Ramathaim-zophim

Ramathaim-zophim (literally "double height of the watchmen") opens the entire narrative of 1 Samuel: "Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah" (1 Samuel 1:1). The town is more commonly referenced under its shortened form "Ramah" throughout the rest of the book as the home of Elkanah and Hannah, the birthplace of the prophet Samuel, his judicial circuit headquarters, and the place of his burial (1 Samuel 25:1). The site is identified with the modern village of er-Ram about five miles north of Jerusalem.