{
  "id": "dict_004782",
  "term": "Ramoth",
  "slug": "ramoth",
  "letter": "R",
  "entry_type": "biblical_place_name",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Ramoth is a biblical place name, best known as Ramoth-gilead east of the Jordan River. It is a geographic entry rather than a theological doctrine term.",
  "simple_one_line": "Ramoth is a biblical place name, especially associated with Ramoth-gilead in Gilead.",
  "tooltip_text": "Biblical place name, especially Ramoth-gilead east of the Jordan River.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Ramoth-gilead",
    "Gilead",
    "Cities of Refuge",
    "Levitical Cities",
    "Ahab",
    "Jehu"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Joshua",
    "1 Kings",
    "2 Kings",
    "Transjordan",
    "Tribal Inheritance"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Ramoth is a biblical place name used for one or more locations in the Old Testament, especially Ramoth-gilead. The best-known site lay east of the Jordan and appears in Israel’s tribal, Levitical, and royal history.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A biblical town or towns, most notably Ramoth-gilead; a place name rather than a doctrinal term.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Most likely refers to Ramoth-gilead",
    "associated with the tribe of Gad and with Levitical/city-of-refuge traditions",
    "later prominent in accounts of Israel’s kings and conflicts with Aram."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Ramoth is a geographic term in the Old Testament, not primarily a theological concept. The best-known reference is Ramoth-gilead, a city in Gilead east of the Jordan River, associated with the tribe of Gad, the Levites, and the provision of a city of refuge, and later prominent in narratives involving Israel’s kings and battles with Aram. Some occurrences of “Ramoth” may refer to other locations depending on context.",
  "description_academic_full": "Ramoth is a biblical place name, best known in the form Ramoth-gilead, a city in Gilead east of the Jordan River. In the Old Testament it appears in connection with the inheritance of Gad, Levitical towns, and the city of refuge system, and it later becomes an important setting in narratives about Israel’s kings and conflicts with Aram. Because the name may be used for more than one location, interpreters should distinguish the specific site of Ramoth-gilead from any shorter or broader use of the name. As a dictionary headword, Ramoth belongs under biblical geography rather than theology.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Ramoth is tied to Israel’s territorial settlement east of the Jordan. The clearest biblical associations are with Ramoth-gilead, which appears in Joshua’s lists and later in the histories of Ahab, Jehoshaphat, Joram, and Jehu.",
  "background_historical_context": "The site mattered strategically because it stood in Transjordan and became a contested location in military and royal narratives. Its repeated mention suggests an important fortified town in the region of Gilead.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In ancient Israelite geography, names linked to high places or elevated terrain were common. Ramoth’s association with a city of refuge and with Levitical allotment fits the broader Israelite system of tribal land, worship service, and legal protection.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Joshua 20:8",
    "Joshua 21:38",
    "1 Kings 22:3-40",
    "2 Kings 8:28-29",
    "2 Kings 9:1-14"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "1 Chronicles 6:80",
    "Deuteronomy 4:43"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "From Hebrew רָמוֹת (ramot), commonly understood as “heights” or “elevated places.”",
  "theological_significance": "Ramoth has limited theological significance as a place tied to refuge, covenant land allotment, and the historical setting of prophetic and royal events. Its main value is geographic and narrative rather than doctrinal.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "Biblical place names show that Scripture is rooted in real geography and public history, not abstract ideas alone.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not assume every occurrence of “Ramoth” refers to the same exact site without context. The best-known biblical location is Ramoth-gilead, but the shorter form may function more broadly in some passages.",
  "major_views_note": "Most interpreters treat Ramoth as the shortened form of Ramoth-gilead in the major historical texts, while allowing that the name could denote more than one settlement in biblical usage.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This entry should be read as a biblical geography term, not as a doctrinal category or theological concept.",
  "practical_significance": "It helps readers follow Israel’s territorial history, the city-of-refuge system, and the historical setting of key prophetic and royal episodes.",
  "meta_description": "Ramoth is a biblical place name, especially Ramoth-gilead east of the Jordan River. Learn its biblical geography and key passages.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/ramoth/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/ramoth.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}