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Bible Dictionaries
Ramah
Smith's Bible Dictionary
or Ra'mah. (a hill). This is the name of several places in the Holy Land.
1. One of the cities, of the allotment of Benjamin. Joshua 18:25. Its site is at er-Ram, about five miles from Jerusalem, and near to Gibeah. Judges 4:5; Judges 19:13; 1 Samuel 22:6. Its people returned after the captivity. Ezra 2:26; Nehemiah 7:30.
2. The home of Elkanah, Samuel's father, 1 Samuel 1:19; 1 Samuel 2:11, the birthplace of Samuel himself, his home and official residence, the site of his altar, 1 Samuel 7:17; 1 Samuel 8:4; 1 Samuel 15:34; 1 Samuel 16:13; 1 Samuel 19:18, and finally, his burial-place, 1 Samuel 25:1; 1 Samuel 28:3. It is a contracted form of Ramathaim-zophim.
All that is directly said as to its situation is that it was in Mount Ephraim, 1 Samuel 1:1, a district without defined boundaries, The position of Ramah is a much-disputed question. Tradition, however places the residence of Samuel on the lofty and remarkable eminence of Neby Samwil, which rises four miles to the northwest of Jerusalem. Since the days of Arcult, the tradition appears to have been continuous. Here, then, we are inclined in the present state of the evidence, to place the Ramah of Samuel.
3. One of the nineteen fortified places of Naphtali. Joshua 19:36. Dr. Robinson has discovered a Rameh, northwest of the Sea of Galilee, about 8 miles east-south-east of Safed.
4. One of the landmarks on the boundary of Asher, Joshua 19:29, apparently between Tyre and Zidon. Some place it, 3 miles east of Tyre, others 10 miles off and east-southeast of the same city.
5. By this name in 2 Kings 8:29 and 2 Chronicles 22:6 only, is designated Ramoth-gilead.
6. A place mentioned in the catalogue, of those reinhabited by the Benjamites, after their return from the captivity. Nehemiah 11:33.
These files are public domain.
Smith, William, Dr. Entry for 'Ramah'. Smith's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/sbd/r/ramah.html. 1901.
