RAMEUMPTOM: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 07:53, 14 October 2023

Lehite noun	1.	Prayerstand, ca. 74 BC (Alma 31:21)

Etymology

The name RAMEUMPTOM is defined in the Book of Mormon as “the holy stand” (Alma 31:21&23) and is described as “a place of standing, which was high above the head” (Alma 31:13).^[1]

The first element of the name is most likely related to HEBREW רם rām, “to be high, to be exalted,” and רמה rāmâ, “eminence, high place,” the same root that appears in the biblical geographic name RAMAH, רמה “hill” (cf. Book of Mormon RAMAH). RAMEUMPTOM could be a noun chain with רמי râme as a masculine construct plural, meaning “the elevations of.” The -umptom would then be a nomen rectum, possibly from HEBREW עמד ʿōmed , “place, position, location,” with either a pronominal suffix, analogous to the 3rd person plural possessive pronoun -ām,^[2] or with the nominalizing ending –ōm.^[3] The latter ending is probably to be preferred because of the analog form in Arabic, ʿumdān “standing.” Given these two HEBREW lexemes, rām and ʿōmed, the meaning of RAMEUMPTOM would then be *רמי-עמדם “their-high-standing-places” (RFS), a definition that accords well with the interpretation that the Book of Mormon writers provided.

The Masoretic pronunciation ʿōmed for “stand” denotes a “qutl” form that would have originally been pronounced with an initial /u/, as in Arabic ʿumdān.^[4] This could explain the /u/ vowel rather than the /o/ of ʿōmed. The “qutl” form with affix would also explain why there is no vowel between the m and the t.^[5]

The fact that the /p/ is the locus of several scribal corrections in the original and the printer’s manuscripts may indicate an initial question in the dictation process about its presence in this proper name.^[6] (Semitic languages in general do not tolerate consonant clusters, such as -mpt-.) However, what might seem like an extraneous /p/ and the unvoicing of voiced /d/ can be explained phonetically. The insertion of a bilabial voiceless plosive between the preceding bilabial /m/ and a following dental is not without precedent. In English, for example, the p in redemption represents a phonetic spelling of redeem plus the nominalizing ending –tion. The phenomenon also occurs in the Semitic languages. The common Semitic word for “sun” is šmš, the vowels varying between šamaš and šamšu. The latter form cannot be pronounced without the insertion of a voiceless bilabial plosive, a /p/. Thus, the HEBREW personal name Šimšōn, which is based on šmš, is sometimes spelled with a /p/ when the name passes into another language, such as Greek, Sampson.^[7]

The voiceless /t/ instead of the voiced /d/ can be explained by assimilation. I.e., the bilabial /m/ produces the voiceless /p/ before a dental, and the voiceless /p/ influences the voiced dental /d/, becoming the unvoiced /t/.

Name Index

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[1] The original manuscript, the printer’s manuscript and the 1830 edition all read, “a place of standing.” The 1837 replaced of with for, “a place for standing,” followed by 1837-2013. The reading with of is more Hebraistic, that is, in a Hebrew vorlage place and standing would be a noun chain without a preposition between them. The Hebrew could be mĕqôm ʿōmed, which would form an appropriate alliterative poetic parallel to the meaning proposed here for Rameumptom.

[2] Nehemiah 8:7 “the people stood in their place,” where “their place” is pointed ʿōmdām; see also Nehemiah 9:3; 13:11; 2 Chronicles 30:16; and 35:10.

[3] -ōm as in Gershom (Exodus 2:22; 18:3); Milcom, the Ammonite deity (1 Kings 11:7&33); and ʿēyrōm, “the state of being naked, naked” (Deuteronomy 28:48, Ezekiel 18:7 and Genesis 3:7), possibly similar to the common Semitic nominalizing ending –ān/ōn.

[4] In his “Vestiges,” John A. Tvedtnes has suggested the connection of HEBREW ʿōmed with Arabic ʿumdān “standing,” which is descriptive of Muslim pilgrims on Hajj who stand on the Plain of Arafat with arms raised praying for repentance. RFS notes the ancient Jewish tradition of speaking the ʿAmida (from the same root as ʿōmed) prayer while standing. See E. Werner, The Sacred Bridge, pp. 11-13, 15-16, which relates directly to the form, function and meaning of RAMEUMPTOM, “holy stand.” Interestingly, the term ʿōmed, translated “standing-place” is always preceded in the HEBREW Bible by the preposition ʿal, hence “upon their standing-place,” which may imply a special spot, perhaps a platform for notables such as the one used at the festival of Sukkot (JAT), or a type of “high place” (“shrine” in the JPS translation), from the HEBREW bāmā (see 1 Kings 11:7; Jeremiah 48:35, etc.). Some early Christian church buildings also contained a bema, a raised platform, for example at Qirk Bize, Syria. Many synagogues also still feature a bima.

[5] Qutl forms in HEBREW take a helping vowel between the second and third radicals when there is no affix. But when an affix is added, such as the pronominal suffix, the helping vowel is no longer needed and elides.

[6] The original manuscript reads “[ram]eum{p}tom” while the printers manuscript reads “Rameu{p(-)׀m}ptom”.

[7] The Greek spelling of the HEBREW name Šimšōn (a name based on šmš) is Sampson σαμψων. Also, the Ugaritic spelling of šmš is špš, clearly with a voiceless bilabial plosive replacing the voiced bilabial /m/ in the writing.

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@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 |'''[[:Category:Lehite noun|Lehite noun]]'''
 |1.
-|Prayerstand, ca. 74 BC ([http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/31/21#21 Alma 31:21])
+|Prayerstand, ca. 74 BC ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/31.21?lang=eng#20 Alma 31:21])
 |}
-The first element of the name is perhaps related to Hebrew râm, “to be high, exalted,” the same root that appears in the biblical GN Ramah, “hill” (cf. Book of Mormon
+'''Etymology'''
-Ramah). The form could be a plural nomens regens with the second element of the name in construct and thus mean “the elevations of.” It is tempting to see Hebrew
-ʿomed, “stand,” and in the derived sense “place,” <Ref>See [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/neh/13/11#11 Nehemiah 13:11] ʿomdām, “their standingplace.”</ref> with the 3c.p. possessive pronoun, ʿomdām as the second element in Rameumptom, even though the vowels and
-consonants only plausibly correspond, thus giving the meaning, “the heights/loftiness/elevations of their stand” (RFS). The insertion of a bilabial voiceless plosive
-between a preceding bilabial and a following consonant is not without precedent. <ref>The Hebrew šimšōn, KJV “Samson,” cannot be pronounced without adding a bilabial plosive between the m and the š, i.e., šimpšōn, which is why the Greek transliteration
-of the name is written with the plosive character *ψ, and why some English renderings of the name also contain the p.</ref> The vowels of ʿomed, if ʿomed belongs to the qutl class of segholates, can be
-traced to an original [u] and Ø, thus matching the Book of Mormon vowels. The change of a voiced to an unvoiced dental is also plausible. Harder to explain is the
-change of a to o, if the last two characters represent the possessive pronoun. The corresponding Aramaic 3c.p. possessive pronoun does have the *o vowel. The name
-and the stand are suggestive of the Jewish usage of ʿamīdāh, “stand” (see E. Werner, The Sacred Bridge, pp. 11–13, 15–16, which relates directly to the form, function
-and meaning of Rameumptom, “holy stand.”) Interestingly, the term ʿomed, translated “standingplace” *is always preceded in the Bible by the preposition ʿal, hence
-“upon their standingplace,” which may imply a special spot, perhaps a platform for notables such as the one used at the festival of Sukkot (JAT).
-See also the Hebrew ʿamida prayer. (RFS).
+The name '''R<small>AMEUMPTOM</small>''' is defined in the Book of Mormon as “the holy stand” ([http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/31.21,%2023?lang=eng#20 Alma 31:21&23]) and is described as “a place of standing, which was high above the head” ([http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/31.13?lang=eng#12 Alma 31:13]).<ref>The original manuscript, the printer’s manuscript and the 1830 edition all read, “a place of standing.” The 1837 replaced ''of'' with ''for'', “a place for standing,” followed by 1837-2013. The reading with ''of'' is more Hebraistic, that is, in a Hebrew vorlage ''place'' and ''standing'' would be a noun chain without a preposition between them. The Hebrew could be ''mĕqôm ʿōmed'', which would form an appropriate alliterative poetic parallel to the meaning proposed here for ''Rameumptom''.</ref>
+The first element of the name is most likely related to [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] רם ''rām'', “to be high, to be exalted,” and רמה ''rāmâ'', “eminence, high place,” the same root that appears in the biblical geographic name [[RAMAH|R<small>AMAH</small>]], רמה “hill” (cf. Book of Mormon [[RAMAH|R<small>AMAH</small>]]).  '''R<small>AMEUMPTOM</small>''' could be a noun chain with רמי ''râme'' as a masculine construct plural, meaning “the elevations of.” The ''-umptom'' would then be a nomen rectum, possibly from [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] עמד ''ʿōmed'' , “place, position, location,” with either a pronominal suffix, analogous to the 3rd person plural possessive pronoun ''-ām'',<ref>[http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/neh/8.7?lang=eng#6 Nehemiah 8:7] “the people stood in their place,” where “their place” is pointed ''ʿōmdām''; see also [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/neh/9.3?lang=eng#2 Nehemiah 9:3]; [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/neh/13.11?lang=eng#10 13:11]; [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-chr/30.16?lang=eng#15 2 Chronicles 30:16]; and [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-chr/35.10?lang=eng#9 35:10].</ref>  or with the nominalizing ending ''–ōm''.<ref>''-ōm'' as in Gershom ([http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/ex/2.22?lang=eng#21 Exodus 2:22]; [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/ex/18.3?lang=eng#2 18:3]); Milcom, the Ammonite deity ([http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-kgs/11.7,%2033?lang=eng#6 1 Kings 11:7&33]); and ''ʿēyrōm'', “the state of being naked, naked” ([http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/deut/28.48?lang=eng#47 Deuteronomy 28:48], [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/ezek/18.7?lang=eng#6 Ezekiel 18:7] and [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/3.7?lang=eng#6 Genesis 3:7]), possibly similar to the common Semitic nominalizing ending ''–ān/ōn''.</ref>  The latter ending is probably to be preferred because of the analog form in Arabic, ''ʿumdān'' “standing.” Given these two [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] lexemes, ''rām'' and ''ʿōmed'', the meaning of '''R<small>AMEUMPTOM</small>''' would then be *רמי-עמדם “their-high-standing-places” ([[Robert F. Smith|RFS]]), a definition that accords well with the interpretation that the Book of Mormon writers provided.
-It is also possible that the second element could be derived from Hebrew ʿam(mah), “people,” or Arabic ʾumt-, “people.” The former does not have a *feminine form that
+The Masoretic pronunciation ''ʿōmed'' for “stand” denotes a “qutl” form that would have originally been pronounced with an initial /''u''/, as in Arabic ''ʿumdān''.<ref>In his “Vestiges,” [[John A. Tvedtnes|John A. Tvedtnes]] has suggested the connection of [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] ''ʿōmed'' with Arabic ''ʿumdān'' “standing,” which is descriptive of Muslim pilgrims on Hajj who stand on the Plain of Arafat with arms raised praying for repentance. [[Robert F. Smith|RFS]] notes the ancient Jewish tradition of speaking the ''ʿAmida'' (from the same root as ''ʿōmed'') prayer while standing. See E. Werner, ''The Sacred Bridge'', pp. 11-13, 15-16, which relates directly to the form, function and meaning of '''R<small>AMEUMPTOM</small>''', “holy stand.”
-I am aware of, and therefore the t would have to be added to form an otherwise unattested form. The latter comes from the common Semitic root ʾmm, “mother,” with
+Interestingly, the term ''ʿōmed'', translated “standing-place” is always preceded in the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] Bible by the preposition ''ʿal'', hence “upon their standing-place,” which may imply a special spot, perhaps a platform for notables such as the one used at the festival of Sukkot ([[John A. Tvedtnes|JAT]]), or a type of “high place” (“shrine” in the [[Abbreviations|JPS]] translation), from the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] ''bāmā'' (see [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-kgs/11.7?lang=eng#6 1 Kings 11:7]; [http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/jer/48.35?lang=eng#34 Jeremiah 48:35], etc.). Some early Christian church buildings also contained a ''bema'', a raised platform, for example at Qirk Bize, Syria. Many synagogues also still feature a ''bima''.</ref>  This could explain the /u/ vowel rather than the /o/ of ''ʿōmed''. The “qutl” form with affix would also explain why there is no vowel between the ''m'' and the ''t''.<ref> Qutl forms in [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] take a helping vowel between the second and third radicals when there is no affix. But when an affix is added, such as the pronominal suffix, the helping vowel is no longer needed and elides.</ref>
-derived meanings in different forms. Thus Rameumptom may mean “the elevation of the people.”
-If the word is from the Hebrew singular rāmāh, “hill, high place, height,” then, as Tvedtnes points out, its construct form would be remat. This is not to invalidate the
+The fact that the /p/ is the locus of several scribal corrections in the original and the printer’s manuscripts may indicate an initial question in the dictation process about its presence in this proper name.<ref> The original manuscript reads “[ram]eum{p}tom” while the printers manuscript reads “Rameu{p(-)׀m}ptom”.</ref> (Semitic languages in general do not tolerate consonant clusters, such as ''-mpt-''.) However, what might seem like an extraneous /p/ and the unvoicing of voiced /d/ can be explained phonetically. The insertion of a bilabial voiceless plosive between the preceding bilabial /m/ and a following dental is not without precedent. In English, for example, the ''p'' in ''redemption'' represents a phonetic spelling of ''redeem'' plus the nominalizing ending ''–tion''. The phenomenon also occurs in the Semitic languages. The common Semitic word for “sun” is ''šmš'', the vowels varying between ''šamaš'' and ''šamšu''. The latter form cannot be pronounced without the insertion of a voiceless bilabial plosive, a /p/. Thus, the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] personal name ''Šimšōn'', which is based on ''šmš'', is sometimes spelled with a /p/ when the name passes into another language, such as Greek, Sampson.<ref>The Greek spelling of the [[HEBREW|H<small>EBREW</small>]] name  ''Šimšōn'' (a name based on ''šmš'') is Sampson σαμψων. Also, the Ugaritic spelling of ''šmš'' is ''špš'', clearly with a voiceless bilabial plosive replacing the voiced bilabial /m/ in the writing.</ref>
-etymology. Often there are two plurals to a noun, each with different meanings, e.g., *
-SEE THE NT CITY Betharamphtha in F.F. Bruce, New Testament History (New York, etc.: Doubleday, 1971), 341.
+The voiceless /t/ instead of the voiced /d/ can be explained by assimilation. I.e., the bilabial /m/ produces the voiceless /p/ before a dental, and the voiceless /p/ influences the voiced dental /d/, becoming the unvoiced /t/.
-Richard Anderson in a personal communication suggested that Rameumptom may derive from Hebrew rmh, “high, raised up” and Hebrew mptn, “door, doorway.” See also
+See also [[Rameumptom Variants]]
-Reynolds, Story of the Book of Mormon, p. 293, or 318, for ramoth, “high, elevated” and *-mptom, “threshhold.”
-Unlikely is Egyptian rʿ-m-pt, “the sun is in the sky” (HWN via Urrutia).
+'''Variants'''
-See also [[Rameumptom Variants]]
+[[Rameumptom Variants|Rameupptom]]
+'''[[Deseret Alphabet]]:''' 𐐡𐐈𐐣𐐀𐐊𐐣𐐑𐐓𐐊𐐣 (ræmiːʌmptʌm)
-==Notes==
+'''Notes'''
+----
 <references/>
-<div style="text-align: right;"> RFS </div>
-==Bibliography==
-*[[Daniel H. Ludlow]] A Companion to your Study of the Book of Mormon. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1969.
 [[Category:Names]][[Category:Lehite noun]]
+<div style="text-align: center;"> [[RAMATH|<<]] Rameumptom [[RED SEA|>>]] </div>
+==[[Name Index]]==
+<big>
+{|border="0" cellpadding="1" width="100%pt"
+|-
+|[[A]]
+|[[B]]
+|[[C]]
+|[[D]]
+|[[E]]
+|<font color="lightgray">F</font>
+|[[G]]
+|[[H]]
+|[[I]]
+|[[J]]
+|[[K]]
+|[[L]]
+|[[M]]
+|[[N]]
+|[[O]]
+|[[P]]
+|<font color="lightgray">Q</font>
+|[[R]]
+|[[S]]
+|[[T]]
+|[[U]]
+|<font color="lightgray">V</font>
+|<font color="lightgray">W</font>
+|<font color="lightgray">X</font>
+|<font color="lightgray">Y</font>
+|[[Z]]
+|}

RAMEUMPTOM: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 07:53, 14 October 2023

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