Amram Qorah was born in Sana'a, Yemen, as ʿImrān Qeraḥ, the son of Yihya ben Shalom Qeraḥ. At the age of ten, he was orphaned of his father. As he grew to adulthood, he was active in the study of Jewish ritual and law, which soon qualified him to work as secretary of the rabbinic court under the Av Beit Din, Rabbi Suleiman Qareh.