is led directly to quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity. . . . Although much is known about the production of the rainbow, little has been learned about its perception.”

The first Biblical reference to a rainbow is in the account of the covenant God made with Noah and his offspring after the Flood survivors came out of the ark. (Gen. 9:8-17; Isa. 54:9, 10) This splendid sight of itself would have been reassuring and an indication of peace to Noah and his family.

Many opinions have been offered as to whether this was the first time humans saw a rainbow. Some commentators have held that rainbows had been seen before and that God’s ‘giving’ the rainbow at this time was really a ‘giving’ of special meaning or significance to a previously existing phenomenon. Many of those holding this view believe that the Flood was only local or did not substantially change the atmosphere.

Nevertheless, this is the first mention of a rainbow, and if a rainbow had been seen earlier, there would have been no real force in God’s making it an outstanding sign of his covenant. It would have been commonplace, and not a significant marker of a change, of something new.

The Bible does not describe the degree of clarity of the atmosphere just prior to the Flood. But apparently atmospheric conditions were such that, until a change came about when “the floodgates of the heavens were opened” (Gen. 7:11), no others before Noah and his family had seen a rainbow. Even today, atmospheric conditions affect whether a rainbow can be seen or not.

The glory, beauty and peacefulness of a rainbow that appears after a storm are drawn upon in Biblical descriptions of God and his throne. In Ezekiel’s vision of God, the prophet saw “something like the appearance of the bow that occurs in a cloud mass on the day of a pouring rain.” This emphasized “the glory of Jehovah.” (Ezek. 1:28) Similarly, John saw Jehovah’s throne of splendor and ‘round about it there was a rainbow like an emerald in appearance.’ The restful emerald-green color of the rainbow would have suggested composure and serenity to John, and appropriately so since Jehovah is the master of every situation, a glorious Ruler. (Rev. 4:3) John also saw an angel with ‘a rainbow upon his head’ (Rev. 10:1), which may suggest that he was a special representative of “the God of peace.”—Phil. 4:9.

RAKKATH

(Rakʹkath) [possibly, shore].

A fortified city of Naphtali. (Josh. 19:32, 35) It is today often identified with Tell Eqlatiyeh, located on the Sea of Galilee a short distance N of Tiberias.

RAKKON

(Rakʹkon) [perhaps, shore].

A city listed when describing the border of Dan. (Josh. 19:40, 41, 46) It is identified by some with Tell er-Reqqeit, about two miles (3 kilometers) N of Tel Aviv, on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.

RAM

[high].

1. A descendant of Judah through Perez and Hezron who lived while Israel was in Egypt. Though Ram was apparently not the first son of Hezron, Ram’s genealogy, leading to the Davidic line, is listed first among the three sons of Hezron. (1 Chron. 2:4, 5, 9-17, 25) Having Nahshon, Boaz and David among his descendants, Ram was an ancestor of Jesus. (Num. 1:7; Ruth 4:18-22; Matt. 1:3, 4) His name is spelled Arni (Aram in some manuscripts) in Luke’s ancestry of Jesus.—Luke 3:33.

2. The firstborn son of Jerahmeel and nephew of No. 1 above. He fathered three sons.—1 Chron. 2:9, 25, 27.

3. Founder of Elihu’s family.—Job 32:2.

RAMAH

(Raʹmah).

The Hebrew word signifies a height or a high place. (Ezek. 16:24) It was used as a proper name for a number of locations in Israel.

1. A city in the territory of Benjamin. In Joshua 18:25 it is listed between Gibeon and Beeroth. Apparently it was near Bethel, which city was in the S of Ephraim’s territory. (Judg. 4:5) A Levite traveling N past Jerusalem came to Gibeah, with Ramah evidently just beyond. (Judg. 19:11-15; Hos. 5:8) And it was in the neighborhood of Geba. (Isa. 10:29) These references combine with testimony of Eusebius in identifying Ramah in Benjamin with the locality of modern er-Ram, which is about five miles (8 kilometers) N of Jerusalem, two miles (3 kilometers) N of Gibeah, three miles (5 kilometers) E of Gibeon and two miles (3 kilometers) W of Geba. The city is on an elevation, as the name implies.

During the divided kingdom Ramah came in for considerable attention, located, as it was, near the border between Israel and Judah and the N-S road of the hill country. King Baasha of Israel began to expand or fortify Ramah in Benjamin while warring against Asa. (1 Ki. 15:16, 17; 2 Chron. 16:1) But when the king of Syria attacked Israel from the N, Baasha’s attention was diverted and Asa took Ramah and also the building materials Baasha had been using there, using these to build up neighboring Geba and Mizpah. (1 Ki. 15:20-22; 2 Chron. 16:4-6) It appears that, when Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E., the Jews taken captive were assembled in Ramah before being moved to Babylon. (Jer. 40:1) After the exile Ramah was repopulated.—Ezra 2:1, 26; Neh. 7:30; 11:33.

Some scholars have concluded that such an assembling of Jews at Ramah before taking them into exile (perhaps accompanied by the slaughtering of some there) was referred to with the words: “In Ramah a voice is being heard, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping over her sons. She has refused to be comforted over her sons, because they are no more.” (Jer. 31:15) Jacob’s wife Rachel had so desired children as to consider herself “dead” without them. (Gen. 30:1) So now Rachel might be spoken of figuratively as weeping over the loss of the Jews in death or captivity. Or, since Rachel was the mother of Benjamin, Jeremiah’s words may represent her as weeping particularly over the Benjamite inhabitants of Ramah. Jeremiah went on to explain that hope existed, for the exiles would return. (Jer. 31:16) At Matthew 2:18, the prophetic words in Jeremiah 31:15 are quoted as applying also to the time when Herod had young children of Bethlehem slaughtered.

2. An enclave city of the tribe of Simeon in the Negeb. (Josh. 19:1, 8) It was the same as Baalath-beer and was known as “Ramah of the south.”—See BAALATH-BEER.

3. A city in the territory of Asher listed only in Joshua 19:24, 29. It is difficult from the text to determine exactly where in Asher’s inheritance the city was located, though it seems to have been N toward Tyre. Modern scholars most frequently identify it with the village Ramia, which is about thirteen miles (21 kilometers) S-SE of Tyre and eleven miles (18 kilometers) E of Ras en-Naqura. A number of tombs and sarcophagi have been found in the vicinity.

4. A fortified city in Naphtali’s territory. (Josh. 19:32, 36) The single reference to it in Joshua does not provide positive identification of its location. The site frequently suggested is that of er-Rameh, about seventeen miles (27 kilometers) E of the seaport city of Acre (Acco). Er-Rameh is in an area of numerous olive trees and lies on the road from Acre to Safad.

5. The hometown of the prophet Samuel and his parents. In 1 Samuel 1:1, Samuel’s father Elkanah is described as a “man of Ramathaim-zophim of the mountainous region of Ephraim.” Throughout the rest of the account the shortened form “Ramah” is used. (1 Sam. 1:19) Perhaps the longer name is first used to distinguish this Ramah from other places of the same name, such as Ramah in Benjamin. An American Translation, evidently following the Septuagint, reads: “man of Ramah, a Zuphite.” This rendering, which differs from the Masoretic text, would refer to Elkanah’s being either a descendant of Zuph