RAHAM

hears of it, and bids Rahab bring them forth; but she asserts that they have left her house and that she does not know where they have gone; she had, however, previously hid them among stalks of flax upon the roof. Alter their pursuers have left, Rahab comes to them, professes her belief in Jahweh, and adjures them to spare her and her kinsfolk when the attack on Jericho is made; this they promise shall be done; and after arranging that a scarlet thread is to be hung from her window, in order to denote which house is to be spared when the sack of the city takes place, the two spies escape from her house by a rope (Jos 2). The promise is duly kept, and Joshua spares her when the city is burned (622-25). In Mt 16 Rahab is mentioned in the genealogy of our Lord.

2. A name for the Dragon, applied also to Egypt. This name is not the same as that just considered, which is written Rachab in Hebrew, while this is written Rahab. It is the name given to a mythological monster who is frequently referred to in the Bible. In Is 30' the old myth that Jahweh in the beginning subdued Rahab (, = Tehom, the 'Great Deep,' the Bab. Tiamal) is employed to show that Jahweh will in like manner subdue Egypt (cf. Ps 87''), and that it is there-fore vain for Judah to trust to it. The words in RV, ' Rahab that sitteth still,' imply that Rahab had been subjugated, but not annihilated, i.e. it was believed that Rahab was still living somewhere in the depths of the sea; the final destruction is referred to in Rev 21' ' And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more.' The next reference to Rahab is in Is 51». 10, a very important passage, which shows distinctly that Rahab, the Dragon, the sea or the 'Great Deep' (Tehdm), are all names for one and the same monster. 'The belief is also expressly stated that in ' the days of old' there was a conflict between Jahweh and Rahab, and that the latter was overcome. Further references to the Rahab-myth are to be found in Ps 89'- ", Job 9" 261"- " ; it is important to note how in all these passages the myth is treated as well known, it is taken tor granted that the reference is perfectly understood. [See, further, Dragon, Leviathan, Sea.1 W. O. E. Oestekley.

RAHAM.— A descendant of Caleb (1 Ch 2«).

BAHEL.— See Rachel.

RAIMENT.— See Dress.

RAIN. — The Palestine year is divided roughly into two parts — the rainy and the dry. The first rains after the summer begin to fall in November, though showers in October are not unknown; and the weather continues intermittently wet until the following March, or some-times till April. As a rule the first rainfalls, which are accompanied by heavy thunderstorms, are followed by comparatively fine weather, broken by occasional wet days, after which, towards the end of the rainy season, there are again heavy successions of rain-storms. The agricultural value of this division is obvious, and it is recognized by the expressions 'former' and 'latter' rains which we meet with in the Biblical writings. The first rains soften the iron-bound soil, baked hard, so to speak, by the summer heat, and so make it fit for plough-ing; the comparatively fine intervals give the husband-man time to sow; and the second showers water the seed. The average annual rainfall in Jerusalem is about 28 inches, though this is subject to much variation. In the winter of 1904-1905 nearly 40 inches fell. Such very wet winters are nearly always followed by an epidemic of malaria in the succeeding summer.

R. A. S. Macalister.

RAINBOW.— In Gn 9"-" (P) the rainbow appears as the token of the covenant between God and Noah. As the covenant is universal, so is its sign. The Heb. of V." is ambiguous as to whether the rainbow is con-ceived of as created for the first time (see RVm). Though from a scientific point of view this is absurd, it may

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well have been part of the primitive tradition. Perhaps, however, all that is meant is that the rainbow received a new significance as the symbol of mercy. Its appro-priateness is obvious: the storm passes, and the sun casts its beams over the still clouded sky, marking its return by one of the most beautiful phenomena of nature. So God renews His favour after He has hidden His face for a season. But there may be a further mythological significance. The rainbow may be J"'s war-bow (Ps 7", Hab 3»- ") which He has laid aside; the Heb. word is the same. So 'it is to the Hindu the bow of Rama, and to the Finn the bow of Tiermes the Thunderer, who slays with it the sorcerers who hunt after men's lives' (Tylor, Primitive Culture, i. p. 298). It is, indeed, prominent in all mythology. To the Greek it is a portent, or Iris, the messenger of the gods; in the Ice-landic Edda it is the bridge connecting heaven and earth (cf. Wagner, Rheingold). It is uncertain whether it is aUuded to in the Babylonian narrative of the Flood (see Driver, ad loe.). In Sir 43" the rainbow is one of the wonderful works of God ; in 50' it is a type of the glory of Simon. In Ezk V it surrounds the throne of God; so Rev 43. If there is a reference to the Genesis narra-tive, it will be the symbol of mercy, possibly typified also by the 'emerald' to which it is compared, assuming that a green stone is meant (see Swete, ad loe.). But instead of the word tor 'bow' found in the LXX, ' Iris' is substituted in Rev 4', as in 10'. Here evidently it is simply part of the picture, unless there is an allusion to the Greek conception of Iris as the messenger of the gods. C. W Emmet.

RAISINS (isimmOglm, Nu 6= [EV 'dried grapes'], 1 S 25'8 30", 2 S 16', 1 Ch 12"; 'ashlshlm. His 3' RV, etc.; see Flagon). — Raisins are now, as of old, prepared in great quantities in the Holy Land; the bunches are dipped in a strong solution of potash before being dried. Es-Salt, across the Jordan, has long been famous for the excellence of its stoneless raisins.

E. W. G. Masterman.

RAKEM.— See Rekem, 3.

RAKKATH.— A 'fenced city' of Naphtali (Jos igss). The later Rabbis placed it at or near Tiberias.

RAKKON. — This name in Jos 19* is prob. due to a textual error — a dittography from the latter half of Me-jarkon.

RAM.— 1. An ancestor of David (Ru 4", Mt 1'- >; in Lk 3^^ Arni). In 1 Ch 2» he is called the brother, but in VV.25- 27 the son of Jerahmeel. 2. The family to which Blihu belonged (Job 322) . Some have supposed that Ram is a contraction for Aram.

RAM. — See Sheep, and (for battering-ram) Fortifi-cation AND SlEGECRAFT, 6 (c).

RAMAH. — The name of several places in Palestine, so called from their 'loftiness,' that being the radical meaning of the word. These are as follows: —

1. A city of Naphtali (Jos 19^) not otherwise known, perhaps Rameh between 'Akka and Damascus, 8 miles W.S.W. of Safed. 2. A city of Asher (Jos 192s) not elsewhere mentioned, and identified not improbably with iJSmio, near Tyre. 3. Acity of Benjamin (Jos 1826) between which and Bethel was the palm of Deborah (Jg 46); one of the alternatives which the Levite of Bethlehem had to choose for a lodging on his fatal journey (Jg 19i»); yielded with Geba 621 men to the post-exilic census of Ezra (Ezr 226); re-settled by Ben-jamites (Neh ll^s). Its place is indicated between Geba and Gibeah in Isaiah's picture of the Assyrian advance (102»). A tradition placed here the site of Rachel's tomb; this explains the allusions in 1 S 102, Jer 3116 (quoted in Mt 2i»). Here Jeremiah was loosed from his chains (40'). The name, and not improbably the site, of this place is preserved by a little village on a hillside north of Jerusalem known as er-Ram, which answers the geographical requirements of these incidents.