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| The word "'''Amen'''" (] '''אמן''' '''’Āmēn''' "So be it; truly", ] '''אמן''' '''Amen''', ] Amen is a declaration of affirmation found in the ]. It has always been in use within ]. It has been generally adopted in ] worship as a concluding formula for ]s and ]s. | The word "'''Amen'''" (] '''אמן''' '''’Āmēn''' "So be it; truly", ] '''אמן''' '''Amen''', ] Amen is a declaration of affirmation found in the ]. It has always been in use within ]. It has been generally adopted in ] worship as a concluding formula for ]s and ]s. | ||
| Three distinct biblical usages may be noted: | Three distinct biblical usages may be noted: | ||
Revision as of 02:31, 13 February 2005
This article is about the Hebrew word; for other meanings see Amen (disambiguation).
The word "Amen" (Hebrew אמן ’Āmēn "So be it; truly", Standard Hebrew אמן Amen, Aramaean Amen is a declaration of affirmation found in the Aramaic Bible. It has always been in use within Judaism. It has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding formula for prayers and hymns.
Three distinct biblical usages may be noted:
- Initial Amen, referring back to words of another speaker, e.g. 1 Kings i. 36; Revelations xxii. 20.
- Detached Amen, the complementary sentence being suppressed, e.g. Neh. v. 13; Revelations 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.
In Judaism, it is taught that the word Amen is an acronym for A (or El), Me, N meaning "L (or God), King, Trustworthy." It is related to the Hebrew word emuna or "faith" with the same lingiustic root, implying that one is affirming with, and of, "the faith" of Judaism (and its belief in Monotheism).
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, and in post-biblical Jewish works statements are multiplied as to the right method and the bliss of pronouncing it.
Common English translations of the word amen include: "Verily", "Truly", "So be it", and "Let it be".
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.
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