Ragmat
Ragmat is an ancient city mentioned in the Bible, located in the region of Arabia in modern-day Saudi Arabia. Known today as Najran.
Biblical History
Ragmat, also known as Ragmatum, is not directly named in the canonical Hebrew Bible but is closely associated with the biblical Raamah mentioned in Genesis 10:7 and Ezekiel 27:22. South Arabian inscriptions reference Ragmat (or Ragmatum) as a city or region in the Arabian Peninsula, and many scholars identify it with the biblical Raamah. In the Table of Nations, Raamah is listed as a son of Cush whose descendants Sheba and Dedan became prominent Arabian trading peoples. Ezekiel's oracle against Tyre describes the merchants of Raamah trading in the finest spices, precious stones, and gold (Ezekiel 27:22), placing this city within the lucrative incense trade routes of ancient Arabia. The connection between Ragmat and the biblical text illustrates how extra-biblical inscriptions illuminate the historical geography of Scripture. The Arabian incense trade formed a vital economic network linking southern Arabia to the Mediterranean world, and Ragmat/Raamah occupied a significant place within that commercial system that brought the wealth of the East to the ancient empires of the biblical world.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Ragmat (Ragmatum) is identified in South Arabian inscriptions as a city in the region of modern-day Najran in southwestern Saudi Arabia, near the border with Yemen. The site lies along ancient caravan routes that connected the frankincense-producing regions of southern Arabia with markets in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean. Archaeological surveys in the Najran region have documented pre-Islamic settlements, inscriptions, and rock art. The broader area preserves evidence of the Minaean trading network, which controlled portions of the incense route. Najran itself has a long history of settlement, including an early Christian community martyred in the sixth century AD, recorded in both Arabic and Syriac sources. Systematic archaeological excavation of sites in the Najran region remains limited due to the area's remote location.
Verse Appearances (0)
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
- Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]