Ra·ma /ˈrɑmə/



 Rama
      n : avatar of Vishnu whose name is synonymous with God; any of
          three incarnations: Ramachandra or Parashurama or
          Balarama; "in Hindu folklore Rama is the epitome of
          chivalry and courage and obedience to sacred law"


 Rama
    (Matt. 2:18), the Greek form of Ramah. (1.) A city first
    mentioned in Josh. 18:25, near Gibeah of Benjamin. It was
    fortified by Baasha, king of Israel (1 Kings 15:17-22; 2 Chr.
    16:1-6). Asa, king of Judah, employed Benhadad the Syrian king
    to drive Baasha from this city (1 Kings 15:18, 20). Isaiah
    (10:29) refers to it, and also Jeremiah, who was once a prisoner
    there among the other captives of Jerusalem when it was taken by
    Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 39:8-12; 40:1). Rachel, whose tomb lies
    close to Bethlehem, is represented as weeping in Ramah (Jer.
    31:15) for her slaughtered children. This prophecy is
    illustrated and fulfilled in the re-awakening of Rachel's grief
    at the slaughter of the infants in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:18). It is
    identified with the modern village of er-Ram, between Gibeon and
    Beeroth, about 5 miles due north of Jerusalem. (See SAMUEL.)

      (2.) A town identified with Rameh, on the border of Asher,
    about 13 miles south-east of Tyre, "on a solitary hill in the
    midst of a basin of green fields" (Josh. 19:29).

      (3.) One of the "fenced cities" of Naphtali (Josh. 19:36), on
    a mountain slope, about seven and a half miles west-south-west
    of Safed, and 15 miles west of the north end of the Sea of
    Galilee, the present large and well-built village of Rameh.

      (4.) The same as Ramathaim-zophim (q.v.), a town of Mount
    Ephraim (1 Sam. 1:1, 19).

      (5.) The same as Ramoth-gilead (q.v.), 2 Kings 8:29; 2 Chr.
    22:6.