Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 15:17
And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
17. went up against Judah and built Ramah ] This act of Baasha’s shews us that Israel must by this time have recovered some of the power and territory which had been taken from them in Jeroboam’s reign (2Ch 13:19). Ramah, though lying in the hill country of Ephraim, was among the places allotted to the tribe of Benjamin (Jos 18:25), so that it must have been very near to Jerusalem, and to make a fortress of it, as Baasha was now doing, was like making a blockade of Jerusalem, a condition which is described in the words which immediately follow.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ramah (perhaps Er-Ram; marginal reference) was situated halfway between Bethel and Jerusalem. Its distance from Jerusalem was no more than five miles so that its occupation was a menace to that capital. Baashas seizure of Ramah implies a previous recovery of the towns taken by Abijam from Jeroboam, namely, Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephrain 2Ch 13:19, and was a carrying of the war into the enemys country. Could his conquest have been maintained, it would have crippled Judah seriously, and have almost compelled a transfer of the capital to Hebron.
That he might not suffer any to go out or come in – Baasha, in seizing Ramah, professed to be acting on the defensive. His complaint seems to have been well founded (compare 2Ch 15:9); but it was more than a defensive measure – it was the first step toward a conquest of the southern kingdom.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 17. And Baasha – built Ramah] As the word signifies a high place, what is here termed Ramah was probably a hill, (commanding a defile through which lay the principal road to Jerusalem,) which Baasha fortified in order to prevent all intercourse with the kingdom of Judah, lest his subjects should cleave to the house of David. Ramah was about two leagues northward of Jerusalem.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Baasha went up against Judah; perceiving Asas great success, of which see 2Ch 14; 2Ch 15, and the defection of many of his own subjects to him upon that occasion, 2Ch 15:9, he began to bestir himself, and commenceth a war against him.
Built, i.e. repaired and fortified, Ramah, a city of Benjamin; which either belonged to the kingdom of Israel, from the division, (as some other places of that tribe are supposed to have done; of which See Poole “1Ki 11:13“,) or belonged to Judah, but was now invaded and taken by Baasha, and fortified.
That he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah; therefore he chose this place, because it was in the way from his kingdom to Jerusalem, and, as some add, in or near the straits of the mountains, where they could easily discover and hinder all passengers that way.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah,…. Which, in 2Ch 16:1 is said to be in the thirty sixth year of Asa’s reign, or rather of his kingdom; for it can never mean the year of his reign, for Baasha was dead many years before that, since his reign began in the third of Asa, and he reigned but twenty four years, and therefore must die in the twenty seventh of Asa; but it is to be understood of the kingdom of Judah, when it was divided from Israel; from that time to this were thirty six years, seventeen under Rehoboam, three under Abijam, so that this year must be the sixteenth of Asa; thus it is calculated in the Jewish chronology u, and which is followed by many of the best of our chronologers:
and built Ramah; a city in the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 18:25, but taken by the king of Israel, which he rebuilt or fortified:
that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah; that his people might not go to and from Jerusalem, and worship at the temple there; this garrison lying on the borders of both kingdoms, he thought hereby to cut off all communication between them.
u Seder Olam Rabba, c. 16.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(17) Built Ramah.Ramah, or properly, the Ramahthe word signifying only elevationis mentioned in Jos. 18:25 as a city of Benjamin, situated (see Jos. Ant. viii. 12, 3) about five miles north of Jerusalem. It is mentioned in Jdg. 4:5; Jdg. 19:13; Isa. 10:29; Jer. 40:1, and is identified with the village known as Er-Ram at the present day.
This fortification of Ramah close to the hostile capitallike the fortification of Decelea, near Athens, in the Peloponnesian warwas a standing menace to Judah. Baasha, who was a military chief, seems to have been warned by the ill-success of former attempts to invade and subjugate Judah, and to have used this easier means of keeping the enemy in check, and provoking a conflictif a conflict there was to beon his own ground. The text, however, implies a further design to blockade the road between the kingdoms, perhaps explained by the statement, in 2Ch. 15:9-10, of the falling away of many from Israel to Asa, now in the height of his prosperity. The new fortress was, no doubt, supported by all the military force of Israel, which Asa, in spite of his increased strength, dared not attack.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. Built Ramah That is, he attempted to fortify it so as to make it a fortress for his troops; and since Ramah lay midway between Beth-el and Jerusalem, it was a choice spot to serve his purpose of checking the emigration of Israelites into the kingdom of Judah.
Not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa The conviction that Jerusalem was the proper place to worship drew multitudes there, and Jeroboam and his successors found that the calf-worship at Beth-el and Dan would not command the respect of all his people. Compare 1Ki 12:27; 2Ch 11:13-17; Tob 1:6 . Baasha thought to check this going up to Jerusalem by force of arms. He would build a stronghold at Ramah and station forces there to oppose all emigration out of his realm.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Ki 15:17 And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
Ver. 17. That he might not suffer any. ] He sought to block him up, and so to keep his own people – who had a mind to the sincere service of God – from flying away to him.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ramah = the modern er Ram, five miles north of Jerusalem, which it was intended to menace. See 2Ch 16:1.
go out or come in. But in vain. See 1Ki 12:27; 1Ki 15:9, &c.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
am 3074, bc 930
Baasha: 1Ki 15:27, 2Ch 16:1-6
Ramah: By building Ramah is here meant fortifying it, in order to prevent all intercourse with the kingdom of Judah, lest his subjects should cleave to the house of David: for Ramah was a city of Benjamin, situated on the confines of both kingdoms, probably on a hill, as the name imports, commanding a narrow defile between the mountains, through which lay the principal road to Jerusalem; so that a fortification being erected here, no communication could be held between the people of Israel and Judah, without Baasha’s permission. 1Ki 15:21, Jos 18:25, 1Sa 15:34, Jer 31:15
he might not suffer: 1Ki 12:27, 2Ch 11:13-17
Reciprocal: 1Ki 12:25 – built 2Ch 15:19 – five and thirtieth Jer 41:9 – for fear
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 15:17. Baasha built Ramah That is, repaired and fortified it. It was a city in the tribe of Benjamin, which either belonged to the kingdom of Israel, or he had taken it from Judah. That he might not suffer any to go out, &c. That he might hinder all communication between his people and the people of Judah, and that his people might not go up to Jerusalem to worship. For this place lay in the confines of both kingdoms; and in such a strait, that a fortification being made there, none could pass to or fro without a license from Baasha.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
15:17 And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built {f} Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
(f) For the same reason that Jeroboam did, because the people should not go up to Jerusalem, least they follow Asa.