According to Daniel Ludlow, the name of the holy stand of the apostate Zoramites, upon which they stood when they offered their weekly prayer, was the "Rameumptom." Although this name may look strange in English, it has appropriate Semitic roots which are recognizable to students of the Semitic languages. The preface "ram" is frequently used to indicate a high place. For example, later in the Book of Mormon we read about the hill Ramah (Ether 15:11). Also in modern Israel are the towns of Rammallah (located in the tops of the Judean hills just north of Jerusalem) and Rameem (which literally means "the heights" and is located on the top of the hills near the Lebanese border). [Daniel H. Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, p. 213]
“Rameumptom the Holy Stand”
In Alma 31:21 it says that the name of the Zoramite holy stand was "Rameumptom." We don't know what it was, but it was called a "Rameumptom." According to Hugh Nibley, this is very interesting because the word ram in all Semitic languages means high, whether it's Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Babylonian, or anything else. So it's a high place. But Kb means curved or curling, like a serpent, winding 'round and 'round. So it could have been a winding stairway that went up to the top of the tower, winding up and winding down. But one person at a time would go up. The name is interesting; it suggests winding. You would think that they would be straight, following the usual pattern. But remember, this was long before the classical period. . . . There's a temple, on the outskirts of Mexico City on the south side, with a stairway going up and just the stand for one man at the top. There are lots of pictures from the conquistadors, etc. The usual thing for the temple was to go up on four sides. . . . It's the stairways of the temples that dominate, as you know, in Central American architecture. At the top there is a stand, which is sometimes a very small place. [Hugh W. Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 2, pp. 431-432] [See the commentary on Ether 15:11]
Note* If the meaning of Rameumptom is related to "curling like a serpent," then could the worship of the Zoramites have been related to serpent worship? In other words, did they look beyond the simpleness of the way as exemplified by Moses' raising of the brass serpent in the wilderness? [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]
Alma 31:21 Now the place was called by them Rameumptom ([Illustration]): "Now the place was called by them Rameumptom . . . from this stand they did offer up, every man, the selfsame prayer unto God." [W. Cleon Skousen, Treasures from the Book of Mormon, Vol. 3, p. 3015]
Alma 31:21 Now the place was called by them Rameumptom ([Illustration]): The Rameumptom. The Zoramites prayed one at a time on a high stand that they called a Rameumptom. Artist: Del Parson. [Thomas R. Valletta ed., The Book of Mormon for Latter-day Saint Families, 1999, p. 357]
Alma 31:28 Their costly apparel ([Illustration]): This figurine in what is called the Jaina style illustrates what an upper-class Maya woman could have looked like wearing "costly apparel" (Alma 31:28 applies the phrase to the Zoramites. . .) [John L. Sorenson, Images of Ancient America, p. 90]
Alma 31:28 Their ringlets, and their bracelets, and their ornaments of gold ([Illustration]): (a) The deep green of jadeite stone was one of the most revered colors. It recalled still waters, the crucial maize plant, and all life-giving vegetation. No wonder beads of the material were put into the mouth of the dead at burial, in token of hoped-for rebirth (this was also done in China). These Olmec-style ear ornaments (inserted through holes in the lobes) date long before 500 B.C., but the popularity of jadeite continued right up to the Spanish Conquest. (b) Tomb 7 at Monte Alban in the state of Oaxaca yielded a large stock of superb jewelry. This masterpiece of a necklace of shell and blue stone dates to the Mixtec period, after A.D. 900. [John L. Sorenson, Images of Ancient America, p. 95]
Alma 31:28 Their ringlets, and their bracelets, and their ornaments of gold ([Illustration]): (a) Metals were used primarily for decoration, not for practical objects. A favorite form was the copper or tumbaga (copper-gold alloy) bell like this one. Cast by the lost-wax method, it contained a tinkling stone inside, so that dancing or just walking produced musical accompaniment. Known bells are nearly all dated after A.D. 800, but earlier monuments picture them being worn. (Almost identical bells were made and worn in the Mediterranean area.) (b) Other lovely materials were also used to decorate earlobes, like the gold and the varicolored stones in these Maya items (after A.D. 800) [John L. Sorenson, Images of Ancient America, p. 96]