Hebrew word · H7216

רָאמוֹת

ramot

Ramoth

A place name, 'heights'. Several towns had it: Ramoth-gilead east of the Jordan, Ramoth of the Negev, and this Ramoth in Issachar.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 07, 2026

What it means

§ Ramoth = "heights"

a place in Issachar

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: A place name, 'heights'. Several towns had it: Ramoth-gilead east of the Jordan, Ramoth of the Negev, and this Ramoth in Issachar.
Against the English: All the English versions transliterate it as 'Ramoth'. Readers can easily confuse it with the much better-known Ramoth-gilead, a city of refuge and a frontier fortress (1 Kgs 22).
Used elsewhere in the period: Joshua 21:29 gives this town as Jarmuth (Yarmut) and Joshua 19:21 as Remeth among Issachar's towns. A 'Mount Yarmuta' appears in a stela of Pharaoh Seti I found at Beth-shean, in the same region. Many connect it with this town, though the exact site is not settled.

Range of meaning: Ramoth means 'heights'. It is the plural of rāʾmâ, from the root meaning 'to be high'. Gilead was the highland region east of the Jordan, roughly between the Yarmuk and Arnon rivers, known for its forests, flocks and balm.
Against the English: Most versions say 'Ramoth in Gilead'. Elsewhere the Bible also uses the joined name 'Ramoth-gilead' (1 Kgs 22).
Used elsewhere in the period: It was one of the six cities of refuge (Deut 4:43; Josh 20:8; 21:38) and a district centre under Solomon (1 Kgs 4:13). Israel and Aram fought over it many times: Ahab died there (1 Kgs 22), Joram was wounded there (2 Kgs 8:28–29), and Jehu was anointed there (2 Kgs 9:1–6). Most scholars place it at Tell er-Rumeith near modern Ramtha in Jordan, though this is not certain.

Deuteronomy · 1

Deuteronomy 4:43 רָאמֹ֤ת Ramoth

Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.

Joshua · 1

Joshua 20:8 רָאמֹ֤ת Ramoth

And beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho, they designated Bezer on the wilderness plateau from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.

1 Chronicles · 2

1 Chronicles 6:73 רָאמוֹת֙ Ramoth

Ramoth, and Anem, together with their pasturelands.

Here: A town name meaning roughly 'heights' or 'high places' (from the root for 'be high'). This Ramoth lies in Issachar's territory in Lower Galilee and is not Ramoth-gilead east of the Jordan. Joshua 21:29 calls it Jarmuth, and Joshua 19:21 has Remeth.
1 Chronicles 6:80 רָאמ֥וֹת Ramoth

And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim,

Here: A town whose name means 'heights'. It was the well-known border fortress of Ramoth-gilead and also one of the three cities of refuge east of the Jordan.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.