This article is about the interjection. For other uses, see Amen ( disambiguation ) Amen ( Hebrew : אָמֵן, ʾāmēn ; Ancient Greek : ἀμήν, amên ; Arabic : آمین, āmēn ; Aramaic/ Classical Syriac : ܐܡܝܢ, ‘amīn ) [ 1 ] is an Abrahamic announcement of affirmation [ 2 ] beginning found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently in the New Testament. [ 3 ] It is used in Jewish, Christian and Islamic worship, as a concluding word, or as a response to a prayer. [ 2 ] Common English translations of the password amen include “ verily ”, “ truly ”, “ it is on-key ”, and “ let it be sol ”. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] It is besides used colloquially, to express solid agreement. [ 2 ]
Reading: Amen – Flickroom
Contents
Pronunciations
In English, the bible amen has two primary coil pronunciations, ah-MEN ( /ɑːˈmɛn/ ) or ay-MEN ( /eɪˈmɛn/ ), [ 6 ] with child extra variation in emphasis ( e.g., the two syllables may be evenly stressed alternatively of placing primary stress on the irregular ). In Anglophone North american use, the ah-men pronunciation is used in performances of classical music and in churches with more validate rituals and holy eucharist. The ay-men pronunciation is a product of the Great Vowel Shift ( i.e., it dates from the fifteenth century ) ; it is associated with irish Protestantism and with conservative evangelical denominations by and large. It is besides the pronunciation typically used in gospel music. [ 7 ]
etymology
Amen is a word of Biblical Hebrew beginning. [ 8 ] The word originated in the Hebrew Scriptures, as a collateral reaction ; it is found in Deuteronomy as a collateral response made by the people. [ 9 ] furthermore, in the Books of Chronicles ( 16:36 ), it is indicated that around 1000 BC, the give voice was used in its religious sense, with the people responding “ Amen ” upon hearing the consecrate, “ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from now and unto all eternity ”. [ 9 ] The basic triconsonantal beginning from which the password is derived, is common to a number of languages in the Semitic ramify of the Afroasiatic languages, including biblical Aramaic. The discussion was imported into greek from the Judaism of the early church service. [ 3 ] [ 10 ] From Greek, amen entered other european languages. According to a standard dictionary etymology of the English word, amen passed from Greek into Late Latin, and therefore into English. [ 11 ] Rabbinic scholars from medieval France believed the standard Hebrew parole for faith emuna comes from the solution amen. as they are both from the rout aleph -mem-nun. That is, the Hebrew discussion amen was therefore etymologically derived from the same triliteral Hebrew root as does the verb ʾāmán. [ 12 ] Grammarians frequently list ʾāmán under its three consonants ( aleph – mem – conical buoy ), which are identical to those of ʾāmēn ( note that the Hebrew letter א aleph represents a glottal intercept legal, which functions as a consonant in the morphology of Hebrew ). [ 11 ] The meanings of the triliteral root in Hebrew include to be firm or confirmed, to be reliable or dependable, to be faithful, to have faith, to believe. From Hebrew, the discussion was late adopted into the Arabic religious vocabulary and leveled to the Arabic root ء م ن, which is of like meanings to the Hebrew. The ejaculation occurs in the Christian and Islamic lexicons, most normally in entreaty, american samoa well as secularly, albeit less normally, so as to signify dispatch affirmation or deference. In religious text, it occurs in Arabic translations of the Bible and after reciting the traditionally first chapter of the Quran, which is formally akin to religious supplications. Popular among some theosophists, [ 13 ] proponents of Afrocentric theories of history, [ 14 ] and adherents of esoteric Christianity [ 15 ] is the conjecture that amen is a derivative of the name of the Egyptian deity Amun ( which is sometimes besides spell Amen ). Some adherents of Eastern religions believe that amen shares roots with the Hindu Sanskrit password Aum. [ 16 ] [ 17 ] [ 18 ] [ 19 ] such external etymologies are not included in standard etymological citation works. The Hebrew news, as noted above, starts with aleph, while the egyptian identify begins with a yodh. [ 20 ] In French, the Hebrew password amen is sometimes translated as Ainsi soit-il, which means “ so be it. ” [ 21 ] The linguist Ghil’ad Zuckermann argues that, as in the case of Hallelujah, the password amen is normally not replaced by a transformation due to the speakers ’ belief in iconicity, their perception that there is something intrinsic about the kinship between the strait of the form ( the bible ) and what it signifies ( its entail ). [ 22 ] : 62
Hebrew Bible
The give voice occurs in the Hebrew Bible 30 times ; in Deuteronomy alone 12 times beginning at 27:15. The fix idiom ‘Amen, Amen ‘ is seen five times – Psalm 41:13 ; 72:19 ; 89:52 ; Numbers 5:22 ; Nehemiah 8:6. It is translated as ‘of truth ‘ two times in Isaiah 65:16. Three distinct Biblical usages of amen may be noted : [ 3 ]
- Initial amen, referring back to words of another speaker and introducing an affirmative sentence, e.g. 1 Kings 1:36.[3]
- Detached amen, again referring to the words of another speaker but without a complementary affirmative sentence, e.g. Nehemiah 5:13.[3]
- Final amen, with no change of speaker, as in the subscription to the first three divisions of Psalms.[3]
New Testament
In the New Testament, the greek bible ἀμήν is used as an construction of faith or as a separate of a liturgical rule. [ 5 ] It besides may appear as an introductory word, specially in sayings of Jesus. Unlike the initial amen in Hebrew, which refers back to something already said, it is used by Jesus to emphasize what he is about to say ( ἀμὴν λέγω, “ in truth I say to you ” ), [ 23 ] a rhetorical device that has no parallel in contemporary jewish practice. [ 24 ] Raymond Brown says that Jesus ‘s curious and authentic evocative use of amen in the Fourth Gospel is an affirmation that what he is about to say is an echo from the Father. [ 25 ] The password occurs 52 times in the Synoptic Gospels ; the Gospel of John has 25. [ 26 ]
Read more: One Definition & Meaning –Webster
In the King James Bible, the son amen is seen in a number of context. luminary ones include :
- The catechism of curses of the Law found in Deuteronomy 27.[3]
- A double amen (“amen and amen”) occurs in Psalm 89 (Psalm 41:13; 72:19; 89:52), to confirm the words and invoke the fulfillment of them.[27]
- Amen occurs in several doxology formulas in Romans 1:25, 9:5, 11:36, 15:33, and several times in Chapter 16.[3] It also appears in doxologies in the Psalms (41:14; 72:19; 89:53; 106:48). This liturgical form from Judaism.[28]
- It concludes all of Paul’s general epistles.
- In Revelation 3:14, Jesus is referred to as, “the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.” The whole passage reads as “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God”.
- Amen concludes the last book of the New Testament, at Rev. 22:21.
Congregational use
judaism
Although amen, in Judaism, is normally used as a reaction to a blessing, it besides is much used by Hebrew speakers as an affirmation of other forms of announcement ( including outside of religious context ). jewish rabbinical jurisprudence requires an individual to say amen in a assortment of context. [ 29 ] [ 30 ] [ 31 ] With the rise of the synagogue during the second Temple menstruation, amen became a coarse response, particularly to benedictions. It is recited communally to affirm a bless made by the prayer subscriber. It is besides 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 we will say. ” contemporary custom reflects ancient practice : angstrom early as the fourth 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 manipulation of amen was adopted by the Christians. [ 24 ] But jewish law besides requires individuals to answer amen whenever they hear a consecrate recited, even in a non-liturgical context. The Talmud teaches homiletically that the word amen is an acronym for אל מלך נאמן ( ʾEl melekh neʾeman, “ God, trustworthy King ” ), [ 32 ] the phrase recited mutely by an individual before reciting the Shma. Jews normally approximate the Hebrew pronunciation of the news : ah-MEN ( Israeli- Ashkenazi and Sephardi ) or aw-MAYN ( non-Israeli Ashkenazi ). [ 33 ]
christendom
The manipulation of “ amen ” has been by and large adopted in christian worship as a reason discussion [ 34 ] for prayers and hymn and an expression of potent agreement. [ 24 ] The liturgical use of the discussion in papal 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. [ 3 ] [ 34 ] Its introduction into the baptismal recipe ( in the Eastern Orthodox Church it is pronounced after the name of each person of the Trinity ) was probably former. [ 35 ] [ 34 ] In Isaiah 65:16, the authorize adaptation has “ the God of truth ” ( “ the God of amen ” in Hebrew ). Jesus often used amen to put stress to his own words ( translated : “ verily ” or “ in truth ” ). In John ‘s Gospel, it is repeated, “ verily, verily ” ( or “ sincerely, rightfully ” ). Amen is besides used in oaths ( Numbers 5:22 ; Deuteronomy 27:15–26 ; Nehemiah 5:13 ; 8:6 ; 1 Chronicles 16:36 ) and is further found at the end of the entreaty of primitive churches ( 1 Corinthians 14:16 ). [ 27 ] In some christian churches, the “ amen corner ” or “ amen section ” is any subset of the congregation likely to call out “ Amen ! ” in reaction to points in a preacher ‘s sermon. [ 36 ] Metaphorically, the term can refer to any group of dear traditionalists or supporters of an authority number. Amen is besides used in standard, international french, but in Cajun french Ainsi soit-il ( “ so be it ” ) is used rather.
Amen is used at the end of the Lord ‘s Prayer, [ 37 ] which is besides called the Our father or the Pater Noster .
Islam
ʾĀmīn ( Arabic : آمين ) is the Arabic human body of Amen. In Islam, it is used with the same meaning as in Judaism and Christianity ; when concluding a prayer, specially after a invocation ( du’a ) or reciting the first surah Al Fatiha of the Qur’an, as in prayer ( salat ), and as an assent to the prayers of others. [ 38 ] [ 39 ] Arabic dictionaries define ʾāmīn as an imperative verbal noun, whose mean is answer or reply ( i.e., imploring God to grant one ‘s entreaty ). consequently, it is strictly used as a final examination amen to conclude supplications or to declare affirmation, and has no initial amen use with the think of of truly or certainly .
See besides
References
far reading
- Schnitker, Thaddeus A. “Amen.” In The Encyclopedia of Christianity, edited by Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley, 43–44. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1999. ISBN 0802824137