Bible Dictionary
RAAMA
Raama was a son of Cush and father of Sheba and Dedan. His descendants were a trading people associated with spices, precious stones, and gold in Ezekiel’s description of Tyre’s commerce.
Definition
Raama was a son of Cush and the father of Sheba and Dedan. The name also designates the people or tribe descended from him, who were associated with commerce.
Biblical Usage
Raama appears in the genealogy of Cush’s descendants. In Ezekiel’s lament over Tyre, the people of Raama are named with Sheba as merchants who supplied spices, precious stones, and gold.
Historical Background
Raama has generally been identified with a city called Regina in southeastern Arabia near the Persian Gulf. A more probable proposal places it in southwestern Arabia near Me’in and Marib, the capital of the ancient Minaean kingdom.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>ra'-a-ma (ra`ma'): Thus spelled only in 1Ch 1:9; elsewhere "Raamah" (ra`mah). A son of Cush and father of Sheba and Dedan (Ge 10:7 = 1Ch 1:9). In Ezekiel's lament over Tyre (Eze 27:22) the tribe of Raamah is mentioned along with Sheba as a mercantile people who provided the inhabitants of Tyre with spices, precious stones and gold. It has generally been identified with Regina, mentioned by Ptolemy and Steph. Byzantr. as a city in Southeastern Arabia on the shores of the Persian Gulf. The Septuagint (Rhegma) itself supposes this site. But the Arabic name of the city here indicated is spelled with a "g" and so gives rise to a phonological difficulty. A more probable identification has been found in the Sabean ra`mah in Southwestern Arabia near Me`in in the north of Marib. Me`in was the capital of the old Minaean kingdom.</p><p>A. S. Fulton</p>