Rimmon

Rimmon was a Syrian cult image and temple, mentioned only in 2 Kings 5:18 in the Hebrew Bible. In Syria this deity was known as “Baal” (“the Lord” par excellence), in Assyria as “Ramanu” (“the Thunderer”). According to the narrative in the second book of Kings, the Syrian commander Naaman, having been healed of his leprosy by the Israelite prophet Elisha, requested pardon from God for continuing to minister to the King of Syria who would continue to worship in the Temple of Rimmon. Elisha granted him this pardon.[1]

Other usages of Rimmon

In the Hebrew Bible

Rimmon may also refer to:

A map showing Rimmon in ancient Galilee

• A man of Beeroth of the tribe of Benjamin, whose two sons, Baanah and Rechab, were captains of the army of Ish-bosheth, son of King Saul.[2]
• One of the "uttermost cities" of Judah, afterwards given to Simeon (Joshua 15:21, 32; 19:7; 1 Chronicles 4:32). In Joshua 15:32, Ain and Rimmon are mentioned separately, but in Joshua 19:7 and 1 Chronicles 4:32 the two words are probably to be combined, as forming together the name of one place, Ain-Rimmon = "the spring of the pomegranate" (compare Nehemiah 11:29). It has been identified with Um er-Rumamin, about 13 miles south-west of Hebron. Zechariah 14:10 describes it as "south of Jerusalem," to distinguish it from other Rimmons; and uses it in conjunction with Geba to describe the latitudinal span of the kingdom of Judah.
• The Rock of Rimmon, where the Benjamites fled (Judges 20:45, 47; 21:13), and where they maintained themselves for four months after the battle at Gibeah. It is the present village of Rammun, "on the very edge of the hill country, with a precipitous descent toward the Jordan valley", supposed to be the site of Ai.[3] Israeli settlement Rimonim nearby is named after the biblical place.

Other usages

Torah with rimmonim

• An ornament of the Torah scroll (pl. rimmonim), from רימון, meaning pomegranate
• "Rimmon", a poem by Rudyard Kipling written in 1903 after the Boer War.[4]
• Rimmon, an Israeli weekly publication
• According to The Urantia Book, published in 1955, Rimmon was a small city in the region of Galilee which "had once been dedicated to the worship of a Babylonian god of the air, Ramman".[5]

See also

• Rimon, an Israeli wine
• Rumman (disambiguation)

References

1. 2 Kings 5:19
2. 2 Samuel 4:2
3. M. G. Easton. Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Cosimo, Inc. p. 585. ISBN 978-1-59605-947-4.
4. Rimmon, from Rudyard Kipling’s Verse, definitive edition, London, 1940, accessed 25 December 2017
5. The Urantia Book: First Preaching Tour of Galilee, paper 146:1. p. 1637.