ramah

Ramah is a toponym with roots in the Hebrew language, typically interpreted as meaning “high place” or “elevated ground.” In biblical usage, Ramah appears as the name of several locations, rather than a single fixed place.

The best-known Ramah is Ramathaim-Zophim, described as the hill-country home of the prophet Samuel in the Book of Samuel (1 Samuel 1–3). The name Ramathaim-Zophim is sometimes shortened in translations to Ramah or Ramathaim, and it is commonly associated with the territory of the tribe of Ephraim. Another biblical reference is to a place named Ramah in Hosea 5:8, where it is mentioned in an oracle and is generally treated as a location name; its exact geographic identification is debated by scholars, with proposed identifications ranging across various sites in ancient Israel. In addition to these, the name appears in other, less-detailed biblical references as a generic settlement name, reflecting its toponymic meaning rather than a single, fixed site.

In modern usage, Ramah does not point to a single contemporary town in Israel. The form Ramah persists in scholarly and textual references to ancient sites, while the modern Hebrew toponymy typically renders related names as Ramat (for example, Ramat Gan or Ramat HaSharon), though these are distinct spellings and etymologies. The name also survives as a personal name and is used in various organizational contexts, including a network of Jewish summer camps and educational programs known as Camp Ramah, which operates in North America and Israel under the broader framework of Conservative Judaism.

Outside Hebrew, ramah exists in Indonesian and Malay as an independent lexical item meaning friendly or hospitable, a meaning not related to the biblical toponym.