Ramath Lehi
Ramath Lehi is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Khirbet es Siyyagh. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Ramath Lehi, meaning "the height of the jawbone" or "the throwing of the jawbone," appears in Judges 15:17 as the name Samson gave to the place where he struck down a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. This dramatic episode is one of the most memorable in Samson's career as judge of Israel. After the Philistines had burned his wife and father-in-law, Samson carried out devastating raids against them. The men of Judah, fearing Philistine retaliation, bound Samson and delivered him to their enemies. But the Spirit of the Lord came upon him powerfully; the ropes fell from his hands, and he seized a fresh jawbone and slew a thousand men (Judges 15:14-16). Exhausted and thirsty, Samson cried out to God, who miraculously opened a spring at Lehi to sustain him (Judges 15:18-19). Ramath Lehi thus commemorates both divine empowerment for deliverance and God's tender provision for His servant in the aftermath of battle, prefiguring the greater deliverance that would come through Christ.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
The identification of Ramath Lehi with Khirbet es-Siyyagh is tentative, as the exact location of Samson's exploits remains debated among scholars. The site is situated in the Shephelah, the low hill country between the Judean highlands and the coastal plain, which constituted the contested borderland between Israelites and Philistines during the period of the Judges. The Shephelah's rolling terrain of limestone ridges and valleys provided numerous elevated locations that could correspond to the "height" implied by the name Ramath. Archaeological surveys in the region have identified numerous small Iron Age I settlements consistent with the biblical period. The spring mentioned in Judges 15:19 (En Hakkore) has been associated with various seasonal springs in the area, though no definitive identification has been established.
Verse Appearances (1)
Judg
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →