Rimmono
Rimmono is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Galilee in modern-day Israel. Known today as Rumana. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Rimmono, also spelled Rimmon, appears in 1 Chronicles 6:77 as a Levitical city assigned to the Merarite clan within the tribal territory of Zebulun. This allocation was part of the broader system established under Joshua whereby forty-eight cities were designated throughout Israel for the Levites, who received no tribal land inheritance of their own (Joshua 21:1-3). The parallel passage in Joshua 19:13 lists the city as Rimmon in Zebulun's allotment, while Joshua 21:35 names it among the Levitical cities given from Zebulun. The variant spelling "Rimmono" in Chronicles likely reflects a scribal addition of the locative ending. As a Levitical city, Rimmono served an important religious and educational function in the northern tribal territories, ensuring that the knowledge of God's law and proper worship was maintained among the people. The city's assignment to the Merarites meant it housed those Levites responsible for transporting and maintaining the structural components of the tabernacle.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Rimmono is generally identified with Rummaneh (modern Rumana), a village located in the lower Galilee region approximately six miles north-northeast of Nazareth. The site occupies a tell with evidence of ancient occupation consistent with the biblical period. Surface surveys have recovered pottery from the Iron Age, supporting identification as an Israelite settlement. The modern Arabic name Rummaneh preserves the ancient Semitic root meaning "pomegranate," confirming the linguistic connection. The surrounding fertile landscape of the Bet Netofa Valley would have provided adequate agricultural resources for a Levitical settlement. No extensive excavations have been conducted at the site to date.
Verse Appearances (1)
1Chr
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]