Where is Ramah in the Bible located?

Ramah was an ancient city in the region of Judea, within the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Its modern archaeological site is identified as Tel Ira, located in the central hill country of Israel.

What happened at Ramah in the Bible?

The Bible mentions Ramah in the context of a list of cities in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. It is listed alongside Gibeon and Beeroth in the Book of Joshua (Joshua 18:25).

Why is Ramah in the Bible significant?

While only mentioned once, Ramah's inclusion in the tribal allotment list confirms its existence as a real, inhabited city in ancient Israel. It helps map the historical geography and settlement of the Israelite tribes in the Promised Land.

Ramah

cityOld TestamentJudea1 verse

Today Tel IraCountry IsraelCoordinates 31.809, 35.104

Ramah is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Tel Ira. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.

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Archaeological Data

Occupation Phases

Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age I4500 BCE – 3050 BCE

Chalcolithic4500 BCE – 3800 BCE

Early Bronze Age I3800 BCE – 3050 BCE

Early Bronze Age IV/Middle Bronze Age I/Int. Bronze2500 BCE – 2000 BCE

Middle Bronze Age2000 BCE – 1550 BCE

Iron Age I1150 BCE – 980 BCE

Iron Age I-IIb1150 BCE – 720 BCE

Iron Age IIa-b980 BCE – 720 BCE

Iron Age IIa980 BCE – 830 BCE

Iron Age II980 BCE – 539 BCE

Iron Age IIb-c830 BCE – 539 BCE

Iron Age IIb-III830 BCE – 333 BCE

Iron Age IIc720 BCE – 539 BCE

Iron Age III (Persian)539 BCE – 333 BCE

Iron Age III-Hellenistic539 BCE – 63 BCE

Hellenistic333 BCE – 63 BCE

Hellenistic-Roman333 BCE – 324 CE

Early Roman63 BCE – 70 CE

Roman63 BCE – 324 CE

Late Roman70 CE – 324 CE

Byzantine324 CE – 638 CE

Byzantine-Early Islamic324 CE – 750 CE

UnitoAssyrianGovernance, Villages to Empires Dataset (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732A. Palmisano, NERD — Near East Radiocarbon Dates (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5767862Uppsala University, ANE Site Placemarks (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.6384044

Biblical History

This Ramah, identified with Tel Ira in the Judean region, appears in a single verse of Scripture. Its location in the Negev or southern Judean hills places it within the arid borderland between settled agricultural territory and the wilderness to the south. The name Ramah, meaning "height," aptly describes the elevated tel site. Towns in the southern Judean region served as frontier settlements guarding the approaches to the heartland of Judah from the Edomites, Amalekites, and other southern peoples. David's activities in this region during his years as a fugitive from Saul are well documented (1 Samuel 27:10; 30:27-31), and he maintained relationships with settlements throughout the Negev. While Scripture records no specific narrative events at this particular Ramah, its inclusion in the geographical records preserves the memory of Judah's southern extent, marking the boundaries of the inheritance God granted to His people. These frontier towns collectively defined the shape of the promised land.

Archaeological & Historical Notes

Tel Ira (Khirbet el-Gharra) is located in the Beersheba Valley of the northern Negev, approximately 15 kilometers east of Arad. The site was excavated by Itzhaq Beit-Arieh of Tel Aviv University from 1979 to 1987. Excavations revealed a significant Iron Age II settlement with a well-planned fortified town, including a casemate wall, a four-room house neighborhood, storage facilities, and a cultic area. The pottery assemblage and inscriptions, including ostraca in Hebrew and Edomite script, indicate a mixed population during the seventh century BCE. The site was apparently destroyed during the Babylonian campaigns of the early sixth century BCE. Tel Ira provides valuable evidence for understanding the administrative and military organization of Judah's southern frontier during the late monarchic period.

Verse Appearances (1)

Josh

Josh 19:8

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]

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