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RAMOTH-GILEAD

(Heb. rāmôṯ [hag]gilʿāḏ)

A Transjordanian city of refuge located in the eastern portion of Gad’s territory (Deut. 4:43; Josh. 20:8; 21:38).

Ben-hadad of Syria apparently captured the city from Israel in the middle of the 9th century b.c.e. (1 Kgs. 20, 22). The king of Israel (probably Ahab) subsequently asked Jehoshaphat of Judah to assist him in recovering the city from Aram (1 Kgs. 22:3), over the objections of the prophet Micaiah, who predicted failure (vv. 15-17). A second allied attempt to recover Ramoth-gilead was undertaken by Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah against Ben-hadad’s successor Hazael, some 12 years later (ca. 840; 2 Kgs. 8:28-29), although Jehoram was wounded in the attempt. The resulting confusion in Israel (which led to the rise of Jehu) enabled Hazael to recapture not only Ramoth-gilead, but also the rest of Israel’s holdings in Transjordan (2 Kgs. 10:32-33).

There is no consensus on the modern identity of Ramoth-gilead, although Tell el-µusn (232210; 16 km. [10 mi.] SW of Ramtha) and Tell Rāmîth (244210; 7 km. [4 mi.] S of Ramtha, near the modern border of Syria) have been proposed. Tell Rāmîth has the advantage of etymological ties with Ramoth, a strategic location as a “height,” and Iron Age pottery that dates from the time of Solomon to that of Tiglath-pileser III.

Randall W. Younker

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

RAMOTH-GILEAD

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)