Hebrew word · H7411

רָמָה

ramah

to deceive

To beguile, deceive, trick, deal treacherously with: winning confidence under false pretences.

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

1) to beguile, deceive, mislead, deal treacherously

1a) (Piel)

1a1) to beguile, deceive, mislead, trick

1a2) to deal treacherously with, betray

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: To beguile, deceive, trick, deal treacherously with: winning confidence under false pretences.
Against the English: BSB/KJV/WEB 'betray' captures the outcome (handing David over). The Hebrew stresses the means: deception, a false show of friendship.
Used elsewhere in the period: Gen 29:25 (Jacob to Laban: 'Why have you deceived me?'); Josh 9:22 (the Gibeonites' disguise); 1 Sam 19:17 (Saul to Michal); 1 Sam 28:12 (the medium to Saul); 2 Sam 19:26 (Mephibosheth's servant).

Range of meaning: One root covers two related ideas. In its simple form it means 'throw, shoot' (Exod 15:1, 21: horse and rider 'he has thrown into the sea'). In its intensive form, used here, it means 'deceive, beguile, betray': to trip someone up by misleading them. The intensive sense is used for betrayal by someone the victim trusted or dealt with in good faith.
Against the English: 'Deceived' is accurate. 'Tricked', 'set me up' or 'betrayed me' convey the sting better, because the deception has put her in danger and is not just an untruth.
Used elsewhere in the period: The exact words 'why have you deceived me?' (lāmmâ rimmîtānî) are Jacob's complaint to Laban after the switch of Leah for Rachel (Gen 29:25). The Gibeonites are accused with the same verb (Josh 9:22). Most strikingly, Saul himself said nearly the same words to his daughter Michal when she helped David escape: 'Why have you deceived me like this?' (1 Sam 19:17). The Greek Septuagint uses paralogizomai ('mislead, cheat') here, as it does in Gen 29:25. Mephibosheth uses the verb of his servant Ziba's betrayal (2 Sam 19:26).

Range of meaning: To throw, hurl, cast; also to shoot (with a bow). A rare root: it appears here, in Miriam's refrain in 15:21, and in the participle "shooters/archers" (Jer 4:29; Ps 78:9). It should not be confused with the more common rum, "to be high".
Against the English: "Thrown" (KJV, ESV, BSB, WEB) is accurate but mild. "Hurled" (NIV, NASB, NLT) catches more of the force.
Used elsewhere in the period: In 15:4 the poem uses a different verb, yarah (also "shoot, cast"), for the same act: "Pharaoh's chariots and army he has cast into the sea." Both verbs belong to the vocabulary of throwing or shooting weapons.

Genesis · 1

Genesis 29:25 רִמִּיתָֽנִי׃ have you deceived me

When morning came, there was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob said to Laban. “Wasn’t it for Rachel that I served you? Why have you deceived me?”

Exodus · 2

Exodus 15:1 רָמָ֥ה he has thrown

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.

Here: A rare, forceful verb of throwing or shooting (compare "bowmen", literally "shooters of the bow", Jer 4:29). Yahweh flings Egypt's elite force like a stone or an arrow.
Exodus 15:21 רָמָ֥ה he has thrown

And Miriam sang back to them: “Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; the horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.”

Here: A rare, vivid verb for flinging or shooting. Elsewhere it describes archers (Jer 4:29; Ps 78:9). YHWH flings the chariot army into the water like a warrior hurling a weapon. It is a completed act.

Joshua · 1

Joshua 9:22 רִמִּיתֶ֨ם did you deceive

Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us?

1 Samuel · 2

1 Samuel 19:17 רִמִּיתִ֔נִי have you deceived me

And Saul said to Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this? You sent my enemy away, and he has escaped!” Michal replied, “He said to me, ‘Help me get away, or I will kill you!’”
1 Samuel 28:12 רִמִּיתָ֖נִי have you deceived me

But when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out in a loud voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

Here: 'You tricked me' or 'you set me up'. It is the word for a betrayal that leaves the victim exposed. The verb form presents the deception as already done and complete. Her life is now in danger.

2 Samuel · 1

2 Samuel 19:26 רִמָּ֑נִי he betrayed me

“My lord the king,” he replied, “because I am lame, I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled so that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ But my servant Ziba deceived me,

1 Chronicles · 1

1 Chronicles 12:17 לְרַמּוֹתַ֣נִי to betray me

And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”

Here: 'To deceive me': to win his trust under false pretences and then hand him over. The verb is used of Laban tricking Jacob (Gen 29:25) and of the Gibeonites' ruse (Josh 9:22).

Psalms · 1

Psalm 78:9 רוֹמֵי־ shooters of

The archers of Ephraim turned back on the day of battle.

Proverbs · 1

Proverbs 26:19 רִמָּ֣ה [who] he deceives

so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”

Here: Intensive form of the verb, completed action: he has misled or tricked his fellow. Elsewhere it is used for betrayal by someone the victim trusted, such as Laban with Jacob or Saul's daughter Michal with Saul. The past form states something that is always true, so English "deceives" is fine.

Jeremiah · 1

Jeremiah 4:29 וְרֹ֣מֵה and a shooter of

Every city flees at the sound of the horseman and archer. They enter the thickets and climb among the rocks. Every city is abandoned; no inhabitant is left.

Lamentations · 1

Lamentations 1:19 רִמּ֔וּנִי they deceived me

I called out to my lovers, but they have betrayed me. My priests and elders perished in the city while they searched for food to keep themselves alive.

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