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"Some say tomato and some say tomäto"
When
we all discovered Timberlake Ranch (which is another story down the line), did
you ever wonder the origin or how to pronounce your new and/or potentially future
zip code address - the little town of Ramah? Were you embarrassed when someone
corrected you as you thought for sure there was no way a five letter word could
be pronounced 4 different ways? Join the club. This proper name has led me to
several hours of trivial pursuit and many interesting discoveries.
Discovery
1) My husband said the name Ramah potentially came from the conquistadors, as
rama is the Spanish word for bush. There certainly is a lot of Rabbit Bush in
the area. However, we seem to be missing the "h". Andarse par las ramas.
Discovery 2) Ramah is mentioned approximately 12 times in the Old Testament (1 Samuel 1:1, 19; 7:17, 15:34, 19:18, 25:1 and 28:3; 1 Kings 15:17; Isaiah 10:29; Jeremiah 31:15 and 40:1; Nehemiah. 11:33). David hid from King Saul at Ramah and the prophet Samuel spent his life in Ramah. The Hebrew word is pronounced raw-maw' meaning height or high place and was believed to be approximately 6 miles north of Jerusalem. Presently there are two serious rivals for the honor of representing the ancient Ramah - Beit Rima (a village occupying a height) and Ramallah (a large and prosperous village occupying a lofty position with ancient remains). Ramah, NM certainly can claim a lofty position at 7000' but not a 1200 BC settlement.
Discovery 3) Ramah is a hill mentioned in the Book of Mormon, Ether 15:11. "And it came to pass that the army of Corantumr did pitch their tents by the hill Ramah; and it was that same hill where my father Mormon did hide up the record unto the Lord, which were sacred." Ramah is also known as the hill Cumorah near Manchester, New York where Joseph Smith obtained the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. As we all know Ramah, NM was settled by the Mormons and they were the ones who originally coined our neighboring town. According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Institute of Religion at the University of Arizona the pronunciation is raw'-maw.
Conclusion:
It really doesn't matter whether you want to say raw'-maw, or raw-maw', or ra'-maw
or ra-maw' as was pointed out to me gently by our esteemed web site mentor. The
"locals" determine the "official" general rule for how to
pronounce a place name. This is an old universal rule and isn't violated. I guess
its tomato; after all I'm just the new kid on the block. :
....Linda Pedersen