How many times is Ramah mentioned in the Bible?
The word Ramah appears 36 times in the King James Version, in 34 verses. It is found in 11 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Ramah 37 times.
Ramah in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Ramah counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Ramah | 36 | 37 |
| Total | 36 | 37 |
What the name Ramah means
Hitchcock lists Ramah as the same name as Ram, which he glosses as "elevated; sublime".
This is the 1869 traditional meaning; modern scholars often read names differently.
See every name and place with its meaning and count on Bible names and their meanings.
Source: Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (1869), checked 2026-10-24.
First and last mention of Ramah
Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth,
Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin.
The verse that uses it most is 1 Samuel 19:22, 2 times (tied with 1 Samuel 19:23):
Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.
Where the two translations differ
1 verse matches in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 2 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
2 Chronicles 16:6: counted in the KJV only
Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.
Then Asa the king took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Rama, and its timber, with which Baasha had built; and he built Geba and Mizpah with them.
Joshua 19:8: counted in the World English Bible only
And all the villages that were round about these cities to Baalath-beer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.
and all the villages that were around these cities to Baalath Beer, Ramah of the South. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.
Matthew 2:18: counted in the World English Bible only
In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
“A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; she wouldn’t be comforted, because they are no more.”
Verses with Ramah on our topic pages
1 verse that uses Ramah in the World English Bible is in our topic collections.
Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. Saul had sent away those who had familiar spirits and the wizards out of the land.
Common questions
How many times is Ramah in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 36 of the 36 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Ramah appears in 11 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Samuel has the most (16), then 2 Chronicles (4) and Joshua (3).
Where is Ramah first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Joshua 18:25: "Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth," The last is Hosea 5:8.
What does the name Ramah mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock lists Ramah as the same name as Ram, which he glosses as "elevated; sublime".
More word counts: Moabites, Anak, Asaph, year, Mephibosheth, Benaiah, Eliab, Ehud, or all 635 words.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-24.