Jeremiah 31:15

“Thus saith the Lord, a voice was heard in Ramah, etc.] Which signifies a high place; hence the Targum paraphrases it, “in the high place of the world;” and so the Vulgate Latin version, “in a high place;” but it is here the proper name of a place, of a city in the tribe of Benjamin, (<061825>Joshua 18:25); and this voice heard was not a voice of joy and gladness as before, but of lamentation [and] bitter weeping; signifying great sorrow and distress upon some very extraordinary occasion; and is as follows: Rachel weeping for her children; not really and in person, but by a figurative way of speaking. Rachel is introduced as representing the Jewish women in those parts mourning for their…”

“Ramah--In Benjamin, east of the great northern road, two hours' journey from Jerusalem. Rachel, who all her life had pined for children (Gen 30:1), and who died with "sorrow" in giving birth to Benjamin (Gen 35:18-19, Margin; Sa1 10:2), and was buried at Ramah, near Beth-lehem, is represented as raising her head from the tomb, and as breaking forth into "weeping" at seeing the whole land depopulated of her sons, the Ephraimites. Ramah was the place where Nebuzara-dan collected all the Jews in chains, previous to their removal to Babylon (Jer 40:1). God therefore consoles her with the promise of their restoration. Mat 2:17-18 quotes this as fulfilled in the massacre of the innocents under…”

“The religious character of the restoration of the ten tribes. Chastisement brought repentance, and with it forgiveness; therefore God decrees their restoration. Jeremiah 31:15 Ramah, mentioned because of its nearness to Jerusalem, from which it was distant about five miles. As the mother of three tribes, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, Rachel is regarded as the mother of the whole ten. This passage is quoted by Matthew (marginal reference) as a type. In Jeremiah it is a poetical figure representing in a dramatic form the miserable condition of the kingdom of Ephraim devastated by the sword of the Assyrians. Jeremiah 31:16 Rachel’s work had been that of bearing and bringing up children, and…”

“In Ramah - That is, in Canaan, and particularly in Ramah, where Nebuzar - adan, Jer 40:1, disposed of the prisoners he had taken, setting some at liberty, ordering others to death, and carrying the rest away to Babylon, which caused a bitter weeping and lamentation. Rachel - Rachel is here brought in, having been buried near that place, as if she were risen up from the grave, and lamented the Jewish nation which came out of her loins (for so Benjamin did, which was one of the two tribes that made the kingdom of Judah.) Were not - Because her children either were not absolutely, being slain by the pestilence, the famine, and the sword of the king of Babylon, or were no longer her children,…”

“31:15-40 The Lord expanded on his future project of rebuilding a new nation out of a people who had suffered greatly during their lengthy captivity. 31:15 Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife, was the mother of Joseph (father of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh in the northern kingdom) and Benjamin (whose descendants were in the southern kingdom). She represented the mothers in all Israel whose children were taken into exile. • Matthew 2:18 quotes this verse in relation to the slaughter of the young boys in Bethlehem.”

“A: Eze 2:10; Mat 2:16 Ramah: Jer 40:1; Jos 18:25; Sa1 7:17; Mat 2:18, Rama refused: Gen 37:35; Psa 77:2; Isa 22:4 because: Gen 42:13, Gen 42:36; Job 7:21; Psa 37:36; Lam 5:7 Jeremiah 31:16”

“Changing of sorrow into joy, because Ephraim will turn to the Lord, and the Lord will lead him back. - Jer 31:15. "Thus saith Jahveh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not. Jer 31:16. Thus saith Jahveh: Restrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for there is a reward for thy work, saith Jahveh, and they shall return from the land of the enemy. Jer 31:17. And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jahveh, that children shall return to thy border. Jer 31:18. I have certainly heard Ephraim complaining, Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised, like a calf…”