1:
RAAMAH (PERSON) [Heb ra˓mâ (רַעְמָה); ra˓mā˒ (רַעְמָא)]. A son of Cush and father of Dedan and Sheba (Gen 10:7; 1 Chr 1:9) whose name occurs in the so-called “Table of Nations” (Genesis 10) as a tribal rather than personal name (Westermann 1984: 510–11). Raamah is also named along with Sheba as a commercial partner with Tyre (Ezek 27:22). The biblical contexts point to Arabia; more specifically, the list of delivered products in Ezekiel 27 (best aromatics, precious stones, and gold) suggests a location of Raamah in S Arabia, or at least within the reach of the ancient incense route. An identification which should be considered is rgmtm (probably vocalized Ragmatum), the ancient name of the capital of the oasis of Nagrān (Naǧrān) in what was then N Yemen, today situated in SW Saudi Arabia. Later on, the name of the oasis was also transferred to the town, and the name Ragmatum disappeared. Favoring the equation of biblical Raamah with rgmtm are the LXX renderings of the name (1 Chr 1:9; regma; Ezek 27:22, ragma), as well as a note in the Greek and Ethiopic versions of the Martyrium of St. Arethas telling that the meaning of the name of the town of Nagrān is in Hebrew “town of thunder,” which can only be explained if one substitutes for Nagrān the name Ra˓mâ, since in Aram ra˓mā˒ means “thunder” (cf. Müller 1969: 366, n. 103).
The earliest Old South Arabic reference to rgmtm is found in the Old Sabean inscription RES 3943, 4 from Mārib from the time around 500 b.c. This text is an account of the deeds of a ruler who, among others, destroyed Ragmatum, the town of the king of the Muha˒mirum, as well as all the towns in the area surrounding Ragmatum and Nagrān. In the Minaean inscription M 247 (= RES 3022, 2 from Barāqiš [ca. 340/330 b.c.]), it is mentioned that the Sabeans attacked a Minaean caravan on the route between Ma˓ı̄n and Ragmatum. Another reference to this town is found on a bronze tablet from al-Uhdūd, the ruins of ancient Nagrān, which contains a dedication to ḎūSamāwı̄, the lord of a temple in [r]gmtm; furthermore, a reference to an inhabitant of the town ḏr[g]mtm occurs in the fragmentary text Ja 2132 from Qaryat al-Faw, about 280 km N of Nagrān on the trade route to the Persian Gulf (see Ryckmans 1980: 198, n. 4). In antiquity, Ragmatum in the oasis of Nagrān was an important station on the incense road, the main route of which came from Mārib in Saba and led from there to the N via Dedan until it reached the Mediterranean coast.
An identification of the biblical ra˓mâ (or regma) with regma (or regama) polis in Ptolemy (Geog. 6.7.14) is impossible because that town must have been situated on the Persian Gulf. Likewise, the equation with the rammanitai in Strabo (Geog. 16.4.24) is out of question, because Raimānites are understood by this gentilic; the inhabitants of Nagrān are designated in the same chapter of Strabo as negranai. Already in the 18th century Niebuhr (1772: 248, 293) wanted to compare the biblical Raamah with the region around Ǧabal Raima, one of the numerous Yemenite places of that name.
Bibliography
Müller, W. W. 1969. Alt-Südarabien als Weihrauchland. TQ 149.
Niebuhr, C. 1771. Beschreibung von Arabien. Copenhagen.
Ryckmans, J. 1980. ˓Uzzā et Lāt dans les inscriptions sud-arabes. JSS 25: 193–204.
Westermann, C. 1984. Genesis 1–11: A Commentary. Trans. J. J. Scullion. Minneapolis.
Winnett, F. V. 1970. The Arabian Genealogies in the Book of Genesis. pp. 171–96 in Translating and Understanding the Old Testament, ed. H. T. Frank and W. L. Reed. Nashville.
Wissmann, H. von. 1964. Zur Geschichte und Landeskunde von Alt-Südarabien. Vienna.
W. W. Müller
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (5:597). New York: Doubleday.
2:
Raamah — thunder. (1.) One of the sons of Cush (Gen. 10:7). (2.) A country which traded with Tyre (Ezek. 27:22).
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
3:
RAAMA*, RAAMAH One of Cush’s five sons and a descendant of Ham’s line. He was the father of Sheba and Dedan (Gn 10:7; 1 Chr 1:9). Ezekiel 27:22 mentions the people of Sheba and Raamah trading spices and precious stones with the merchants of Tyre. Raamah’s name was later given to a town perhaps identifiable with Ma’in in southwest Arabia.
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (1106). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
4:
RA´AMAH (raʹa-ma). The fourth named son (descendant) of Cush and grandson of Ham (Gen. 10:7; 1 Chron. 1:9). The tribe of Raamah afterward became renowned as traders (Ezek. 27:22). Raamah occurs in the inscriptions of Sheba as a place in SW Arabia near Mā˓ı̂n, referred to as Regma in the LXX and the Vulg.
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
5:
RAAMAH (Heb. ra’mâ, ra‘mā, ‘trembling’). A ‘son’ of Cush (Gn. 10:7; 1 Ch. 1:9). The tribe of Raamah has not been identified, but inscriptions found in Sheba suggest a location N of Marib in Yemen. With Sheba, Raamah sold spices, precious stones and gold to Tyre (Ezk. 27:22). a.r.m.
Wood, D. R. W., Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996, c1982, c1962). New Bible Dictionary. Includes index. (electronic ed. of 3rd ed.) (996). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
6:
Raama (Heb. Ra˓mā˒), Raamah (Ra˓mâ)
A son of Cush (Gen. 10:7; 1 Chr. 1:9); eponymous ancestor of Sheba and Dedan, Arabian peoples and territories. Located in southwestern Arabia (possibly modern Naǵrān), Raamah was a place rich in spices, gems, and gold, and thus a trading partner with Tyre (Ezek. 27:22). It is mentioned in various Old South Arabian inscriptions (cf. Strabo Geog. 16.4.24).
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (1105). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
