1 Samuel 8:4

8:4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and approached Samuel at Ramah.

1 Samuel 19:19

19:19 It was reported to Saul saying, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.”

1 Samuel 15:34

15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, while Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.

1 Samuel 19:22-23

19:22 Finally Saul ¹  himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the large cistern that is in Secu, he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” They said, “At Naioth in Ramah.”

19:23 So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God came upon him as well, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

1 Samuel 1:19

1:19 They got up early the next morning and after worshiping the Lord, they returned to their home at Ramah. Elkanah had marital relations with ²  his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered ³  her.

1 Samuel 2:11

2:11 Then Elkanah went back home to Ramah. But the boy was serving the Lord under the supervision of ⁴  Eli the priest.

1 Samuel 7:17

7:17 Then he would return to Ramah, because his home was there. He also judged ⁵  Israel there and built an altar to the Lord there.

1 Samuel 25:1

The Death of Samuel

25:1 Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the desert of Paran. ⁶ 

1 Samuel 28:3

28:3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown. ⁷  In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums ⁸  and magicians ⁹  from the land.

1 Samuel 16:13

16:13 So Samuel took the horn full of olive oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day onward. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.

1 Samuel 19:18

19:18 Now David had run away and escaped. He went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth.

1 Samuel 20:1

Jonathan Seeks to Protect David

20:1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, ¹⁰  “What have I done? What is my offense? ¹¹  How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!”

[19:22]  ¹ tn Heb “he” (also in v. 23). the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:19]  ¹ tn Heb “Elkanah knew his wife.” The Hebrew expression is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[1:19]  ² sn The Lord “remembered” her in the sense of granting her earlier request for a child. The Hebrew verb is often used in the OT for considering the needs or desires of people with favor and kindness.

[2:11]  ¹ tn Heb “with [or “before”] the face of.”

[7:17]  ¹ tn Or perhaps “settled disputes for” (cf. NLT “would hear cases there”; NRSV “administered justice there”).

[25:1]  ¹ tc The LXX reads “Maon” here instead of “Paran,” perhaps because the following account of Nabal is said to be in Maon (v. 2). This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT). The MT, however, reads “Paran,” a location which would parallel this portion of David’s life with that of the nation Israel which also spent time in Paran (Num 10:12). Also, the desert of Paran was on the southern border of Judah’s territory and would be the most isolated location for hiding from Saul.

[28:3]  ¹ tn Heb “in Ramah, even in his city.”

[28:3]  ² tn The Hebrew term translated “mediums” actually refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits (see 2 Kgs 21:6). In v. 7 the witch of Endor is called the owner of a ritual pit. See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401. Here the term refers by metonymy to the owner of such a pit (see H. A. Hoffner, TDOT 1:133).

[28:3]  ³ sn See Isa 8:19 for another reference to magicians who attempted to conjure up underworld spirits.

[20:1]  ¹ tn Heb “and he came and said before Jonathan.”

[20:1]  ² tn Heb “What is my guilt?”