The word Amen (Hebrew: אָמֵן, Standard Amen Tiberian ’Amen ; Arabic: آمين‎, ’Āmīn ; "So be it; truly"^[1]) is a declaration of affirmation^[2][3] found in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. ^[1] Its use in Judaism dates back to its earliest texts.^[4] It has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding formula for prayers and hymns.^[3] In Islam, it is the standard ending to Dua (supplication). Common English translations of the word amen include: "Verily", "Truly", "So be it", and "Let it be".^[1] It can also be used colloquially to express strong agreement^[3], as in, for instance, amen to that.^[5]

Etymology

Amen, meaning so be it, is of Hebrew origin.^[6][7] The word was imported into the Greek of the early Church from the Jewish synagogue.^[2][8] From Greek, amen entered the other Western languages. According to a standard dictionary etymology, amen passed from Greek into Late Latin, and thence into English.^[9]

The Hebrew word ’amen derives from the Hebrew verb ’aman, a primitive root.^[10] Grammarians frequently list ’aman under its three consonants (’mn), which are identical to those of ’amen .^[9] This triliteral root (’mn) means to be firm, confirmed, reliable, faithful, have faith, believe. Two English words that derive from this root are:

a. amen, from Hebrew ’amen (=truly, certainly); b. Mammon, from Aramaic mamona, probably from Mishnaic Hebrew mamôn, probably from earlier *ma’mon (=? “security, deposit”).

Both a and b derive from Hebrew ’aman (=to be firm).^[11]

Popular among some theosophists and adherents of esoteric Christianity is the conjecture that amen is a derivative of the name of the Egyptian god named Amun (which is sometimes also spelled Amen).^[12][13][14] There is no academic support for this view.

Biblical usages

Three distinct Biblical usages of amen may be noted.^[2]:

1. Initial Amen, referring back to words of another speaker and introducing an affirmative sentence, e.g. 1 Kings 1:36; Revelation 22:20.^[2]
2. Detached Amen, again referring to the words of another speaker but without a complementary affirmative sentence, e.g. Nehemiah 5:13; Revelation 5:14 (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:16).^[2]
3. Final Amen, with no change of speaker, as in the subscription to the first three divisions of the Psalter and in the frequent doxologies of the New Testament Epistles.^[2]

Amen in Judaism

Jewish law and practice require an individual to say Amen in a variety of contexts.^[15]

Liturgically, amen is a communal response to be recited at certain points during the prayer service. It is recited communally to affirm a blessing made by the prayer reader. It is also mandated as a response during the kaddish doxology. The congregation is sometimes prompted to answer 'amen' by the terms ve-'imru (Hebrew: ואמרו) = "and [now] say (pl.)," or, ve-nomar (ונאמר) = "and let us say."

Contemporary usage reflects ancient practice: As early as the 4th century BCE, Jews assembled in the Temple responded 'amen' at the close of a doxology or other prayer uttered by a priest. This Jewish liturgical use of amen was adopted by the Christians.^[16]

But Jewish law also requires individuals to answer amen whenever they hear a blessing recited, even in a non-liturgical setting. Amen is also used whenever an individual wishes to fulfill his own obligation through another person’s recitation of a prayer or blessing.

The Talmud teaches homiletically that the word Amen can be read as an acronym for אל מלך נאמן (’El melekh ne’eman), meaning "God, trustworthy King."^[17] The word amen itself is etymologically related to the Hebrew word emuna ("faith") implying that one is affirming with, and of, "the faith" of Judaism (and its belief in Monotheism)^{[citation needed]}.

Jews usually pronounce the word as it is pronounced in Hebrew: "aw-MÉN" (Ashkenazi) or "ah-MÉN" (Sephardi).^[18] These are transcribed in IPA as [ɔ'mɛɪn] and [a'mɛn] respectively.

Amen in Christianity

The uses of amen ("verily") in the Gospels form a peculiar class; they are initial, but often lack any backward reference.^[19] Jesus used the word to affirm his own utterances^{[citation needed]}, not those of another person^{[citation needed]}, and this usage was adopted by the church. The use of the initial amen, single or double in form, to introduce solemn statements of Jesus in the Gospels had no parallel in Jewish practice. ^[20] The liturgical use of the word in apostolic times is attested by the passage from 1 Corinthians cited above, and Justin Martyr (c. 150) describes the congregation as responding "amen," to the benediction after the celebration of the Eucharist.^[2] Its introduction into the baptismal formula (in the Greek Orthodox Church it is pronounced after the name of each person of the Trinity) is probably later. Among certain Gnostic sects Amen became the name of an angel.

In the King James Bible, the word amen is preserved in a number of contexts. Notable ones include:

• The catechism of curses of the Law found in Deuteronomy 27.^[2]
• A double amen ("amen and amen") occurs in Psalm 89.
• The custom of closing prayers with amen originates in the Lord's Prayer at Matthew 6:13
• Amen occurs in several doxology formulas in Romans 1:25, 9:5, 11:36, 15:33, and several times in Chapter 16.^[2]
• It concludes all of Paul's general epistles.
• In Revelation 3:14, Jesus is referred to as, "the Amen, the faithful and true witness."
• Amen concludes the New Testament at Rev. 22:21.

In some Christian churches, the amen corner or amen section is any subset of the congregation likely to call out "Amen!" in response to points in a preacher's sermon. Metaphorically, the term can refer to any group of heartfelt traditionalists or supporters of an authority figure.

In English, the word "amen" has two primary pronunciations, ah-men (IPA: [aʹmɛn]) or ay-men (IPA: [eɪ͡ʹmɛn)], with minor additional variation in emphasis (the two syllables may be equally stressed instead of placing primary stress on the second). The ah-men pronunciation is usual in British English, the one that is used in performances of classical music, in churches with more formalized rituals and liturgy and liberal Evangelical Protestant denominations. The ay-men pronunciation, a product of the Great Vowel Shift dating to the 15th century, is associated with Irish Protestantism and conservative Evangelical Protestant denominations generally, and the pronunciation that is typically sung in gospel music. Increasingly Anglophone Roman Catholics are adopting the "ay-men" pronunciation for speech, although the broad "ah" is usually retained for singing.

Amen is also used in standard, international French; however, in the Cajun French dialect, Ansi soit-il (literally, so be it), or the Québec French dialect, Ainsi soit-il, is used instead.

Amen in Islam

Muslims use the word "’Āmīn" (Arabic: آمين‎) not only after reciting the first surah (Al Fatiha) of the Qur'an, but also when concluding a prayer or duaa, with the same meaning as in Christianity^[21]. However not all Muslims share in this verbal tradition. The word "Amen" is not found anywhere in the Quran.

Notes

External links

• The Laws of Responding Amen in Judaism chabad.org
• Strong's Concordance H543
• Strong's Concordance G281
• Tutankhamen - Amenism, Atenism and Egyptian Monotheism

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Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Amen". Image Credit.

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