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"Amen...and amen!"
Want to know more about the source and purpose behind "Amen"? Here's an interesting article which goes beyond the basic one/two sentence explanation we threw out there as missionaries. ("It means 'the end' for a prayer...and it also means 'I agree'")
As far as I know, there's never been a 'translation' of amen--no matter what language you're praying in, 'amen' is still 'amen'...
August 10, 2004 in Religion | Permalink
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I Mormon circles there is also the connection to the name Ahman. Orson Pratt, among others thought that Amen and Ahman were the same word.
I wrote a bit on this *way* back near the beginnings of my blog, albeit not in any depth.
http://www.libertypages.com/clark/arc1206-1208.html
(Down towards the bottom of the page -- that was back before I had perm links working)
Posted by: clark | Aug 16, 2004 1:43:24 PM
Just as a point of reference. "Amen" is not really a word, it is an acronym. The Hebrew letters that form the acronym are aleph, mem, and nun, which are the first letters of the words "El Melech Ne'Eman" which means "God is a Righteous King."
In Judaism, the thought is that it arose as a response to oral readings of the scriptures in a day and age when most could not read scriptures for themselves, but still had the requirement to participate in the reading of the law. Amen - the acronym was that assent given at the conclusion of the portion, as one listened to the person who could read. This agreement later evolved with post-temple Judaism as an assent to the prayer given by another. Sort of saying, if the guy who was praying is right, then God will judge it.
There are other similar acronyms and responses still in use in modern synagogue services, like a person responding "Brich Hu" (blessed is he) during the kaddish, etc. Also, if you listen to Jews of different ethnic or cultural backgrounds, it isn't always "Amen" but it can also sound like "Omain" or "Ahman". This is because of the regional variations in the pronunciation of the letter Aleph which is a silent, gutteral letter that can take several different vocalizations, and because different Jews pronounce the vowel under the mem ( a tzerey if you know your nekudot) differently.
Posted by: Bev | Aug 19, 2004 11:46:44 AM
Yeah...my nekudot is a little rusty. :)
Thanks for the info!
Posted by: The Baron | Aug 19, 2004 2:21:56 PM
