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RAMOTH-GILEAD, or ‘Ramoth in Gilead’ (cf. Ramah, 5), was one of the cities of refuge (Deu_4:43, Jos_20:8), assigned to the Merarite Levites of Gad (Jos_21:38, 1Ch_6:80). It was in the administrative district of Solomon’s lieutenant Ben-geber (1Ki_4:13); the scene of Ahab’s last fight with the Syrians (1Ki_22:1-53, 2Ch_18:1-34) and of another battle with them fought by Ahab’s son Jehoram, where he was wounded (2Ki_8:28-29, 2Ch_22:5); the place where Elisha’s messenger anointed Jehu (2Ki_9:1 ff.). That it was a place of some sanctity is probable from its name (‘the high places of Gilead’), and arguments, not altogether conclusive, have been offered in favour of its identification with Mizpeh, the place of the reconciliation of Jacob and Laban.
The attempt has plausibly been made to identify it with Gerasa, the modern Jerash—an extensive town in the ancient territory of Gilead, of unknown origin, whose ruins are still among the most striking east of the Jordan. For this identification several forcible arguments can be brought forward. An identification with another place, Reimun, rests solely on the superficial similarity of the name, which is always an unsafe guide. Es-Salt is another suggestion. On the whole, however, Jerash is perhaps the most probable, though final decision must, as usual, be left to the test of excavation.
R. A. S. Macalister.