Ram רָם

Male Tribe of Judah H7410H 1 book

Firstborn son of Jerahmeel, of the tribe of Judah

Biography

Ram is mentioned in the genealogy of the tribe of Judah as the firstborn son of Jerahmeel (1Ch.2.25, 27). Jerahmeel was a descendant of Judah through his son Hezron. Ram had two brothers, Bunah and Oren, and a half-brother named Onam. The genealogy also mentions Ram's sons, Maaz, Jamin, and Eker. No further details are provided about Ram or his descendants in the Bible. The inclusion of Ram in the genealogy serves to document the family lines within the tribe of Judah.

Family

In Scripture

1 biblical book
1 Chronicles 2 verses
  • 1 Chronicles 2:25

    "The sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were Ram the firstborn, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah."

  • 1 Chronicles 2:27

    "The sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker."

Names & Aliases

Form Language Script Strong's
Named Hebrew רָם H7410H
Encyclopedia Article

Ram (1)

ISBE 1915 (Public Domain)

Ref="Bible:1Chr.2.9">1Ch 2:9 he is called the "brother," but in 2:25, the "son of Jerahmeel" (compare 2:27). Ram as the son of Hezron appears more likely than Ram the son of Jerahmeel, since, according to the narratives of 1 and 2 Samuel, David cannot have been a Jerahmeelite.

(2) Name of Elihu's family (Job 32:2). It is an open question as to whether Ram should be taken as a purely fictitious name, invented by the author of the Elihu speeches, or whether it is that of some obscure Arab tribe. In Ge 22:21 Aram is a nephew of Buz (compare Elihu the Buzite), and the conjecture was at one time advanced that Ram was a contraction of Aram; but this theory is no longer held to be tenable. The suggestion that the initial "a" (the Hebrew letter, 'aleph) has been changed by a scribal error into "h" (the Hebrew letter, he) is more acceptable. Rashi, the rabbinical commentator, takes the quaint position that Ram is identical with Abraham.

Horace J. Wolf

(1) The ordinary word is 'ayil, which is remarkably near to 'ayyal, "deer" (compare Latin caper, capra, "goat," and capreolus, "wild goat" or "roe-buck"; also Greek dorkas, "roe-buck" or "gazelle").

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