The dialogue between Zeezrom and Amulek appears to begin quite politely. However, Zeezrom quickly moves to a financial gambit, offering him six onties of silver. We learn in verse 13 above that an onti was the largest measure of silver. This was a bribe of not one, but six of the largest measures. The measurements list doesn’t allow us to understand precisely the amount of the bribe, but we do know that a day’s wage for a judge was a senum of silver (see verse 3). The next two values double the previous one. The last two don’t have a value, but assuming that they also doubled the previous designation, the bribe would have been equal to sixteen days of pay for a judge, presumably one of the higher compensated positions.
Amulek does not accept it, and berates Zeezrom for offering it. But why was that the original offer? Alma and Amulek were preaching repentance, and Zeezrom offered the bribe as a fast way to end the conflict. Had Amulek accepted, Zeezrom could say that they were not sincere and, therefore, need not be heeded. With the refusal, he had to move to the questions.