Jeremiah 31:15

A voice was heard. The prophet now contrasts by a different figure the present woe and future joy of those taken captive.

Ramah. On the location of Ramah see Additional Note on 1 Sam. 1. Although there were several places by this name, there is little doubt that the Ramah Jeremiah here mentions was the one near the tomb of Rachel, which in turn was near “the border of Benjamin at Zelzah” (1 Sam. 10:2). Ramah (probably to be identified with modern Ramallah) was on the road along which the Jewish exiles would be taken in going from Jerusalem to Babylon, and seems to have been an assembly point for the captives prior to their arduous journey into captivity (see on Jer. 40:1). The slaughter of some of the children of Israel by the Babylonians and the captivity of others, all taking place near the tomb of Rachel, reveal the appropriateness of this figure. Rachel is represented as witnessing the distress experienced by her descendants and as weeping bitterly for her children. Matthew, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, applied this passage to Herod’s massacre of the children of Bethlehem (see on Matt. 2:18).

Rahel. Heb. Rachel, elsewhere always transliterated “Rachel” in the OT. As the mother of Joseph and Benjamin and as the favorite wife of Jacob, she is evidently here spoken of figuratively as the mother of all the children of Israel.