“The Place Was Called by Them Rameumptom”

Brant Gardner

Linguistic: “Rameumptom” appears plausibly related to Semitic linguistic roots, according to George Reynolds and Janne Sjodahl:

Rameumptom was the name given by the Zoramites to the elevated place in their synagogues whence they offered up their vain-glorious and hypocritical prayers. Alma states that the word means a holy stand. It resembles, in its roots, Hebrew and also Egyptian in a remarkable manner. Ramoth, high (as Ramoth Gilead), elevated, a place where one can see and be seen; or, in a figurative sense, sublime or exalted. Mptom has probably its roots in the Hebrew word translated threshold, as we are told that the Philistines’ god, Dagon, has a threshold in Ashdod (1 Sam. 5:4–5). Words with this root are quite common in the Bible. Thus we see how Rameumptom means a high place to stand upon, a holy stand.

Brian D. Stubbs, writing in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, adds:

While many words and names found in the Book of Mormon have exact equivalents in the Hebrew Bible, certain others exhibit Semitic characteristics, though their spelling does not always match known Hebrew forms.… “Rameumptom” (Alma 31:21), meaning “holy stand,” contains consonantal patterns suggesting the stems /rmm/ramah/, “to be high,” and /tmm/tam/tom/, “to be complete, perfect, holy.”

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 4

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