2. (Pa/xa) One of the cities on the boundary of the tribe of Asher near Tyre (Jos 19-*). ' And the border turned to liamah, and to the fenced city of Tyre.' Robinson (iii. 64) considers there is no question (and in this he is followed by Gu6rin, GaliUe, ii. 12of., and SWP) that Ramah of Asher is represented by the modern village of RAmia. It is situated about 12 miles duo east of the Ladder of Tyre, as the crow Hies. It stands upon an i.solated hill, in the midst of a basin with green fields, surrounded by higher hills. The south- western portitm of the basin has no outlet for its waters ; which therefore collect in a shallow, niarshy lake, which dries up in summer. It is a •luall stone village with a few ligs and olives : there are cisterns and a large birhet for water- ■npiWy. There are many sarcophagi about the
hillside, some of unusual size. One of the lids measured 7A feet long and 2 feet broad. Robin- son considered the remains generally 'a striking monument of antiquity.' West of Rdmia is a lofty hill called Bcl/it, on which are extensive ruins, and remains of a temple of which ten columns are still standing. Tliere is no trace of Ramah of Asher in any liistorical records except the bare mention of the name by Eusebius and Jerome. Cf. Buhl, p. 231 n.
3. ("Pfwuff, -PafLa) 2 K 82» = 2 Ch 22«. In this case Ranuth is an abbreviation of Bamoth-GILEAD (whicli see).
4. (Pa/ia, in IIos 5' t4 ifr)\6.) A city of Benjamin which is possibly (see below) also identical with No. 6, the birthplace and home of Samuel, but for convenience of consideration it is taken separately. It is given in the list of 14 cities and their villages allotted to Benjamin (Jos 18^), the greater number of which have been identified north of Jerusalem. The first tliree are Gibeon (el-Jib, 5 miles N.N.W. of Jerusalem and 3 miles west oi er-RAm), Ramah (er RAm, 2600 feet, 5 miles due north of Jerusalem and near the main road to north), Beeroth (el- Bireh, 10 miles north of Jerusalem near main road to north). Isaiah (10^) enumerates the posi- tions that will be successively taken up by the king of Assyria as he approaches Jerusalem aftei laying up his carriages (i.e. baggage) at Michmash ■ ' They are gone over the pass : they have taken up their lodging at Geba ; Raman trembleth ; Gibeah of Saul is fled.' The Levite (Jg 19'^), pass- ing Jerusalem with his concubine when the day was far spent, passed on to Gibeah (Tell el-FiiC, 2 miles south of er-RAm), which was short of Ramah. The Palm-tree of Deborah was between Ramah and Bethel in the hill-country of Ephraira (Jg 4'). Beilin (Bethel) is 5 mUes N. of er-RAm.
From these notices it seems to follow that er- RAm. is the modern equivalent of R.imah. the distance from Jerusalem (5 miles as the crow flies) accords with the account of Eusebius and Jerome (Oiioma.it. '287, 1; 146, 9: 6 m. N. of Jerusalem) and of Josephus (A)it. vill. xii. 3).
After the separation of the kingdoms, Baasha king of Israel (1 K 1.5'"') went up against Judali and built (fortified) Ramah, 'that he mi^ht not suffer any one to go out or come in to Asa iving of Judah,' showing tliat Ramah commanded the hirfi road leading to Jerusalem ; but .Vsa secured the assistance of Benhadad king of Syria, who smote the northern cities of Israel, so that Baasha de- sisted from buUding Ramah, and Asa took away the stones and the timber and built with them Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah (2 Ch 16'"'). From this it would appear that liamah was more suit- able for defence towards the south than towards the north. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Ramah is mentioned as the place (Jer 40') where the captain of the guard over those who were carried away captive from Jerusalem loosed Jere- miah from Ills chains. Ramah was very near to Geba and Gibeah : see Is 10-" cited above, and cf. ' Blow ye the comet in Gibeah and the trumi)et in Ramah' (llos 5');* ' The chUdren of Raman and Geba'(Ezr2-'', Neh 7'"[L.\X Apa/«i]).+ It was also the traditional site of Rachel's tomb: 'A voice was heard in Ramah . . . Rachel weeping for her children '(Jer 31": cf. above, p. 193*). The Ramah of Nell 11"^ is, in all |)robability, the same place.
Er-RAm is a small village in a conspicuous position on the top of a high white hill, with olives: it has a well to the south; west of the
• But In 1 8 22« 'Saul waa sittlnp In Oiheah ... In Ramah' render * in nibcah . . . on the A''>;;/t( '(Keil, Kirkp., eta, RVm), even, indpetl, if we shoiiici not read, with LXX (i» Ba.u«) and H. P. Smith, 'on the hinh placf.'—S. R. I).
t In 1 Es 6'^ wc fliid Kirama (K(t)ifi»fjut) ioBtead of RamaX
193
EAMAH
RAMAH
village is a good birket with a pointed vault ; on the hill are cisterns. At Khdn er-lidm, by tlie main roaJ, is a (juarry ; and drafted stones are used up in the village walls {SWP iii. 155). The height of the village is about 2(iU0 feet.