Ramah in Benjamin
Ramah (from Hebrew: "height"[1]) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, 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.
Ramah has been commonly identified with modern al-Ram, about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north of Jerusalem.[2][3][4][5] Ne'eman preferred to identify Ramah with the nearby site of Nabi Samwil.[6]
Biblical accounts
The city is first mentioned in Joshua 18:25, near Gibeah of Benjamin. In the Book of Judges, a Levite came traveling to Gibeah, with Ramah just ahead (Judges 19:11–15).
Ramah was later fortified by
When Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians, those taken captive were assembled in Ramah before being
- A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, NIV).[7]
Rachel – the ancestress of the three tribes, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin [8] – had so desired children that she considered herself dead without them (Genesis 30:1). Jeremiah said that she was figuratively weeping because of the loss of the people killed or taken in captivity.[9] 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 (2:18), where it is stated that Jeremiah's prophecy about Rachel received "a second accomplishment" [10] 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.[11]
See also
- Ramathaim-zophim
References
- ^ Bible Atlas: Ramah, accessed 25 November 2016
- OCLC 6250553. (original Hebrew edition: 'Land of Israel in Biblical Times - Historical Geography', Bialik Institute, Jerusalem (1962))
- ^ Ministry of Tourism, Government of Israel, Er Ram (Ramah), accessed 25 November 2016
- ^ Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology (Judaea). Vol. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund., p. 13, s.v. Er Râm.
- OCLC 927381934.
- ISSN 0031-0328.
- English language versions state that "A voice was heard on high" rather than in Ramah, e.g. the Geneva Bible and the 1899 Douay–Rheims Bible
- ^ Pulpit Commentary on Jeremiah 13, accessed 25 November 2016
- ^ "Bible Dictionary: Rachel". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ^ Benson's Commentary on Matthew 2, accessed 26 November 2016
- ^ Matthew 2:17–18.