Ramah. Now er-Ram. This would seem, from Jeremiah 31:15, and from a comparison of Jeremiah 1:1 and Jeremiah 40:1, to have been the Ramah of later history, famous as the dwelling place of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1, etc; for Mount Ephraim is applied to territory in Benjamin.
Cf. 4:5; 2 Samuel 20:1, 2 Samuel 20:21). It was near Gibeah ( 19:13; Isaiah 10:29), and not far from Bethel ( 4:5). It was rebuilt by Baasha (1 Kings 15:17, 1 Kings 15:21). Mizpeh. This is the Mizpeh, or Mizpah, of Benjamin, whither the tribes were wont to gather together, and where the tabernacle appears to have been removed (see 20:1, 20:3; 21:1-8).
If, as Lieut. Conder supposes, Nob and Mizpeh were identical, and were near Jerusalem, this would explain the presence of the tribes within the border of Benjamin on this occasion. They were near the border; and the Benjamites had retired to their mountain fastnesses.
This seems almost implied in 20:3. Similar gatherings are recorded in the Book of Samuel (1 Samuel 7:5-7, 1 Samuel 7:11, 1 Samuel 7:12, 1 Samuel 7:16; 1 Samuel 10:17). Mizpeh was the seat of Gedaliah's administration, and of the tragedy of his assassination (2 Kings 25:23-25; Jeremiah 40:10-13; Jeremiah 41:1-18).