Difference between revisions of "Amen" - New World Encyclopedia

Revision as of 07:59, 25 February 2007

This article is about the Hebrew word; for other meanings see Amen (disambiguation).

The word "Amen" is often said at the end of religious prayers. Painting by Albrecht Dürer.

The word Amen (Tiberian Hebrew אָמֵן ’Āmēn "So be it; truly", Standard Hebrew אמן Amen, Arabic آمين ’Āmīn) is a declaration of affirmation and assent found in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and in the Qur'an. 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". Colloquially, it can also mean "I agree," or "Well said." In some Churchess it can also be used as a jubilant response to a prayer or sermon.

The word 'Amen' is the value 99 in Greek numerals and appears in the Bible (Old and New testament) 99 times [1].

Pronounciation

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.

Jews usually pronounce the word as it is pronounced in Hebrew: "ah-MAIN."

Types of Biblical uses

Three distinct Biblical usages of 'Amen' 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 that the word Amen is an acronym for אל (’El) מלך (melek) נאמן (ne’eman), meaning "God, King [who is] Trustworthy." It is related to the Hebrew word emuna or "faith" with the same linguistic root, 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.

Amen in Christianity

The uses of amen ("verily") in the Gospels is notable because 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. 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 27:15.
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.

Amen in Islam

Muslims use the word "Āmeen" not only after reciting the first surah (Al Fatiha) of the Qur'an, but also when concluding a prayer or 'Dua,' with the same meaning as in Christianity.

External links

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

Amen ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

History of "Amen"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Claimed}}
 :''This article is about the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word; for other meanings see [[Amen (disambiguation)]].''
+[[Image:Albrecht Dürer Betende Hände.jpg|thumb|right|The word "Amen" is often said at the end of religious prayers. Painting by [[Albrecht Dürer]].]]
+The word '''Amen''' ([[Tiberian Hebrew]] '''אָמֵן''' '''’Āmēn''' "So be it; truly", [[Standard Hebrew]] '''אמן''' '''Amen''', [[Arabic language|Arabic]] '''آمين''' '''’Āmīn''') is a declaration of affirmation and assent found in the [[Hebrew Bible]], the [[New Testament]], and in the [[Qur'an]]. It has always been in use within [[Judaism]] and [[Islam]]. It has been generally adopted in [[Christianity|Christian]] worship as a concluding formula for [[prayer]]s and [[hymn]]s. 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". Colloquially, it can also mean "I agree," or "Well said." In some Churchess it can also be used as a jubilant response to a prayer or sermon.
-The word '''Amen''' ([[Tiberian Hebrew]] '''אָמֵן''' '''’Āmēn''' "So be it; truly", [[Standard Hebrew]] '''אמן''' '''Amen''', [[Arabic language|Arabic]] '''آمين''' '''’Āmīn''', [[Ge'ez language|Ge'ez]]' አሜን '''’Āmēn''') is a declaration of affirmation found in the [[Hebrew Bible]], the [[New Testament]], and in the [[Qur'an]]. It has always been in use within [[Judaism]] and [[Islam]]. It has been generally adopted in [[Christianity|Christian]] worship as a concluding formula for [[prayer]]s and [[hymn]]s. 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". Colloquially, it can also mean "I agree," or "Well said."
+The word 'Amen' is the value 99 in [[Greek numerals]] and appears in the Bible (Old and New testament) 99 times [http://www.wordworx.co.nz/panin.html].
-==Biblical usages==
+==Pronounciation==
-Three distinct Biblical usages may be noted:
+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 [[european classical music|classical music]], in churches with more formalized [[ritual]]s 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 Christianity|Evangelical Protestant]] denominations generally, and the pronunciation that is typically sung in [[gospel music]]. Increasingly, anglophone Roman Catholics are adopting the "ay-men" pronunciation.
+Jews usually pronounce the word as it is pronounced in Hebrew: "ah-MAIN."
+==Types of Biblical uses==
+Three distinct Biblical usages of 'Amen' 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 [[doxology|doxologies]] of the New Testament Epistles.
-The word 'amen' is the value 99 in [[Greek numerals]] and appears in the Bible (Old and New testament) 99 times [http://www.wordworx.co.nz/panin.html].
 ==Amen in Judaism==
-In Judaism, it is taught that the word ''Amen'' is an [[acronym]] for '''א'''ל (’El) '''מ'''לך (melek) '''נ'''אמן (ne’eman), meaning "God, King [who is] Trustworthy." It is related to the Hebrew word ''emuna'' or "faith" with the same linguistic root, implying that one is affirming with, and of, "the faith" of Judaism (and its belief in [[Monotheism]]).
+In [[Judaism]], it is taught that the word ''Amen'' is an [[acronym]] for '''א'''ל (’El) '''מ'''לך (melek) '''נ'''אמן (ne’eman), meaning "God, King [who is] Trustworthy." It is related to the Hebrew word ''emuna'' or "faith" with the same linguistic root, 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]].
-Jews usually pronounce the word as it is pronounced in Hebrew: "ah-MAIN."
 ==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 [[gnosticism|Gnostic]] sects ''Amen'' became the name of an angel.
+The uses of ''amen'' ("verily") in the [[Gospels]] is notable because [[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.  [[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 [[gnosticism|Gnostic]] sects ''Amen'' became the name of an angel.
 In the [[King James Version of the Bible|King James Bible]], the word ''amen'' is preserved in a number of contexts.  Notable ones include:
-*The [[catechism]] of curses of the [[Torah|Law]] found in [[Deuteronomy]] 27.
+*The [[catechism]] of curses of the [[Torah|Law]] found in [[Deuteronomy]] 27:15.
 *A double ''amen'' ("amen and amen") occurs in [[Psalm]] 89.
 *The custom of closing prayers with ''amen'' originates in the [[Lord's Prayer]] at [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 6:13
@@ Line 33: / Line 37: @@
 <!--:''(from an old encyclopedia)''—>
-In some Christian [[church]]es, the '''amen corner''' or '''amen section''' is any subset of the [[congregation (worship)|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 some Christian [[church]]es, the ''amen corner'' or ''amen section'' is any subset of the [[congregation (worship)|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 [[european classical music|classical music]], in churches with more formalized [[ritual]]s 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 Christianity|Evangelical Protestant]] denominations generally, and the pronunciation that is typically sung in [[gospel music]]. Increasingly anglophone Roman Catholics are adopting the "ay-men" pronunciation.
 ==Amen in Islam==
-[[Muslims]] use the word "Āmeen" 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.
+[[Muslims]] use the word "Āmeen" not only after reciting the first surah ([[Al Fatiha]]) of the [[Qur'an]], but also when concluding a prayer or 'Dua,' with the same meaning as in Christianity.
 ==External links==