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Ramah - location profile

Location and Setting

Ramah (Hebrew "to be high") was the name given to several cities situated at high elevations.
Located on the eastern side of the Central Benjamite Plain, opposite Gibeon, Ramah lay about half way between Bethel and Jerusalem, each six miles distant.
Ramah was situated at the junction of two main travel routes: the north-south "Patriarch’s Highway," the ridge road connecting Shechem to Hebron and the east-west route that linked the Transjordanian Highway and the International Coastal Highway.

In the early years of the divided monarchy, Baasha, the king of Israel, established a stronghold at Ramah to prevent travelers from entering or leaving the kingdom of Judah. This siege caused distress to Asa, Judah’s king. He responded by hiring the Syrians to attack Baasha. Baasha abandoned the fortress at Ramah to defend the Syrian attack, which ended the conflict for Asa.
Asa took advantage of Baasha’s fortifications at Ramah, tearing down the defenses and using the materials to build Geba and Mizpah. These events created a new boundary between Judah and Israel, one that divided the original Benjamite territory in half. Although the results were positive for Asa, the Lord was not pleased that he had relied on the evil king of Aram for his deliverance instead of turning to Him. As a result of Asa’s foolishness, God promised that Judah would war with Syria in the future (1 Kgs 15:16-22; 2 Chr 16:1-10).
Ramah (called Ramathaim-zophim, literally, "the heights of the Zuphite," a longer name for the city) was the birthplace and home of Samuel, the last judge (1 Samuel 1).
The elders of Israel came to Ramah to demand that Samuel appoint a king to rule over them (1 Sam 8:4-9).
On a circuit in search of his lost donkeys, Saul came to Ramah, where Samuel secretly anointed him king of Israel (1 Sam 9:3-10:1).
Samuel resided in Ramah during the final years of his life (1 Sam 25:1; 28:3).
When Saul attempted to kill him, David fled to Ramah, seeking help from Samuel (1 Sam 19:18).

Owen, G. Fredrick. The Holy Land. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1977.
Rainey, A.F. "Ramah, Rama" The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Ed. Merrill C. Tenney. 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976.
Thompson, J.A. "Ramah" The New Bible Dictionary. 2^nd ed. Ed. J.D. Douglas. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1982.