(Heb, "amen").
Term indicating an intense affirmation or agreement. The first mention of her in the Scriptures is in the passage in which the woman whose fidelity the husband suspected was to drink of the bitter waters and give her assent to the curse pronounced upon her in case she was guilty, saying amen, amen. (Num. 5:22).
It was also used as an assent by the people, when the curses were pronounced from Mount Ebal (Deut. 27:14-26).
When David declared that Solomon should be his successor, Benaiah said, “Amen. So says the Lord, the God of my lord the king” (1 Kings 1:36).
Likewise, when David brought the ark, and sang a psalm of thanksgiving, all the people said amen, and praised the Lord (1 Chron. 16:36; cp. also Neh. 5:13; 8:6).
In one case the exclamation means nothing more than "I wish." Hananiah had falsely prophesied that within the space of two full years all the vessels of the house of Jehovah would be returned from Babylon; To this Jeremiah said: "Amen, so says the Lord."
Although he knew that this was a false prophecy, he could well wish that it could be so (Jer. 28:6, and see the rest of the passage).
Amen is added at the end of the first four books of the Psalms (Ps. 41:13; 72:19; 89:52; 106:48). In these cases it is not about accepting what has been said, but rather the writer adds amen at the end, meaning "let this be so", and repeats it three times.
It is always translated "amen" in the OT, except for two occasions in Is. 65:16, where it is translated "truly." There is a related Hebrew word, meaning “believe,” used in connection with Abraham (Gen. 15:6).
In the NT it is frequently added to the ascription of praise and blessings (e.g., Heb. 13:21, 25). As a response it is also used in various passages (e.g., 1 Cor. 14:16; Rev. 5:14; 7:12; 22:20).
There is another way the word is used: "For all the promises of God are in him yes (that is, confirmation), and in him amen (verification), through us, to the glory of God." (2 Cor. 1:20); also "Behold the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation" (Rev. 3:14).
Just as there are answers in heaven, as seen in some of the passages cited above, so there should also be answers on earth in the congregations of the saints, not limited to a mere hearing of praise and prayers.
It is the word that the Lord constantly uses to introduce his statements, and it is translated "truly" (e.g., John 6:26).
Meaning of AMEN
(Heb, "amen").
Term indicating an intense affirmation or agreement. The first mention of her in the Scriptures is in the passage in which the woman whose fidelity the husband suspected was to drink of the bitter waters and give her assent to the curse pronounced upon her in case she was guilty, saying amen, amen. (Num. 5:22).
