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| The word "'''Amen'''" (] '''אמן''' '''’Āmēn''' "So be it; truly", ] ''' |
The word "'''Amen'''" (] '''אמן''' '''’Āmēn''' "So be it; truly", ] '''אמן''' '''Amen''', ] '''آمين ’Āmīn''') is a declaration of affirmation found in the ] and in the ]. It has always been in use within ]. It has been generally adopted in ] worship as a concluding formula for ]s and ]s. In ], it is the standard ending to ]t ]. | ||
| Three distinct biblical usages may be noted: | Three distinct biblical usages may be noted: | ||
Revision as of 07:42, 23 November 2004
This article is about the Hebrew word for other meanings see Amen (disambiguation).
The word "Amen" (Tiberian Hebrew אמן ’Āmēn "So be it; truly", Standard Hebrew אמן Amen, Arabic آمين ’Āmīn) is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and in the Quran. It has always been in use within Judaism. It has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding formula for prayers and hymns. In Islam, it is the standard ending to surat al-Fatiha.
Three distinct biblical usages may be noted:
- Initial Amen, referring back to words of another speaker, e.g. 1 Kings i. 36; Rev. xxii. 20.
- Detached Amen, the complementary sentence being suppressed, e.g. Neh. v. 13; Rev. v. 14 (cf. 1 Cor. 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 Cor. 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 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. It is still used in the service of the synagogue, and the Muslims not only add it after reciting the first Sura of the Koran, but also when writing letters, &c., and repeat it three times, often with the word qimtir, as a kind of talisman.
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