ἀμήν, Hebrew
אָמֵן;
1. verbal adjective (from
אָמַן to prop; Niph. to be firm),
firm, metaphorically,
faithful:
ὁ ἀμήν,
Revelation 3:14 (where is added
ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς κ.
ἀληθινός).
2. it came to be used as an adverb by which something is asserted or confirmed:
a. at the beginning of a discourse,
surely, of a truth, truly; so frequent in the discourses of Christ in Matthew, Mark, and Luke:
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν 'I solemnly declare unto you,'
e. g. Matthew 5:18;
Mark 3:28;
Luke 4:24. The repetition of the word (
ἀμὴν ἀμήν), employed by John alone in his Gospel (twenty-five times), has the force of a superlative,
most assuredly:
John 1:51 (John 1:52);
John 3:3.
b. at the close of a sentence;
so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled (
γένοιτο, the
Sept. Numbers 5:22;
Deuteronomy 27:15, etc.):
Romans 1:25;
Romans 9:5;
Galatians 1:5;
Ephesians 3:21;
Philippians 4:20;
1 Timothy 1:17;
Hebrews 13:21;
1 Peter 4:11;
Revelation 1:6, and often; cf.
Jeremiah 11:5;
Jeremiah 35:6 (
Jer. 28:6);
1 Kings 1:30. It was a custom, which passed over from the synagogues into the Christian assemblies, that when he who had read or discoursed had offered up a solemn prayer to God, the others in attendance responded
Amen, and thus made the substance of what was uttered their own:
1 Corinthians 14:16 (
τὸ ἀμήν, the well-known response
Amen), cf.
Numbers 5:22;
Deuteronomy 27:15ff;
Nehemiah 5:13;
Nehemiah 8:6.
2 Corinthians 1:20 αἱ ἐπαγγελίαι...
τὸ ναί,
καὶ...
τὸ ἀμήν,
i. e. had shown themselves most sure. [Cf.
B. D. under the word Amen.]
THAYER’S GREEK LEXICON, Electronic Database.
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BLB Scripture Index of Thayer's