designates several elevated towns in Scripture, appearing thirty-six times. Each occurrence highlights the strategic or spiritual prominence of these sites in Israel’s history.
Geographical Locations
1.Ramah of Benjamin – Five miles north of Jerusalem on the main ridge road. Referenced fromJoshua 18:25 through the post-exilic era; repeatedly a military and prophetic stage (1 Kings 15:17;Jeremiah 40:1).
2.Ramah of Naphtali – A fortified northern town in the hills overlooking the Huleh basin (Joshua 19:36).
3.Ramah on the Border of Asher – A high point near Tyre, marking the tribal boundary (Joshua 19:29).
4.Ramathaim-Zophim / Samuel’s Ramah – In the hill country of Ephraim; abbreviated “Ramah” in 1 Samuel. The prophet’s home, judicial seat, and a center of prophetic training (1 Samuel 1:19; 7:17; 19:18-23).
Ramah in the Period of the Judges
Deborah judged Israel “between Ramah and Bethel” (Judges 4:5), and the Levite ofJudges 19 turned aside there—evidence of Ramah’s accessibility and civic role in an otherwise fragmented era.
Ramah in the Ministry of Samuel
Elkanah and Hannah lived at Ramah (1 Samuel 2:11). Samuel built an altar there and made it the base for his national circuit (7:17). Israel’s elders came to Ramah to demand a king (8:4); David fled there for prophetic shelter (19:18-23). The Spirit’s overpowering of Saul at Naioth in Ramah underscores God’s sovereignty over political power.
Ramah in the Divided Kingdom
Because Ramah straddled Judah’s northern approach, Baasha of Israel fortified it to throttle Judah (1 Kings 15:17). Asa dismantled the blockade, turning its materials into defenses for Geba and Mizpah (15:22;2 Chronicles 16:1-6). Ramah’s control thus influenced worship traffic to Jerusalem.
Prophetic Voices from Ramah
Hosea 5:8 pictures judgment sweeping through Ramah;Isaiah 10:29 narrates Assyrian terror reaching its gates.Jeremiah 31:15 speaks of Rachel weeping in Ramah for exiled children—grief later echoed inMatthew 2:18 after Herod’s massacre.
Ramah and the Babylonian Exile
Nebuzaradan assembled captives there; Jeremiah himself was released from chains at Ramah (Jeremiah 40:1). The town became the last homeland view for many deportees, making Jeremiah’s lament profoundly literal.
Post-Exilic Resettlement
Returnees from “Ramah and Geba” (Ezra 2:26;Nehemiah 7:30) and later Benjaminites in “Hazor, Ramah, and Gittaim” (Nehemiah 11:33) fulfill the promise that children would come back from “the land of the enemy” (Jeremiah 31:16).
New Testament Echo
Matthew applies Rachel’s weeping to the Bethlehem tragedy (Matthew 2:18), showing how Ramah’s sorrow culminates in messianic hope as Jesus emerges to redeem.
Theological and Ministry Reflections
• Heights remind believers that God often works from places of vantage—militarily, judicially, prophetically.
• Ramah illustrates spiritual authority above political force; Saul’s armies could not silence the Spirit at Naioth.
• Lament leads to hope: the same Ramah that heard Rachel’s cries also witnesses the return of exiles and, in Christ, the ultimate reversal of loss.
Key References
Joshua 18:25; 19:29, 36
Judges 4:5; 19:13
1 Samuel 1:19; 7:17; 8:4; 15:34; 19:18-23
1 Kings 15:17-22
2 Chronicles 16:1-6
Isaiah 10:29
Hosea 5:8
Jeremiah 31:15; 40:1
Ezra 2:26
Nehemiah 7:30; 11:33
Matthew 2:18
Forms and Transliterations
בְּרָמָ֤ה בָּֽרָמָ֔ה בָּרָמָ֑ה בָּרָמָֽה׃ בָֽרָמָ֔ה בָרָמָ֖ה בָרָמָֽה׃ ברמה ברמה׃ הָֽרָמָ֑ה הָֽרָמָ֔ה הָֽרָמָה֙ הָרָמָ֑ה הָרָמָ֑תָה הָרָמָ֔תָה הָרָמָ֖תָה הָרָמָ֗תָה הָרָמָ֙תָה֙ הָרָמָ֛ה הָרָמָֽתָה׃ הָרָמָה֙ הרמה הרמתה הרמתה׃ וְהָֽרָמָ֖ה וְהָרָמָ֖ה והרמה רָ֣אמַת רָמָ֖ה ראמת רמה bā·rā·māh ḇā·rā·māh baraMah bārāmāh ḇārāmāh bə·rā·māh beraMah bərāmāh hā·rā·mā·ṯāh hā·rā·māh haraMah hārāmāh haraMatah hārāmāṯāh rā·māh rā·maṯ raMah rāmāh Ramat rāmaṯ varaMah veharaMah wə·hā·rā·māh wəhārāmāh
Links
Interlinear Greek •
Interlinear Hebrew •
Strong's Numbers •
Englishman's Greek Concordance •
Englishman's Hebrew Concordance •
Parallel Texts
