mechanisms may operate.” As warm air containing water vapor rises and cools, moisture condenses into tiny water droplets. One theory holds that this condensation occurs around dust or salt particles as nuclei of the droplets. Another theory concludes that electricity plays an essential role—that rain takes place when something upsets the electrostatic balance of a cloud.

JEHOVAH AS A SOURCE

Jehovah was no mere “rain god” for Israel. He was not like Baal, whom the Canaanites thought brought the rainy season with his awakening to life. Faithful Israelites recognized that Jehovah, not Baal, could withhold the precious rain. This was clearly illustrated when Jehovah brought a drought in Israel when Baal worship there was at its peak, in the time of the prophet Elijah.—1 Ki. 17:1, 7; Jas. 5:17, 18.

It is Jehovah who prepared rain for the earth. (Ps. 147:8; Isa. 30:23) He “has divided a channel for the flood,” perhaps referring to the way in which God causes clouds to channel rain down over certain parts of the globe. (Job 38:25-27; compare Psalm 135:7; Jeremiah 10:13.) His ability to control rain in harmony with his purpose is one of the things that distinguished Jehovah from the lifeless idol gods worshiped by the nations surrounding Israel. (Jer. 14:22) In the Promised Land the Israelites had even more reason to appreciate that than when they were in Egypt, where rain was very infrequent.—Deut. 11:10, 11.

In preaching to the Greeks in Lystra, Paul and Barnabas explained that the cheering rains served as a witness about the “living God” and a demonstration of his goodness. (Acts 14:14-17) The benefits of rain are felt not just by the good and righteous, but by all people; so, Jesus pointed out, God’s love in this regard should serve as a pattern for humans.—Matt. 5:43-48.

RAINFALL IN THE PROMISED LAND

A distinct feature of the climate of the Promised Land is its variety as to rainfall. Two chief factors determining the amount of rain are proximity to the sea and elevation. The plains along the Mediterranean receive considerable rain during the rainy season, with the amount decreasing as one goes from N to S. The rainfall tends to be greater in the hills and mountains because the moisture carried eastward from the sea condenses more heavily there. The Jordan valley lies in a “rain shadow,” for the air traveling over the mountains has by then given up much of its moisture, and the air is warmed as it moves into the valley. Yet, when this air meets the elevated plateau E of the Jordan, clouds again form, resulting in some rainfall. This makes a strip of land E of the Jordan suitable for grazing or limited agriculture. Farther E is the desert, where the rain is too light and irregular to be useful for raising crops or herds.

Seasons

The two primary seasons in the Promised Land, summer and winter, can rather accurately be viewed as the dry season and the rainy season. From mid-April to mid-October very little rain falls. Rain is rare in this period during which the harvest takes place. Proverbs 26:1 shows that rain at harvesttime was considered quite out of place. (Compare 1 Samuel 12:17-19.) During the rainy season the rain is not constant; it alternates with clear days. Since this is also the cold period, exposure to the rain is very chilling. (Ezra 10:9, 13) Therefore, a comfortable shelter is most appreciated.—Isa. 4:6; 25:4; 32:2; Job 24:8.

Autumn and spring rain

The Bible often mentions the “autumn [early] rain and spring [late] rain.” (Jer. 5:24; Joel 2:23, 24) The rains of these periods between the summer and winter were promised by God as a blessing upon the faithful Israelites (Deut. 11:14) and are things the farmer patiently awaited. (Jas. 5:7; compare Job 29:23.) The early or autumn rain (beginning in late October) was anxiously anticipated to relieve the heat and dryness of summer. It was necessary before planting could begin, for the rain softened the ground and allowed the farmer to plow his land. Similarly, the late or spring rain (in April) was required to water the growing crops so that they would mature, and particularly so that the grain would ripen.—Zech. 10:1; Amos 4:7; Song of Sol. 2:11-13.

FIGURATIVE USE

When God blessed Israel with rains in their appointed time, an abundance resulted. Hence, Hosea could promise that Jehovah would “come in like a pouring rain,” “like a spring rain that saturates the earth” for those who sought to know him. (Hos. 6:3) God’s instructions were to “drip as the rain” and his sayings as “gentle rains upon grass and as copious showers upon vegetation.” (Deut. 32:2) They would be able to sink in slowly but be sufficient to provide full refreshment, as showers on vegetation. Similarly, a source of refreshment and plenty was depicted in likening the regathered remnant of Jacob to “copious showers upon vegetation.”—Mic. 5:7.

The reign of God’s king described in Psalm 72 would be marked by prosperity and blessing. Consequently, he was represented as descending “like the rain upon the mown grass, like copious showers that wet the earth” and produce fresh verdure. (Ps. 72:1, 6; compare 2 Samuel 23:3, 4.) The goodwill of a king was likened to “the cloud of spring rain,” for it gave evidence of pleasant conditions to come, just as rain-bearing clouds assured the water necessary for the crops’ fruition.—Prov. 16:15.

However, the falling rain does not always result in vegetation that is a blessing to the human cultivator; the watered earth may produce thorns and thistles. Paul used this as an example, comparing the rain-watered ground to Christians who have “tasted the heavenly free gift, and who have become partakers of holy spirit.” If they do not produce the fruits of the spirit, but fall away from the truth, they are due to be burned, like a field producing only thorns.—Heb. 6:4-8.

In John’s vision in Revelation he saw “two witnesses” with “the authority to shut up heaven that no rain should fall during the days of their prophesying.” (Rev. 11:3-6) These “witnesses” representing God as ‘prophets’ or spokesmen would not pronounce God’s favor or blessing on the plans and works of wicked men on earth. Like Elijah, who announced a three-and-a-half-year drought on Israel because of their practice of Baal worship promoted by King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, so these “two witnesses” figuratively “shut up heaven” so that no refreshing “rain” from God would come to bring prosperity to such efforts of men.—1 Ki. 17:1–18:45; Luke 4:25, 26; Jas. 5:17, 18.

RAINBOW

A semicircular bow or arc exhibiting a spectrum of colors. There is no separate Hebrew word for rainbow, so the normal word for “bow” (with which to shoot arrows) is used in the Bible.—Gen. 9:13; Ezek. 1:28.

Complicated theories and formulas are used to explain the formation of a rainbow. Basically, it seems that as white light enters a raindrop it is refracted into different colors, the drop acting like a tiny prism. Each color strikes the inner surface of the drop and is reflected back at a different and specific angle. Thus an observer sees a bow with all seven colors of the spectrum (from the inside of the arc outward: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red), though these may blend so that only four or five are clear. Sometimes a larger and less distinct “secondary” bow is formed with the colors reversed. Scientists are still studying the rainbow. The book The Rainbow, from Myth to Mathematics (pp. 320, 321) by C. B. Boyer observes: “Within a raindrop the interaction of light energy with matter is so intimate that one is led directly to quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity. . . . Although much is known about the production of the rainbow, little has been learned about its perception.”

The first Biblical reference to a rainbow is in the account of the covenant God made with Noah and his offspring after the Flood survivors came out of the ark. (Gen. 9:8-17; Isa. 54:9, 10) This splendid sight of itself would have been reassuring and an indication of peace to Noah and his family.

Many opinions have been offered as to whether this was the first time humans saw a rainbow. Some commentators have held that rainbows had been seen before and that God’s ‘giving’ the rainbow at this time was really a ‘giving’ of special meaning or significance to a previously existing phenomenon. Many of those holding this view believe that the Flood was only local or did not substantially change the atmosphere.

Nevertheless, this is the first mention of a rainbow, and if a rainbow had been seen earlier, there would have been no real force in God’s making it an outstanding sign of his covenant. It would have been commonplace, and not a significant marker of a change, of something new.

The Bible does not describe the degree of clarity of the atmosphere just prior to the Flood. But apparently atmospheric conditions were such that, until a change came about when “the floodgates of the heavens were opened” (Gen. 7:11), no others before Noah and his family had seen a rainbow. Even today, atmospheric conditions affect whether a rainbow can be seen or not.

The glory, beauty and peacefulness of a rainbow that appears after a storm are drawn upon in Biblical descriptions of God and his throne. In Ezekiel’s vision of God, the prophet saw “something like the appearance of the bow that occurs in a cloud mass on the day of a pouring rain.” This emphasized “the glory of Jehovah.” (Ezek. 1:28) Similarly, John saw Jehovah’s throne of splendor and ‘round about it there was a rainbow like an emerald in appearance.’ The restful emerald-green color of the rainbow would have suggested composure and serenity to John, and appropriately so since Jehovah is the master of every situation, a glorious Ruler. (Rev. 4:3) John also saw an angel with ‘a rainbow upon his head’ (Rev. 10:1), which may suggest that he was a special representative of “the God of peace.”—Phil. 4:9.

RAKKATH

(Rakʹkath) [possibly, shore].

A fortified city of Naphtali. (Josh. 19:32, 35) It is today often identified with Tell Eqlatiyeh, located on the Sea of Galilee a short distance N of Tiberias.

RAKKON

(Rakʹkon) [perhaps, shore].

A city listed when describing the border of Dan. (Josh. 19:40, 41, 46) It is identified by some with Tell er-Reqqeit, about two miles (3 kilometers) N of Tel Aviv, on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.

RAM

[high].

1. A descendant of Judah through Perez and Hezron who lived while Israel was in Egypt. Though Ram was apparently not the first son of Hezron, Ram’s genealogy, leading to the Davidic line, is listed first among the three sons of Hezron. (1 Chron. 2:4, 5, 9-17, 25) Having Nahshon, Boaz and David among his descendants, Ram was an ancestor of Jesus. (Num. 1:7; Ruth 4:18-22; Matt. 1:3, 4) His name is spelled Arni (Aram in some manuscripts) in Luke’s ancestry of Jesus.—Luke 3:33.

2. The firstborn son of Jerahmeel and nephew of No. 1 above. He fathered three sons.—1 Chron. 2:9, 25, 27.

3. Founder of Elihu’s family.—Job 32:2.

RAMAH

(Raʹmah).

The Hebrew word signifies a height or a high place. (Ezek. 16:24) It was used as a proper name for a number of locations in Israel.

1. A city in the territory of Benjamin. In Joshua 18:25 it is listed between Gibeon and Beeroth. Apparently it was near Bethel, which city was in the S of Ephraim’s territory. (Judg. 4:5) A Levite traveling N past Jerusalem came to Gibeah, with Ramah evidently just beyond. (Judg. 19:11-15; Hos. 5:8) And it was in the neighborhood of Geba. (Isa. 10:29) These references combine with testimony of Eusebius in identifying Ramah in Benjamin with the locality of modern er-Ram, which is about five miles (8 kilometers) N of Jerusalem, two miles (3 kilometers) N of Gibeah, three miles (5 kilometers) E of Gibeon and two miles (3 kilometers) W of Geba. The city is on an elevation, as the name implies.

During the divided kingdom Ramah came in for considerable attention, located, as it was, near the border between Israel and Judah and the N-S road of the hill country. King Baasha of Israel began to expand or fortify Ramah in Benjamin while warring against Asa. (1 Ki. 15:16, 17; 2 Chron. 16:1) But when the king of Syria attacked Israel from the N, Baasha’s attention was diverted and Asa took Ramah and also the building materials Baasha had been using there, using these to build up neighboring Geba and Mizpah. (1 Ki. 15:20-22; 2 Chron. 16:4-6) It appears that, when Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E., the Jews taken captive were assembled in Ramah before being moved to Babylon. (Jer. 40:1) After the exile Ramah was repopulated.—Ezra 2:1, 26; Neh. 7:30; 11:33.

Some scholars have concluded that such an assembling of Jews at Ramah before taking them into exile (perhaps accompanied by the slaughtering of some there) was referred to with the words: “In Ramah a voice is being heard, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping over her sons. She has refused to be comforted over her sons, because they are no more.” (Jer. 31:15) Jacob’s wife Rachel had so desired children as to consider herself “dead” without them. (Gen. 30:1) So now Rachel might be spoken of figuratively as weeping over the loss of the Jews in death or captivity. Or, since Rachel was the mother of Benjamin, Jeremiah’s words may represent her as weeping particularly over the Benjamite inhabitants of Ramah. Jeremiah went on to explain that hope existed, for the exiles would return. (Jer. 31:16) At Matthew 2:18, the prophetic words in Jeremiah 31:15 are quoted as applying also to the time when Herod had young children of Bethlehem slaughtered.

2. An enclave city of the tribe of Simeon in the Negeb. (Josh. 19:1, 8) It was the same as Baalath-beer and was known as “Ramah of the south.”—See BAALATH-BEER.

3. A city in the territory of Asher listed only in Joshua 19:24, 29. It is difficult from the text to determine exactly where in Asher’s inheritance the city was located, though it seems to have been N toward Tyre. Modern scholars most frequently identify it with the village Ramia, which is about thirteen miles (21 kilometers) S-SE of Tyre and eleven miles (18 kilometers) E of Ras en-Naqura. A number of tombs and sarcophagi have been found in the vicinity.

4. A fortified city in Naphtali’s territory. (Josh. 19:32, 36) The single reference to it in Joshua does not provide positive identification of its location. The site frequently suggested is that of er-Rameh, about seventeen miles (27 kilometers) E of the seaport city of Acre (Acco). Er-Rameh is in an area of numerous olive trees and lies on the road from Acre to Safad.

5. The hometown of the prophet Samuel and his parents. In 1 Samuel 1:1, Samuel’s father Elkanah is described as a “man of Ramathaim-zophim of the mountainous region of Ephraim.” Throughout the rest of the account the shortened form “Ramah” is used. (1 Sam. 1:19) Perhaps the longer name is first used to distinguish this Ramah from other places of the same name, such as Ramah in Benjamin. An American Translation, evidently following the Septuagint, reads: “man of Ramah, a Zuphite.” This rendering, which differs from the Masoretic text, would refer to Elkanah’s being either a descendant of Zuph