Bethlehem, Ephratha, Rama—Medeba Map
Bethlehem, Ephratha, Rama—Medeba Map Here, “Bethlehem” appears in Greek (top center) on the Medeba (Madaba) Map. Below that is “Ephratha,” the region that included Bethlehem ( Mic 5:2 ). To Ephratha’s right, the Greek says “Rama, a voice in Rama was heard.” Rama sits about five miles (eight km) north of Jerusalem, off this picture’s left edge. The mosaicist-cartographer refers to Jeremiah 31:15 , fulfilled by Herod’s infanticide around Bethlehem ( Matt 2:16–18 ). Jeremiah himself was remembering Rachel’s death in Rama, during childbirth, while traveling to Bethlehem. In his and Matthew’s minds, the two towns, many miles apart, were linked. Gen 35:16 , Gen. 35:19 , 1 Chr 4:4 , Jer 31:15 , Mic 5:2 , Matt 2:1–8 , Matt. 2:16–18 Image by Jean Housen, from Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0