So the Israelites went to the place where they lived. On the third day the Israelites came to the cities of Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim.
This is what the Lord says: “A sound is heard in Ramah— bitter crying and great sadness. Rachel cries for her children, and she refuses to be comforted, because her children are gone.”
The Lord will fight as he did at Mount Perazim. He will be angry as he was in Gibeon Valley. He will do what he must do. It will be what some stranger should do, but he will finish his work. Yes, this is a stranger’s job.
There was a man named Elkanah from the Zuph family who lived in Ramah in the hill country of Ephraim. Elkanah was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph from the tribe of Ephraim.
So Adoni Zedek and his people were very frightened. Gibeon was not a small town like Ai. It was a very big city—as big as any royal city. And all the men in that city were good fighters, so the king was afraid.
So then all the family groups of Judah stood before the Lord, and he chose the Zerah family group. Then all the families of the Zerah group stood before the Lord, and he chose the family of Zimri.
Two men went to see to Saul’s son. These two men were captains in the army. They were Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth. (They were Benjamites because the town Beeroth belonged to the tribe of Benjamin.
Then the border went back south to Ramah. It continued to the strong city of Tyre. Then the border turned and went to Hosah. It ended at the sea, near Aczib,
Early the next morning Elkanah’s family got up. They worshiped the Lord and then went back home to Ramah. Elkanah had sexual relations with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered Hannah.