When I first started studying Hebrew, it was both exciting and daunting to learn that many nouns and verbs represent
five or more ideas. Take the well-known word shalom, for example. Most
Westerners are only familiar with one primary meaning, that of “peace”, but
shalom actually carries at least nine distinct meanings, including: peace,
safety, tranquility, completeness, comfort, wholeness, well-being, hello, and
goodbye.
So, what does this have to do with amen? It's another example of a Biblical Hebrew word that takes on various related meanings. Church and synagogue goers everywhere are very familiar with its two main scripture-based meanings, but its last two have added depth to my personal worship as I've learned more about their origins.
First we’ll start with the primary meaning of amen as
expressed today. It operates as a voiced agreement with a prayer, talk, or
testimony and means “true”, “surely (it is so)”, or “may it be so.” This Hebrew
word gets its principle meaning from neh-eh-MAHN נֶאֱמָן, which signifies
“true” and “faithful”. We see the same three-letter root אמן (A-M-N א-מ-ן) from amen and neh-eh-MAHN appear in other Biblical Hebrew words and phrases that also include references to the idea of "truth". The word ahm-NAHM (אָמְנָם) from 2 Kings 19:17 is an example. It signifies "indeed" or "of a truth".
Amen is similarly anchored in the principle Hebrew word for “truth”, eh-MEHT אֶמֶת. Underlining this point, the common modern-Hebrew phrase beh eh-MEHT בֶּאֱמֶת means “Really?” or “Are you serious?”, although it's literally translated as “In truth?” As a matter of fact, the word amen is so rooted to the idea of “truth” in Hebrew that the Savior Himself is referred to as The Amen in Revelation 3:14. In this verse notice how the Lord uses the words faithful, true, and witness, which are all directly linked in meaning to the word amen, immediately after referring to Himself as "The Amen".
Amen is similarly anchored in the principle Hebrew word for “truth”, eh-MEHT אֶמֶת. Underlining this point, the common modern-Hebrew phrase beh eh-MEHT בֶּאֱמֶת means “Really?” or “Are you serious?”, although it's literally translated as “In truth?” As a matter of fact, the word amen is so rooted to the idea of “truth” in Hebrew that the Savior Himself is referred to as The Amen in Revelation 3:14. In this verse notice how the Lord uses the words faithful, true, and witness, which are all directly linked in meaning to the word amen, immediately after referring to Himself as "The Amen".
“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…”
The self-application of the word amen as one of His Divine titles makes sense seeing that He is “the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
The next usage of amen is as a sealing witness by a speaker
at the end of a discourse or testimony. In this case, amen changes from being a
statement of agreement coming from the hearer to being an affirmation by the
speaker that what he or she has just said is accurate and true. In a sense, it
functions like a New Testament “verily”, except that it comes at the end of a
discourse instead of at the beginning, in effect sealing the individual’s words
as a personal witness or testimony. This is the common usage we come across in
the scriptures where the Savior or the Apostles are testifying of truth.
Besides the examples I’ve given below from the Apostle John’s testimony and the
writings of the New World prophet Nephi, see Alma 13:9, Helaman 12:23-26, Ether
5:1-6, and Doctrine and Covenants 81:1-7.
“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” (Revelation 1:7)
“And (1) I bear record that I saw the things which my father saw, and the angel of the Lord did make them known unto me. And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was carried away in the Spirit; and if all the things which I saw are not written, (2) the things which I have written are true. (3) And thus it is. Amen.” (1 Nephi 14:29-30, emphasis added)Nephi makes three prior testimonial statements here before capping his witness with the final affirmative amen.
There’s even more to amen when we take into account two
verbs that stem from the same Hebrew root אמן (A-M-N). The third meaning comes from a
verb that incorporates the concept of truth: leh-heh-eh-MEEN (לְהֶאֱמִין). It signifies “to
believe”, “to trust”, and “to confide in”.
So when a listener says amen at the end of a prayer, testimony, or talk,
it takes on the deeper expression of “I/we (actively) believe that what was said
is true,” rather than just being a statement of passive agreement.
The last application of amen that I’ll reference here is the
one that I like best, mainly because it's directly effected my personal prayer relationship with the Lord. I’ll explain what I mean by
referring to another Hebrew verb that’s founded on the word amen and, again, is
linked to the word “truth”. This form is the masculine, imperative
(command) form of leh-ah-MEHN (לְאַמֵן),
a verb that means “to teach, train, educate, tutor, coach, bring up/raise”. So,
this command-form of ah-MEHN אמן,
when stated at the end of a prayer, literally means, “Teach and train me (in
the truth)”. It also carries an added indirect reference to our Father-child relationship with God since the verb also means to “raise” or “rear (a
child)”.
This personalized amen at the end of my prayers reminds me that I need to pause and patiently wait for the Lord’s tutoring inspiration once I stop speaking, instead of rushing off to other tasks that are calling for my attention.
This personalized amen at the end of my prayers reminds me that I need to pause and patiently wait for the Lord’s tutoring inspiration once I stop speaking, instead of rushing off to other tasks that are calling for my attention.
____________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment