Raamah

Biblical Record

Raamah first appears in the genealogy of Genesis 10. Genesis 10:7 lists the sons of Cush as Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah, and names the sons of Raamah as Sheba and Dedan. Because Cush was a son of Ham, the son of Noah (Genesis 10:6), Raamah was Ham's grandson (see Shem, Ham, and Japheth). 1 Chronicles 1:9 repeats the same genealogy.

Scripture records nothing about Raamah's life or deeds. He appears only as a name in the genealogy.

Ezekiel 27 is a lament (a song mourning death or destruction) over the fall of the trading city of Tyre. Verse 22 states that "the merchants of Sheba and Raamah" traded with Tyre "with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold." Here Raamah refers not to an individual but to a people or region bearing that name.

Significance Within Scripture

Genesis 10 is the so-called Table of Nations, which shows how Noah's descendants spread out into various peoples after the Flood. The names in this list often represent both individuals and the peoples or regions named after them, and Raamah is regarded as one such example. The passage in Ezekiel shows that Raamah later came to be known as a commercial people trading in spices and gold. Raamah is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Debates

• Location: Scholars generally place Raamah in southern or southwestern Arabia, but its exact location is uncertain.
• Recurrence of the names Sheba and Dedan: Genesis 25:3 also lists Sheba and Dedan as grandsons of Abraham and Keturah, namely as sons of Jokshan. In addition, Genesis 10:28 includes a Sheba among the descendants of Shem. Some view these as different individuals who shared the same names, while others hold that the overlap reflects the intermingling of various Arabian tribes, which came to be linked with more than one line of descent.
• Relationship to the Queen of Sheba: Some connect Raamah's son Sheba with the kingdom of the Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10, but the text does not state this directly.

In the Korean Church

Raamah is rarely treated on his own in sermons or Sunday school. He is mainly a name readers encounter in the genealogies of Genesis 10 and 1 Chronicles 1 while reading through the Bible. Both the Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version render the name as "라아마" (Raama).