Amen
This is missing information about occurrence in Islamic texts.(October 2020) |
Amen (
Pronunciations
In English, the word amen has two primary pronunciations,
The ay-men pronunciation is a product of the
Etymology
Amen is a word of
From Hebrew, the word was later adopted into the
Popular among some
In French, the Hebrew word amen is sometimes translated as Ainsi soit-il, which means "So be it."[20]
The linguist Ghil'ad Zuckermann argues that, as in the case of Hallelujah, the word amen is usually not replaced by a translation due to the speakers' belief in iconicity, their perception that there is something intrinsic about the relationship between the sound of the signifier (the word) and what it signifies (its meaning).[21]: 62
Hebrew Bible
The word occurs in the Hebrew Bible 30 times; in Deuteronomy alone 12 times beginning at 27:15. The fixed phrase '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 word ἀμήν is used as an expression of faith or as a part of a liturgical formula.[5] It also may appear as an introductory word, especially 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, "truly I say to you"),[22] a rhetorical device that has no parallel in contemporary Jewish practice.[23] Raymond Brown says that Jesus's peculiar and authentic reminiscent use of amen in the Fourth Gospel is an affirmation that what he is about to say is an echo from the Father.[24] The word occurs 52 times in the Synoptic Gospels; the Gospel of John has 25.[25]
In the
- The 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.[26]
- 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.[27]
- 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". Notably, the text never specifically says that Jesus is the Amen. Although the letter is attributed to Jesus, the text refers to the Amen as having spoken the information that is being reported by Jesus in the letter. That the Amen is a witness, suggest some scholars, implies that the Amen is a being of some kind whose words are being referenced.
- Amen concludes the last book of the New Testament, at Rev. 22:21.
Congregational use
Judaism
Although amen, in Judaism, is commonly used as a response to a blessing, it also is often used by Hebrew speakers as an affirmation of other forms of declaration (including outside of religious context).
Jewish rabbinical
The
Jews usually use Hebrew pronunciations of the word:
Christianity
The use of "amen" has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding word[33] for prayers and hymns and an expression of strong agreement.[23] The liturgical use of the word in apostolic times is attested (1 Corinthians 14:16[26]), and Justin Martyr (c. 150) describes the congregation as responding "amen" to the benediction after the celebration of the Eucharist.[3][33] Its introduction into the baptismal formula (in the Eastern Orthodox Church it is pronounced after the name of each person of the Trinity) was probably later.[34][33]
In Isaiah 65:16, the authorized version has "the God of truth" ("the God of amen" in Hebrew). Jesus often used amen to put emphasis to his own words (translated: "verily" or "truly"). In John's Gospel, it is repeated, "Verily, verily" (or "Truly, truly"). Amen is also used in oaths (Numbers 5:22; Deuteronomy 27:15–26; Nehemiah 5:13; 8:6; 1 Chronicles 16:36).[26]
Amen is also used in standard, international French, but in
Amen is used at the end of the Lord's Prayer,[35] which is also called the Our Father or the Pater Noster.
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.[36] Metaphorically, the term can refer to any group of heartfelt traditionalists or supporters of an authority figure. The term has also been used as a place name, and as a title for musical and literary works; see Amen Corner.
Islam
ʾĀmīn (
Arabic dictionaries define ʾāmīn as an imperative verbal noun, whose meaning is answer or reply (i.e., imploring God to grant one's prayer). The word was borrowed from Hebrew into Arabic in only this context, thus it is strictly used in Arabic as a final amen to conclude supplications or to declare affirmation, and has no initial amen usage with the meaning of truly or certainly as found in the word’s original Hebrew language grammar.
See also
- Selah
- Svaha
- So mote it be
References
- ^ Payne Smith, Robert (1879). Thesaurus Syriacus. Oxford: The Calerndon Press. p. 118.
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. "amen". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 20 August 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Thurston, Herbert (1907). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- ^ "Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, ἀμήν". perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
- ^ OCLC 43615529.
- ^ "amen – definition of amen in English by Oxford Dictionaries". oxforddictionaries.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ^ "Two Ways of Pronouncing 'Amen'".
- ^ Paul Joüon, SJ, A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew, trans. and revised by T. Muraoka, vol. I, Rome: Editrice Pontificio Instituto Biblico, 2000.
- ^ Understanding Your Neighbor's Faith, Philip Lazowski, (KTAV), 2004, p. 43
- ^ "Amen". Jewish Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
- ^ "Amen". American Heritage Dictionary. Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
- ^ "Collation of Theosophical Glossaries – Amen". Archived from the original on 15 March 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
- ^ "Origin of Amen". 14 July 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ "Amen". The Assembly of IaHUShUA MaShIaChaH. 15 December 2005. Archived from the original on 6 February 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2008.
- ^ Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yoga, 1946, chapter 26.
- ISBN 1-57863-175-0
- ^ [] Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Hindu Culture – Omkar and Swastika". hindubooks.org. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ^ Erman, Adolf & Grapow, Hermann: Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache, Im Auftrage der Deutschen Akademien, Berlin: Akademie Verlag (1971), p. 85
- ^ "Amen: Behind the word and meaning". ASH. 12 August 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ "Strong's Greek: 281. ἀμήν (amen) -- truly". biblehub.com. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
- ^ a b c "Amen". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
- ^ Raymond Brown, The Gospel According to John Vol 1, Anchor Bible Dictionary, page 84
- Encyclopedia Biblica
- ^ a b c "Bible Dictionary: Amen". eastonsbibledictionary.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ^ cf. John L. McKenzie, SJ, "Dictionary of the Bible", New York: MacMillan Publ. Co., Inc., 1965. Entry: "Amen," (p. 25)
- Orach Chaim 56 (amen in kaddish)
- blessings recited by the prayer reader)
- blessingsmade by any individual outside of the liturgy)
- ^ Tractate Shabbat 119b and Tractate Sanhedrin 111a
- ^ To Pray as a Jew: A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service, Hayim Halevy Donin
- ^ a b c Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 804.
- ^ Among certain Gnostic sects, Amen became the name of an angel.
- ^ Wycliffe. "Matthew 6:9–15". Wycliffe Bible.
- ^ Hovda, Robert W. (1983). "The amen corner". Worship. 57 (2): 150–156.
- ^ Hastings, James (2004) [1901]. A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels: Volume I. The Minerva Group, Inc. p. 52.
- ISBN 978-0759101906.
Further reading
- Schnitker, Thaddeus A. "Amen." In ISBN 0802824137