Ramah
A place in the Bible
A town in the hill country, north of Jerusalem. The prophet Samuel lived there. In the Douay-Rheims it is also called “Ramatha.”
What happened here
- Hannah and Elkanah: they were from Ramah, and they went back there after praying at Shiloh.
- Samuel: he had his home in Ramah. There he judged Israel and built an altar to the Lord. When he died, he was buried in his house at Ramah.
- Deborah: she judged Israel sitting under a palm tree, between Ramah and Bethel.
- Rachel weeps: the Gospel of Matthew recalls words of the prophet Jeremiah: in Ramah, Rachel was heard weeping for her children. He says this when he tells of the death of the children of Bethlehem.
Today
The Bible has several towns with that name, and no one knows for sure which one was Samuel’s. The Ramah named with Rachel is identified with the town of Ar-Ram, north of Jerusalem.
Where it appears in the Bible
1 Samuel 7:17; 1 Samuel 1:19; 1 Samuel 25:1; Judges 4:5; Matthew 2:18; Jeremiah 31:15
What the Bible says
1 Samuel 7:17
And he returned to Ramatha, for there was his house, and there he judged Israel: he built also there an altar to the Lord.
1 Samuel 1:19
And they rose in the morning, and worshipped before the Lord: and they returned, and came into their house at Ramatha. And Elcana knew Anna his wife: and the Lord remembered her.
1 Samuel 25:1
And Samuel died, and all Israel was gathered together, and they mourned for him, and buried him in his house in Ramatha. And David rose and went down into the wilderness of Pharan.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), “Rama”; Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), “Ramathaim-zophim”