The word 'Amen' ( ;
Arabic: 'آمين', ''’Āmīn'' ; "So be it; truly"
) is a declaration of
affirmation[1] found in the
Hebrew Bible, the
New Testament, and in the
Qur'an.
[2] It has always been in use within
Judaism and
Islam. It has been generally adopted in
Christian worship as a concluding formula for
prayers and
hymns.
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".
It can also be used colloquially to express strong agreement
[3], for instance; ''amen to that.''
[4].
Etymology
The word is commonly said to be of a
Hebrew origin.
The Greecian theologians introduced it in Western languages after the translation of the Bible.
Then, it was adopted by the Arabs as it is used in the Koran.
Yet in none of these languages (Hebrew, Arabic, Greek) can be found contemporarily the least trace of the word “Amen”.
The only language which offers a clear explanation and confirms the meaning of “Amen” is the
Berber language.
In
Kabyle (one of the various dialects of Berber), there is the phrase “am-in” that means synchronically, in common speech, “like that”.
However, if “am-in” is put in the context of a prayer, it means “so be it”; with “it” referring here to what has been said before.
It has also been proposed that the religious term Amen is a derivative of the name of an Egyptian god,
Amun.
[5]
Biblical usages
Three distinct Biblical usages may be noted:
#Initial ''Amen'', referring back to words of another speaker, e.g. 1
Kings 1: 36;
Revelation 22:20.
#Detached ''Amen'', the complementary sentence being suppressed, e.g. Neh. v. 13; Revelation v. 14 (cf. 1 Corinthians xiv. 16).
#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.
Amen in Judaism
In Judaism, it is taught
midrashically in the
Talmud (
Sanhedrin) that the word ''Amen'' can be read as an
acronym for 'א'ל 'מ'לך 'נ'אמן (''’El melekh ne’eman''), meaning "God, trustworthy King." 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).
In traditional and modern Jewish
liturgy, "Amen" is a word often used by a congregation as a way to affirm and subscribe to the words uttered previously by whoever leads the
prayer.
The word Amen is sometimes preceded by ''v'Imru'' (
Hebrew: ואמרו), often in
Kaddish, which means "and let us say (pl.)", signaling to the congregation to respond together, "Amen".
Jews usually pronounce the word as it is pronounced in Hebrew: "uh-MEIN" (
Ashkenazi) or "ah-MÉN" (
Sephardi).
Amen in Christianity
The uses of ''amen'' ("verily") in the
Gospels form a peculiar class; they are initial, but often lack any backward reference.
Jesus used the word to affirm his own utterances, not those of another person, and this usage was adopted by the church. 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.
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.
★ 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.
★ It concludes all of
Paul's general
epistles.
★ In
Revelation 3:14, Jesus calls himself, "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 pronunciations, ''ah-men'' or ''ay-men''. The ''ah-men'' pronunciation is 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 in Islam
Muslims use the word "’Āmīn" () 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.
Notes
1. Amen
2. Etymology of the word “Amen”
3. Amen
4. Microsoft Encarta Dictionary Tools. Retreived 20 August 2007
5. But did they also influence Christianity?
External links
★
Catholic Encyclopedia: Amen
★
Jewish Encyclopedia: Amen
★
Encyclopedia Britannica: Amen
★
The Laws of Responding Amen in Judaism chabad.org
★
Strong's Concordance H543
★
Strong's Concordance G281
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