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THE
JEWISH QUARTERLY
REVIEW
OCTOBER, 1896
" AMEN."
NOTES ON ITS SIGNIFICANCE AND USE IN
BIBLICAL AND POST-BIBLICAL TIMES.
"Ameh" is perhaps the commonest word of human
speech. Three great religions have brought it into daily-
use wherever they have gone 1 . Like other things in
daily use, indeed, it is probably seldom thought of, and
some may be surprised to learn that much has been
written about it; many a rule concerning its use, many
a maxim regarding its value. Much, it is true, of what
has been said may be paltry enough according to the
estimate of to-day. But as long as the word "Amen"
continues to occupy the place it does in synagogue and
church and mosque, it must merit attention. It is, in fact,
one of those beautiful relics of the past, the legitimate hold
of which upon the imagination and the heart an age such as
ours does well to cherish, while some of the facts gathered
1 This is illustrated by the story, the source of which I do not know,
of a meeting between two converts to Christianity — perhaps an Indian
and a Pacific Islander — one of whom was reading in his own tongue the
Christian Scriptures. Communication between them was impossible, till
one of them thought of summing up his mental attitude to the contents
of the book in the doxology "Hallelujah," whereupon the other at once
heartily replied " Amen." The Hebrew expressions had, of course, been
naturalized in both languages.
VOL. IX. B
2 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
in this article have a certain additional interest from their
bearing on other wider and more important subjects 1 .
i. The word "Amen." — The fundamental idea of the
root )CN, in the north and south Semitic languages
alike 2 , is "stability, steadfastness, reliability." "Amen"
represents in form an old Semitic amin, which, according
to analogy, should be an intransitive adjective 3 . It has
retained this power, however, only in the somewhat rare
Arabic Amin m , "safe, secure," while in Hebrew "Amen"
has become an indeclinable particle. As contrasted with
other particles from the same root, it seems to involve
the will as well as, perhaps we should say rather than, the
judgment 4 . This is best seen on an examination of
the instances of its occurrence in the Old Testament.
2. Usage of "Amen" in the Old Testament. (1) Modes
of Use. — The first thing that strikes one about the use of
"Amen" in the Old Testament is that it is practically
1 Some (especially statistical) details have been retained merely for
the sake of giving them a permanent record somewhere, for reference
if they should ever be wanted.
2 Cf. e.g. Assyrian temenu, "foundation," and Syriac, "daily bread," in
the Paternoster (Curetonian and Sinaitic Palimpsest MSS.) on the one
hand ; and Aethiopic am e na, " trust," and also "confess" (hardly " verum
esse," as Dillmann says, quoting Luke i. i), on the other.
3 Barth, indeed, regards it (Die Nominalbildung, &c, 5 c and 7 b) as an
abstract noun. Nor is it an answer to say that the feminine form amint
or amant (nw) is abstract ; for in Hebrew, at least in the first letters
of the Dictionary, when words exist in both forms, it is rather the rule
than the exception that they should agree in this respect. Moreover, on
the other hand, the majority of nouns of the form amin are concrete, and
there is, as a matter of fact, a difference between amin, and amint (see
next note).
4 For now, see especially Isa. xliii. 9, where E. V. is right, as against
the LXXand Peshitta, in rendering rmx as oratio recta, "Truth I" Cf. also
the quasi-adverbial use of noN at the end of a sentence in Ps. cxxxii. 1 1
and Jer. x. 10 (see also 1 Kings xvii. 24, Pesh.\ The three particles
referred to above are connected with the parallel stem amuna. n:i3« (JE)
introduces a solemn confession (Gen. xx. 12, Josh. vii. 20) ; oaw (8 times,
6 in Job) seems to be used by preference to introduce hypothetical or
ironical sentences ; while djon (5 times) always introduces a question
(Ps. lviii. 2, reading d"?m with most, is sarcastic).
" AMEN " 3
confined to the literature that modern criticism regards as
Exilic or Post-Exilic. What makes this still more note-
worthy is that the three cases of which this cannot be
said form a class by themselves— they are cases of what
we may call the Initial Amen. Benaiah, after receiving
instructions about the coronation of Solomon, replies:
" Amen ! Yahwe the God of my lord the king say so too ! "
(i Kings i. 36). So Jeremiah says to Hananiah : " Amen !
Yahwe do so ! " &c. (Jer. xxviii. 6). In the third passage
it is God that is addressed ; Jeremiah replies to the
"word" that came to him from Yahwe in the phrase:
"Amen; Yahwe!" In these cases "Amen" is a kind
of conversational particle, and stands by itself, prefixed
to an exclamatory sentence, expressing a wish, " So be it ! "
In the later literature the "Amen" tends to become
more and more liturgical. The Deuteronomist makes " all
the people" say "Amen" to each of the twelve 1 curses
(Deut. xxvii. 15-26) ; Nehemiah tells us that the "congre-
gation" pledged itself in the matter of the poor brethren
by a solemn "Amen" (Neh. v. 13) ; when Tobias and Sarah
were left alone he prayed, and at the end of his prayer
"she said with him, Amen" (Tobit viii. 8) 2 ; and, according
to the Vulgate, when Gabael prayed and blessed Tobias,
all who were present said, " Amen " (Tobit ix. 1 2). In this
group the sentence introduced by the " Amen " is left
to be understood from the situation. We might call this
the Detached Amen.
This liturgical "Amen" tended to become double. "Amen,
Amen " is the formula assigned by the Priestly writer to the
suspected wife in the oath of purgation (Num. v. 22 3 ) ; as
it is also the formula with which the people solemnly
accepted the Priestly Law (Neh. viii. 6 4 = 1 Esdras
1 So in MSS. A and F of the LXX. B and Luc. have thirteen, having
two curses in ver. 22 or ver. 23.
2 The Vulgate text differs at this point, and has no " Amen." Syr. and
Aeth. follow LXX.
3 It is single in the Targums.
4 The "Amen" is single in LXX (BXALuc.).
B 2
4 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
ix. 47 1 ), and, according to the romance, the words of
Ozias (Judith xiii. %6 [20] a ) 3 . This formula becomes
"Amen and Amen 4 " when following a doxology at the
end of each of the first three divisions of the Psalter,
although in the fourth division (Ps. cvi. 48 s ), and the
equivalent I Chron. xvi. 36, there is for some reason
only one "Amen," and so at the end of 3 and 4 Mace We
have thus what we may call a Final Amen, and the
Vulgate provides us with two cases where a speaker says
"Amen" to his own prayer, viz. 2 Esdras (i.e. Neh.)xiii. 31,
and Tobit xiii. 18, while the same thing occurs in Pr. of
Manasses, ver. 23 s . A pure Subscriptional Amen appears in
the Old Testament only at the end of Tobit 7 . It also is
single. There remain to be considered only four passages
where our authorities disagree as to what we should read,
"Amen" or something else, and so we must examine the
usage of the Versions.
(2) Treatment of " Amen " in the Versions. The practice
of the LXX confirms the view just propounded as to the
history of the word "Amen," while it illustrates the necessity
of considering the various parts of the LXX apart. In the
Pentateuch the LXX regularly translates \oa into Greek 8 ,
and the same practice is continued throughout the Prophets,
1 So in B, Syr., and Aeth. ; but Vulg., A, and Luc. have only one a/ifo.
2 Only one " Amen " in A.
3 Ecclus. 1. 29 ends in E. V. and some Greek MSS. with a doxology and
double "Amen," but the best MSS. and edd. and Vulg. omit the whole
clause. The Syriac text differs at this point.
4 The LXX [BKART] has no "and."
5 MSS. ART of the LXX have two "Amens," but N follows the M.T.
with one.
• It is to be noted that we have only Latin authority for what has since
become so common, an "Amen" said to one's own prayer (for Prayer of
Manasses, ver. 23, might fairly be regarded as of subscriptional origin),
and, as we shall see, the usage can hardly be said to be found in the
New Testament.
7 So in BA ; in N it may be almost said to be preceded by a doxology.
8 The LXX translates "Amen" by fivoiro eight times, by akr)$u>s once
(Jer. xxxv. 6 [BNAQ] = M. T. xxviii. 6). For the other Greek versions,
see farther on.
" AMEN " 5
Former and Latter, and even the Psalter. But when we
come to the work of the Chronicler, we find pt& simply
transliterated a[ir\v, even in i Chron. xvi. 36 (though =
Ps. cvi. 48). This practice, once begun, is continued right
through the Apocryphal books 1 . Aquila admitted a^v to
1 Kings i. 36, but uses 7reiri(7Ta>0/?rco in Jer. xxxv. [xxviii.] 6,
and elsewhere (probably always) ireina-T^iiivios. Theodo-
tion uses a\xrjv in the one place (Deut. xxvii. 15) where we
can trace him (see, however, below on Isa. xxv. 1), and
Symmachus appears to have carried this practice through
consistently (we can test it in six cases). The same is true
of the Aramaic (Targum and Peshitta) and Latin Versions,
except that naturally the Vulgate Psalter has fiat=y£voiTo.
The English Version carried the general rule of the Vulgate
right through the Psalter also, but for some unaccountable
reason followed the LXX in Jer. xi. 5. The Revised
Version has of course restored "Amen" there.
The phenomena of the Versions appear thus to confirm
the impression given us by the M. T. : whether " Amen "
was common or not, originally, as a conversational particle,
it became more and more common as a liturgical formula,
and the more it became stereotyped in this way the less did
it suggest any definite idea to the mind that needed to be
translated into other languages, and the more natural did
it become to transliterate it as d/^?)f, amen. Whether the
tendency can be traced even farther than this already
in the LXX is not so certain. The LXX has, no doubt,
discovered three li amens " in the Old Testament not to be
found in the M. T. ; but then it renders them ylvovro, not
a/x?jz>, and they do not seem to be cases of ingenuity, such as
we shall find later in Rabbinical literature, but rather of
a faulty MS. or careless reading. Thus in Jer. xv. 11 ion
has been read px, while in Jer. iii. 19 "Amen" must have
been known as a living word in the language rather than
as merely a liturgical formula, when Tffc< was read as '-\ / " 'tf,
1 Except Judith xiii. 20 (yevotTO, ytvoiro), where, however, Aeth. and
Pesh. have "Amen, Amen."
6 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
i.e. 13 niiT JON, and translated Tivotro, KvpLe on. Still
it is, of course, quite as possible that it was some earlier
Hebrew copyist that made this mistake. In Isa. xxv. i,
the LXX, followed by Theodotion, read yivoiro, i.e. jcx,
where the M. T. has J^N 1 . There can be little doubt
that the M.T. is right in these three passages. The case
is somewhat different in Isa. lxv. 15. Here it is the
Massoretes (followed by Symmachus and Vulgate, and sup-
ported by Aquila's TieTturTOiixivas) that have found }£X, where
the LXX render akr)8ivov and Targ. NK?$ xr6x . Symmachus
actually understands this }DX in the liturgical sense, and,
as we shall see, it was probably so interpreted in the
Apostolic age. But as, on the one hand, the liturgical
" Amen " is peculiar to men in reply to God, and on the
other hand, Barth's theory that ??N is an abstract noun has
hardly been substantiated, it is most probable that "Amen"
is not the original form of the word in this place. It is
natural to think of ruMSN ( c f. njlDK b$ t Deut. xxxii. 4) 2 ,
especially as this is translated aXr\6ivov in Isa. xxv. 1.
Still simpler would be the almost equivalent fCK following
it in the same verse — a suggestion, in favour of which
might be urged the fact that the LXX itself has actually
converted this latter }£N into f»K, which, as usual, it trans-
lates by yivoiro.
3. Result. — Our examination of the use of the word
" Amen " in the Old Testament has given us twelve certain
cases in the Hebrew text, and six to ten in the Apocrypha,
and seems to lead to the following conclusions as to Old
Testament usage. (1) The original use of "Amen" was to
introduce an answer to a previous speaker (1 Kings i. 36,
Jer. xxviii. 6, xi. 5). (2) Then the words of the answer
were suppressed, and "Amen" stood alone (Deut. xxvii. 15 ff,
Neh. v. 13, 1 Chron. xvi. 36 =Ps. cvi. 48, Tobit viii. 8,
Aq. has rremaToi/xtvais, i.e. probably "Amen," and Sym. maret, i.e.
probably not "Amen."
2 Cf. Ps. xxxi. 6 noN bH ; 2 Chr. xv. 3 np» vtVn ; Jer. x. 10 nn« dvtjn ; in
which last case, indeed, Theod. has 0«ds dKi]0iv6s, as the LXX has here.
" AMEN " 7
ix. 12 [Vulg.]), this liturgical "Amen" tending to become
double (Num. v. 22, Neb., viii. 6 [M. T.] = i Esdras ix. 47
[B, Syr., Aeth.], Judith xiii. 26). (3) The next stage is
where there is no indication of a change of speaker, so that
" Amen " actually appears to be the last word of the sole
speaker, instead of the first (or only) word of the response.
This usage is exemplified in two ways : (a) in the formal
subscriptions appended, in conformity with Eastern custom,
to a completed MS. Such " Amens " standing absolutely
after a doxology are found in the Old Testament (" Amen
and Amen ") at the end of the first three (four) divisions
of the Psalter (Pss. xli, lxxii, lxxxix), and then, at a very
much later date, in 3 and 4 Maccabees ; (b) in the " Amen "
said by the speaker to his own prayer, found twice in the
Vulgate (2 Esdras [i.e. Neh.] xiii. 31 and Tobit xiii. 18), and
also in Prayer of Manasses, ver. 23. (4) Already in our
oldest MS. of Tobit we have what is almost a fourth stage,
a simple subscriptional "Amen," without doxology. We
have thus in the Old Testament four usages: (i) Introductory,
(ii) Detacbed, (iii) Final, (iv) Subscriptional.
4. New Testament. — The growing liturgical use of " Amen"
in the later books of the Old Testament, and the phenomena
of the LXX, prepare us for what we find in the New
Testament, the Textus Eeceptus of which contains the word
in some 119 places, of which the Revised Version retains
100 1 . Strange to say, each of the four usages we have
just found in the Old Testament is represented in the New
Testament also. Usage i. (Introductory), which we have
seen reason to regard as the original, is represented
naturally enough by the " Amens " in the non- Epistolary
part of the Apocalypse (vii. 1 2 ' i , xix. 4, xxii. 20) prefixed
to a doxology, and referring back to words of another
1 "Amen" is retained in the Vulgate throughout ; and in the English
versions outside of the Gospels. In the Gospels, when it introduces
a sentence, it is translated "Verily," and at first, in the Old English
versions, it seems to have been regularly rendered " soSlice."
2 Westcott and Hort have here also a final "Amen" in square brackets.
8 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
speaker. Usage ii. (Detached) is found in the remaining
"Amen" of this part of the Apocalypse (v. 14), and is
testified to by Paul in 1 Cor. xiv. 16. Corresponding to
usage iii. (Final) we have the usage of the New Testament
Epistles (including the first part of the Apocalypse). If we
exclude Apoc. i. 7 1 , where a liturgical " Amen " is added
to vai at the end of a solemn statement, the thirty-four
" Amens " of the Epistles [T. R] fall into two groups,
fifteen following doxologies, and nineteen following bless-
ings. The fifteen doxology " Amens " are all well attested
(except 2 Pet. iii. 18) 2 , but of the nineteen benediction
"Amens" only two (Eom. xv. 33, Gal. vi. 18) are retained
by Westcott and Hort, although they admit two others
(1 Thess. iii. 13, a prayer, and Heb. xiii. 25) to their margin,
and the Revised Version even admits the last mentioned,
and Apoc. xxii. 21 to its text, as also, though doubtfully,
Philem. 25. Of usage iv. (Subscriptional) there is no
instance in the best texts of the New Testament ; but there
is a marked tendency to it in later MSS. 3
As the book of Acts does not contain " Amen," all that
remains to be examined is the Gospels. It is remarkable
that these documents, whose literary history forms so
intricate a problem, contain far more " Amens " than all
the rest of the books of the Old and New Testaments
together ; and yet their usage does not exactly correspond
to any one of the four stages we have distinguished. These
" Amens " are all of one kind— for the five final " Amens " 4
are wanting in the best texts — and form a very peculiar
class, unparalleled in Hebrew literature 5 . They are initial
1 Apoc. i. 18, 1 John v. 21, 2 John 13, which somewhat resemble it, are
excluded in R. V.
2 Retained in R V., but omitted by Westcott and Hort. The other
fourteen are Rom. i. 25, ix. 5, xi. 36, xvi. 27, Gal. i. 5, Eph. iii. 21, Phil. iv. 20,
1 Tim. i. 17, vi. 16, 2 Tim. iv. 18, Heb. xiii. 21, 1 Pet. iv. 11, v. 11, Jude 25.
3 Aethiopic MSS. often have a triple "Amen," corresponding to the
S8S of post-Biblical Hebrew.
' Matt. vi. 13, and at the close of each Gospel.
5 Delitzsch in Zeitsch. fur Luth. Theol., 1856, p. 422, and Caiman, Gram, des
JUd.-Pal. Aram&isch, p. 193, note.
»
11 AMEN 9
"Amens" like group i. (pre-exilic and Apocalypse), but
seem to lack the indispensable backward reference. This
is the more striking as they are all in sayings of Jesus, and
very frequently occur in a sort of dialogue 1 . An examina-
tion of these passages, however — and they number about
fifty-two in the Synoptics and twenty-five in John — will
generally show that there is some trace, after all, of
a reference either to some preceding words, or to the
sentiment underlying them 2 .
In Luke " Amen " occurs only six times 3 , three of the
cases being common to the Synoptics, and three in verses
peculiar to Luke. In three other places Luke has aAijtfcos
where the parallel passages in the Synoptics have ajxriv 4 ,
and once (Luke xi. 51) vai corresponds to an aixrjv in
Matthew. In Luke iv. 25, a verse peculiar to Luke, kit'
aXrjdelas may represent an original aix-qv, but in view of the
ajxr\v in the preceding verse this is perhaps hardly likely 5 .
In five (six 6 ) passages peculiar to Matthew and Luke, the
latter simply omits afxr^v. The avoidance not only of the
form a.jxr)v, but even sometimes of any equivalent particle,
is therefore characteristic of the third Gospel.
Mark has four passages where aixrjv is peculiar to him,
although Matthew has a parallel passage ; while Matthew
has only two lacking in Mark. The frequency of afxr\v
in Matthew is due to nineteen passages not in Mark, viz.
1 They are invariably followed by \iyai iifiiv, except where this naturally
becomes Ktyw aoi, viz. in the solemn sayings to Peter (John xiii. 38 =
Mark xiv. 30, John xxi. 18), to the thief on the cross (Luke xxiii. 43), and
to Nicodemus (John iii. 3, 5, 11) ; and this form is used rhetorically once
in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. v. 26).
2 e. g. Matt. vi. 2 : " The hypocrites [pray] in the synagogues . . . that
they may have glory of men. Amen, I say unto you, They have received
their reward."
3 For xiii. 35, where it is wanting in the parallel Matt, xxiii. 39, does
not have it in the best texts.
* Luke ix. 27, xii. 44 (where, however, D has apr/v), and xxi. 3.
5 W d\tj6eias in LXX oftenest represents DotDN : also T2; and Eisjp.
6 In Luke xv. 7 the ovras in a sense represents the &\a\v of Matt.
IO THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
nine * peculiar to Matthew and ten where the parallel in
Luke either omits (a) simply the apr/v (five or six times 2 ),
or (6) the whole formula 3 , or else changes it into something
else 4 . Of the Synoptics, therefore, it is Mark that seems
never to avoid the word.
A well-known peculiarity of the fourth Gospel is that
it invariably (twenty-five times) has a^v aii-qv, as against
the just as invariable single apr/v of the Synoptics (about
fifty-two times) ; and this phenomenon occurs even in one
and the same saying, e.g. John xiii. 38 = Mark xiv. 30=
Matt. xxvi. 34= Luke xxii. 34, where Luke, as already
explained, omits the ajx-qv altogether 5 . Delitzsch 6 explained
this peculiarity of the fourth Gospel as being due to
a corruption of the Aramaic vernacular amen amino,
( = amen amer-'na=afj.riv Xeyoo), which sounded like d/x?jv
apriv, but Dalman (loc. cit.) contests this explanation 7 .
Two New Testament passages alone remain, and in these
afxr/v is treated as a noun 8 . In Apoc. iii. 14, where it is
masculine, it is immediately explained as a designation
of Christ as " the faithful and true witness." The key to
this usage is doubtless the traditional Massoretic pointing
of Isa. lxv. 16, which as we have seen is at least as old
as Symmachus, with possibly a reminiscence of the practice
of Jesus and of % Cor. i. 20. This latter passage is less
clear ; but to a\i.i\v has probably about the same meaning
as in 1 Cor. xiv. 16.
5. Liturgical Use of Amen. — We have already observed
the increasingly liturgical character of the "Amens" in
post-exilic literature. (1) Our positive knowledge of the
1 A tenth (Matt, xviii. 19) has a/xije in square brackets in Westcott and
Hort, but none in E. V.
2 Matt. v. 26, viii. it>, x. 15, xi. n, xiii. 17 (xviii. 13).
3 Ibid. v. 18, xvii. 20. 4 Ibid, xxiii. 36, xxiv. 47.
5 The other twenty-four passages are peculiar to John. 6 loc. cit.
7 Apparently on the ground that the alleged pronunciation is a charac-
teristic of the Babylonian not the Palestinian Talmud. See, however, pp. 71
and 77 of tlie same work.
8 The third passage (1 Cor. xiv. 16 calls for no remark.
"amen" II
details of the temple ritual of this period is very limited
indeed. From i Chron. xvi. 7-36 it would appear that
in the time of the chronicler it was the custom that when
the Levitical choir sang selections (one or more) from the
Psalter, the people answered, saying " Amen," and praised
Yahwe 1 . It is at least plausible to hold that the usage 2
was one which, being well known, did not need to be
constantly indicated in the MSS. of the Psalter, and that
so, from motives of economy of space, the doxology was
omitted except at the end of the great divisions of the
Psalter (so Gratz) s . If this be so, we should find a parallel
case in the English Church Prayer-book, where the Amen-
doxology used after every selection from the Psalter
is not printed. On the other hand, the comment of
Shelomo b. Melech on Ps. xli. 14 suggests an equally
plausible explanation of the presence of these doxologies :
ansion aruoa ibdh intaa bah nxiin jnu -nwn nai;
and, when Gratz urges in support of the other view
that in 1 Chron. xvi the Amen-doxology is added to
selections from Pss. cv and xcvi which want it, he seems
to fail to take account of Ps. cvi. 47 which is also included.
(a) Even for the Herodian temple ritual our witnesses are
not contemporary, and such as they are they are not only
meagre, but so unsystematic and fragmentary, not to say
conflicting, that it is precarious to try to construct a sys-
tematic account, especially as the practice may have varied.
We can hardly do more here than mention some of the
points.
The chief occasions when one would look for Amen-
responses in the ordinary temple ritual are these : (a) When
the priests came out on to the steps and pronounced the
1 It is likely enough that some such practice was in existence even
if with Keuss, and after him Stade (and Cornill ?), we regard this passage
as a later insertion into the work of the Chronicler, which originally
passed directly from ver. 7 to ver. 37.
2 Cf. Ps. lxviii. 35 [36] and 1 Chron. xxix. 20.
3 Monatsschriftfiir Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judenihums, 1872, p. 486.
12 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
blessing on the people (Tamid. vii. a), and the latter, at
a signal, prostrated themselves and worshipped. In this
ritual, however, the blessing was not, as in the synagogues,
pronounced in three parts with an " Amen " after each, but
in one (ibid.) ; and a longer response was used (see further
below). (6) When, after attending to the other offerings,
the priest stooped to pour out the drink-offering, and at
a signal the Levitic choir chanted the selection from the
Psalter ; for, at the trumpet blast that marked every pause,
the people bowed and worshipped (Tamid. vii. 3). But we
are not told of any '■' Amen " at this point, (c) In response
to the concluding doxology with which the Levites may
have ended their chant. If we assume that doxologies
were really said after each Psalm, then it is at least possible
to assume also that the forms used in the Herodian temple
have been preserved for us in Taan. 16 b, where we are
told that to each of the special doxologies on fast days for
rain, which ended with the words, " Blessed be Yahwe, the
God of Israel, from age to age " (D^iyn p bar>w vita 'n "|m
ahyn nyi), the people replied, " Blessed be the name of the
glory of his kingdom for ever and ever " (iniata "lira Q2> IVD
1JJ1 D^1j^>). But the argument that a rarer ceremony (prayer
for rain) borrowed its ritual from some more common one,
needs to be used with caution ; and more precarious still
is the assumption (Gratz) that the more common one was
precisely the daily Psalm ritual. Still this is as likely as
not to have been so, and with this proviso we may accept
the hypothesis 1 .
All this, however, gives us no certain ' ; Amen." And there
is a well known and often repeated statement in the Talmud,
that " Amen " was in fact not said in the temple, but only
in the synagogues (phaaa). In the temple the form used
was the response quoted above ('ui DE> Ilia). The explana-
1 See some interesting discussions and conjectures in Ludwig Blau's
article, "Origine et Histoire de la Lecture du Schema" (Sevue des Etudes
Juives, XXXI, 179-201', including the subject of the practice in the
Synagogue of Jericho.
" AMEN 13
tion follows (Taan. Bab. 16 b): tnpoa }dn piy fKC P'obi
■piaa qb> irt^i ohyn ny ohyn |d eoti^s 'n nx 1312 loip news? 1 .
Judah Calats (j>i>a mw), however, is probably nearer the
truth when he points us (Sefer ha Musar, Pereq 4, ed.
Mantua, p. 4a) to those passages in the Talmud that tell
us that in the temple the divine name in the priestly
benediction was uttered as spelled (uroa), instead of, as
usual, vuaa, i.e. by the substitution of a less awful name,
and that accordingly the "Amen" said in the synagogues
after each of the three parts of the benediction was omitted
in the temple. It would appear, therefore, that when
the Tetragrammaton was pronounced, the longer blessing
'U1 DS5> Tina was used. The meaning of this obviously is,
as Gratz clearly saw, not that people were not allowed to
say "Amen" in the temple, but that there the special
solemnity of the service demanded, and the postponement
of the response to the end of the whole act allowed, the use
of a more extended and impressive formula than a single
"Amen;" just as in the English Church "Amen" alone
is sung after hymns or short prayers, but after each Psalm
a complete doxology.
If now we venture to apply these results to the Psalm
ritual, we find that the Amen-doxology has disappeared.
What then of the five doxologies in Pss. xli, lxxii, lxxxix, cvi,
and 1 Chron. xvi ? Can it be that they are really not temple
doxologies at all, but synagogue doxologies? This was
Gratz's view; and he accordingly maintained that they
made their way into the Psalter only after the destruction
of the temple. Their presence in the LXX, however, and
especially in the translated form yivoiro (see above), seems
against this view. Gratz himself could not see how the
Amen-doxology could have made its way into 1 Chron. xvi
so late as this. Can we indeed be sure that " Amen " was
not really said after all, only appended at the end of the
longer formula, as it is in the English ritual just referred to ?
(3) In the synagogue the response to the Shema seems
1 i.e. Neh. ix. 5.
14 THE JEWISH QUAETEELY EEVIEW
to have been the long one ('131 DK> T)i3 : Gratz, loc. cit., p. 493),
although usage varied ; but the response to the priestly
blessing, which was closely associated with the prayer, was
" Amen," and the leader (navin "<)sb "U1J?n) was directed not
to join in the " Amen " lest his mind should be disturbed
(sport "OBO, Ber. V, 4) 1 .
(4) Outside the synagogue, too, " Amen " was used in
response to the father's blessing before and after food,
though (notwithstanding Tobit viii. 8) not in private
prayer (Lightf., Hor. Heb., 30a), and it frequently occurs,
as already remarked, at the end of MSS. and treatises 2 ,
as also on epitaphs (e.g. n^D n"kk py pa rnmt Tin nnotw).
Other formulae in use are: *t>"ax, i.e. pn nw p fCN; Ki"3na,
i.e. }DK "»033l ^nri3 awn mtya, as an introductory formula
like the Mohammedan, bi'smi 'llahi ' rrdhmani 'rrakvm ;
w"\\ i.e. jok any y\w snt ntn*, or nb"^b>, i.e. caia d-o^ ivrw
JON, after a man's name ; and Njn"3n, i.e. )0N py pa 1K>S3 >nn,
after the mention of one who is deceased, like the Arabic,
salla 'allahu 'alaihi wa sallam.
6. Jewish doctrine of "Amen." — The theoretical pre-
scriptions concerning the use of "Amen" were many.
The following specimens will be sufficient to illustrate
the style. The bread must not be broken at meals till
" Amen " was quite finished (jdn rfaw *iy ynfab W"i yyon px
d'oiyn '•so, Ber., f. 47 a), except in the case of one or two
delaying inordinately (pny ON l^ax p3iyn an 130 nb dx i>ax
wo -irw 13 pannes jva Dni' pnon^ "p-w px 13 panxoc oiyo,
Judah Calats, loc. cit., f. 43a, 11. 14-16). "Amen" could
be freely said to a benediction uttered by a Jew; but
in the case of a Gentile (Samaritan) great caution must
be used (-|-oon Tiian ins jox paiy pxi "paon tanK" inx ;dn paijj
nanan ^a yotw "iy, Ber. VIII, 8) 3 . A man must not pro-
1 For the practice at a later date, see Maimonides, Mishneh Torah HUchoth
Tephillah, § 9.
a e.g. i"d :"», i.e. tti nte ns: jw. wV'a, i.e. joai joa oVort mm -rrn.
3 Contrast Bartholomaeus Gtavantus, Thesaurus Sacrorum Eituum (Rome,
1736), torn. I, pars iv, tit. ix, p. 1085, "Ad monitionem pro Judaeis, non
respondetur, Amen."
" AMEN " 15
nounce "Amen " hurriedly, or incompletely, or inattentively
(lit. orphan J ), or disconnectedly (;dk t6l naitan |dk 16 paiy px
vao nana pnr «h now ;ck sb) naiDp,Ber.,f.47a). "Hurriedly"
was explained by some to mean "cutting short the first
vowel," by others, " before the last word of the benediction
was completely uttered " ('»Bns» B"l f)tana 'llpa f\b"tin l^xa 'wb
Tucn '^D"^ tamp iniayi> inc vbv win titan* s^, Oiw/i Chajim
(D^n rniN, f)DV rva), ed. Venice, 1550, I, f. 84b). "Incom-
pletely " was explained as " cutting short the last letter "
(rnaa Nnne nan ntwrm wttw pa"n ntnp nonet? ia«m. Oratf/t
Chajim, f. 85 b, 1. 20 f.), or cutting the word into two parts
(ibid.). " Inattentively " was apphed to " Amen " uttered
by one who had not heard the words of the blessing
(nn nniN tud ins nb&\ nnN nanaa a"n Nine ia"nn noin» ;dn
nyct? N^t? inxn mas n^swi *pa» nana ir\s jrnn? *a"yNi nyDit? wn
now }dn nw ;dn mriN nay* ab, Orach Chajim, cap. 74, § 8,
quoted in Vitringa, De Synagoga, p. 1100); or, according to
another tradition, to "Amen" said at an interval after the
blessing (nyn bv ;dn nay nanan d"dk> nano jot -\mbv now jon
nana nniN , Orach Chajim, 85 b, 1. 24 f.). " Disconnectedly "
is explained as hurriedly and without attention (Judah
Calats [p^a mm*], op. ei£., f. 42 a, 1. 1 1). Moreover, Ben Azzai
urges home the lesson by the assurance that as one deals
with his " Amens " so shall he himself or his children
be dealt with (• a^ow Via vrv now |dn naiyn ba noiN wy p
•vo* latapn* naiop • vc iaonrp naion, Ber. 47 a), holding out
the inducement that whosoever prolongs his " Amens " in
so doing prolongs his days also ("\b panxo fON3 "pNen i»ai
Vniatyi VO\ ibid.). The exact degree of prolongation of
"Amen" must have been difficult to hit, however, for it
must not be prolonged too much (tfs »too nnv ;on naiyn ^>a
nyiD nS>n, Ber. 47 a), lest it drown the voice of the reader
(wo nnv "pNce>a nyotw nawn nsnp pns> '^, OracA Chajim,
f. 85 b, 1. 35). Nor must it be said too loud (n^> |on naiyn
■paono nnv "6lp .Taj's Orach Chajim, cap. 78, § 8, quoted in
1 So a Psalm is called "orphan" when nothing is said of author or
occasion of composition (mtkt NTinra, Ab. Zar., 24 b, line 7 from foot).
l6 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
Vitr., loe. cit). The right speed is defined by the time
it would take to say " God, faithful king " (na nxp rant*
|Dt*"3 "j^'d ^"n 'mb i>3VB>, ibid.); while in the large syna-
gogues the right moment was indicated by waving a scarf.
Thus we read of the synagogue in Alexandria : py bz> ■TO'ai
pN n«p5» inrw jvai 1T3 p-room rr6y *r»iy nwan jtm rurjraota
jcn pjiy oyn bi "nioa cj^d ni>n (Succah, 51 b).
An almost superstitious reverence for the word appears
again in the following doctrines. He that saith " Amen "
is greater than he that uttereth the benediction (ruiyn SlJ
Tiaen p inv [ON, Judah Calats, loc. cit, 1. 19), because it is
the former that secures the answer (tfWXiD tipon nnis t*in 13
n^tto Tiaon ruiwi ^sdd^ nanyn men DipD ^>t* ra-ian y»e>n!>
d^s "jbn »3b5» inaB'no yaip wk p:t* ruiyn 'a fnt* ruiyn naia 'lpoo
ffisa, ibid.). Rabbi Jonah tells of the special merit of
saying " Amen " to each benediction (nana bs int* |Ot* roiyn
D^oys ">w ^anoa Nin nn, Orac& Chajim, f. 84 b, foot). Rabbi
Judah says, " Whosoever saith ' Amen ' in this age is
worthy to say it in the next age also ; and so King David
saith, ' Blessed is Yahwe, the God of Israel, from this age
and to that age, Amen and Amen,' i.e. once ' Amen ' in this
age and again 'Amen' in the coming age" (Tanchuma,
cited in Buxtorf, Be Synag. judaica, in Ugolini, Thesaurus,
IV, col. 1376). And so we read, "Whosoever saith 'Amen
religiose et cum summa attentione/ speedeth on our de-
liverance. " (ibid.). Rabbi Shim'on, we are told, said, " Who-
ever shall say 'Amen' with all his strength (i.e. with firm
purpose), to him the gates of Paradise shall be opened
()b prima [irma ba btvs] ina !?aa jet* rmyn b pycs? 13-1 -ion
)1]} \i nyi?), for it is said, ' Open the gates that the righteous
nation which keepeth truth may enter in 1 ' " (Orach Chajim,
85 b, 11. 8 ff.), the exegesis of which verse is thus given :
"Say not shomer emunim, 'which keepeth truth,' but
she omer Amen 2 , ' which saith Amen' " (d'OIDN "ioib> npn bx
|CN -ot*B> vbtt, Sanhed. 1 10 b-i 1 1 a).
1 Isa. xxvi. 2.
4 The saying is often quoted with Amenim (pi.) for Amen.
"AMEN 17
Nor is this semi-magic power of "Amen" confined
to this life. In Seder R. Amram (ed. Warsaw, f. 13 b, foot)
we read of the righteous answering " Amen " to David's
song of praise to God, whereupon " the sinners of Israel
answer 'Amen' from Gehenna." When God graciously
inquires about them he is told "though they are in
great straits, they force themselves, and say before thee,
' Amen.' " God saith to the angels, " Open for them the
gates of the garden of Eden, that they may enter and
praise before me," for it is said, Open ye, &c. (Isa. xxvi. 2) l .
A similar story, going into much more detail, may be seen
in J. P. Stehelin, Rabbinic Literature, II, 68 f.
On the other hand, we find elsewhere importance attached
to the mental attitude of the worshipper in the following
explanation of »"» -ixij D'OICK (Ps. xxxi. 24 [23]), where the
merit lies in faith undaunted by perplexities and delays :
p« piy Dm 'Tien rrno 71-0 v'V idin ruicxa pa 'newt? "hx
-tow dtidh rrrw ra"prn j-yoNDi DTion n«nn mo ttb pnm
ii>tuj -iDt<n dni 1^33 t6 p*w p« piy om btrw bm "]m x"e>
v"e> -ok cbx&> Nin *ji-d empn rrw p^dnci vnynra nrn nn
nnmi' ttw ra"pra p»bwdi rurviru ^n pnjn tbmv run ira
"n nxu 'won ^n px pijn (Orach Chajim, 85 a).
Again, Rabbi Jose tells us that "Amen" has three
powers : it is an adjuration (Num. v. 22) 2 , an acceptance
of a form of words (Deut. xxvii. 26), or an acquiescence in
another's saying (Jer. xxviii. 6) (to^n nia W Ut 1DN
'■nm n^np u • px ps w^n moto avian • nyut? 1a • • • pN
i»3 new ddin nwvb nxm minn nan nx nv n^ 'e>n inx 'tot
1 cW> -pan >»m rrow «n» jn« DV"ren vto piyi • n"ipn ^s 1 ) nv© in -mini
to (fol. 14) • mrva -pno jom pis "koto' widi • }ir p -jino -p:in> >rote >oWi
oV» to uin nth -ioim • oarrj -prra )o» pu?w I'm on ts caskA n"ipn ioin
iniN to • ])3« "ptft Dnnwi ovinrra nSna mxs cmo >"d»nid Sh-hd' wid YAn
'u «ri o'-orc inns -iow© 'jd') vram win yrs p n»«j ;n"> innD ratAob n"ipn
d'jom -miWD «">« D'3io« -101© tnrn ■>« • cjioh -ioiid pns.
2 Sh'muel says : VD2 rwnw N'Sioa nsiaw in« joa nawn to (Surenhusius,
Mishna, III, air b). On Rabbinic explanations of the double "Amen" in
Num. v. 22, see Soto, II, 5 (e. g. nyrnrn to ]os • nten to Jos).
VOL. IX.
l8 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW
ra jdk irwjn ba irrov "\vtm avian nnan ruoxn 11 • jon Dyn
■pan n« 'n op 11 'n npjp, Shebu. 36 a).
Finally, to the question, " What is the secret of 'Amen' V
Eabbi Hanina answers, " God, faithful king " (nox jdx , n»
jdnj "jta ^N Win on, Sanh. ma).
These illustaations must suffice as an indication of the
nature of the Rabbinical treatment of the subject. Further
details may be found e.g. in Orach Chajim, ft". 84^-85^
Sefer ha Musar, 42 a, b, and in the Sefer Chassidim, § 18 1 .
7. Christian Practice. — If " Amen " was in common use
outside of the temple, and especially in the synagogues,
it would naturally be retained by the early Christians.
At all events, 1 Cor. xiv. 16 shows that it was in liturgical
use in the days of the Apostles as a well-known formal
response of the whole congregation. The absence of the
Amen-doxology from the Paternoster in the oldest text
does not necessarily mean that some such doxology was
not in very early use. The doxology occurs in a slightly
different form in the Didache, both in the Paternoster
(ch. viii), and in two other prayers (chs. ix and x). As
Dr. C. Taylor has pointed out, the form of the doxology
seems to be modified by the context, and the absence of
the "Amen" may indicate simply that it was felt, as an
invariable response, not to belong to any particular form
of prayer (cf. Gratz's theory of the doxologies in the
Psalter). In one place in the Didache " Amen " does occur
(ch. x), immediately preceded by Maranatha. This
naturally calls to mind the " Amen : come Lord " of
Rev. xxii. no, and it is even possible to suppose some
connexion between this formula and the Jewish hymn
1 twins -\niii) pns 'la *oi any® inns woo rmn rmi ta to jo« trail i"m
i3'« -panni -pann mana"; mia ^m® -pacn ;o -inv ;n« nsiyn Vmi p» cnowio
Dm '"n i"v D«a 'tm niw jo« '3 nrnxc 'a -rem Jn« nsirni in« did «■?« tdio
jam ~pu ha nvtd jo» nra> rem wavb lal m« jyd<o fisi ri'hi F]"l» (Sefer
Chassidim, § 18). This idea may be the origin of the custom in some
Jewish rites for the Reader himself to say "Amen" before the congrega-
tion makes the response. Cf. p. 16 above and p. 22 below.
" AMEN " 19
Writw px, "There is none like our God," occurring in all
the Jewish liturgies 1 , the first letters of the lines of which
read N3 )toN. The combination, which has been defended
by Dr. C. Taylor (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,
pp. 77-79), is very attractive ; but, not to speak of the un-
certain age of the hymn, there are two difficulties in the
way of our accepting it with any confidence. In the first
place, although it can hardly be doubted that the present
acrostic arrangement of the lines is intentional, for the
hymn would gain much in force by an alteration of the
lines say to 2 1 5 3 4> it is n ot at all clear that the hymn
was originally meant to be acrostic. As a matter of fact,
indeed, other orders are found. Thus in Seder R. Arnram
(ed. Warsaw, 1 865), f. 14 a, 11. 6 ff., we find the order 21435,
and in MS. Add. 434, of the Cambridge University Library,
p. 107 b, the order 21345 (cf. also Jellinek, Beth ha Midrash,
II, p. 47, 11. 16-18, at the end of rvtaTi rDD»). The question
is whether the acrostic form or the logical order is to be
regarded as the more original. But in the second place,
even if we could be sure that the acrostic order were the
original, the reading of the acrostic title N2 }OX as two
words "Amen: Come!" is, of course, a mere conjecture:
it might just as well be read "Amen; blessed art thou!"
(nnN 1112), and Mr. Schechter (Jewish Quarterly Review,
1892, p. 253, note) may be right in preferring the latter
rendering 2 .
J e.g. Authorized Dailij Prayerbook of the British Empire, ed. S. Singer (1891),
p. 167. The hymn runs as follows : —
•rawrai ps • ratao j»» • raw }<« • vnha }>« 1
■os'CiEn *a • rata:) <o • -covin:) <d ■ ■cnSna 'o a
•Djwro 1 ) mil * rata 1 ; rvra • •covin'; nva ■ wfoA rrn: 3
•DS'oa -p-a • rata "p"Q • ottih -p-Q • vt/m -jvo 4
.wwra win nrw • rata sin nrw • ■mntt* sin nn« • wtSn wn nn« 5
2 The hymn is actually referred to twice under the title si joy in
a MS. Machzor (German ritual) of Dr. Taylor's (cf. tpbn "hxe, Venice, 1546,
fol. 3 a, col. 2). On the second occurrence it is unpointed, but on the first
it is pointed amen ba, which, while it naturally decides nothing as to the
view even of the writer of the MS., at least does not favour that of
Dr. Taylor. See further, Mr. Schechter's article cited above.
C 2
20 THE JEWISH QUAETEKLY REVIEW
The use of "Amen" after prayers and the Eucharist in
the second century is described by Justin Martyr in oft-
quoted words 1 ; while Jerome's description of the heartiness
of the response is almost too well known to bear repetition 2 .
The communicant said ft Amen " on receiving the elements,
and Ambrose explains " non otiose [quum accipis] dicis tu
Amen !" (De Sacramentis, lib. IV, cap. 5) 3 . This practice
is supposed to have fallen into disuse about the sixth
century in the western churches (Riddle, Manual of
Christian Antiquities, 1843, p. 379), though it continued
to be observed "in the eastern churches, and in the
Ambrosian (Milanese) and Mozarabic (Spanish) liturgies "
(ibid.). The Scottish Liturgy (1637), however, preserved
the form. In the Communion ritual we read, " Here the
person receiving shall say ' Amen,' " and the form was
recommended by Bishop Andrewes, Cosin, &c, while the
practice is said to be still common among devout persons
in the English church (Blunt, Theol. Diet., p. 17) 4 . It also
became somewhat common, though at a later date, to insert
"Amen" after the name of each of the persons of the
Trinity in the formula of Baptism ; the people replying
at the end " Amen " — a usage still to be found in Russia
(Coleman, Christian Antiquities, p. 218). Moreover, a
responsive " Amen " was sometimes said by the congrega-
tion after the reading of the Lesson (Bartholomaeus
Gavantus, Thesaurus Sacrorum Rituum, Rome, 1736)
torn. I, pars i, p. 208 [Tit. x. 6 f.J).
Christians followed in the footsteps of the Jews in
1 Apolog., I, §§ 65, 67 : OS owTtXioavTos ras (ixas Kal rijv tixapiTrlav,
irar & irapuiv \ads lire v<pT)/iei Keywv 'A/ir/v.
a "Ubi sic ad similitudinem coelestis tonitrui amen reboat, et vacua
idolorum quatiuntur?" (Comm. in epist. ad Gal., proem, ad lib. II, p. 428.)
8 Cf. August., Contra Fausturn, lib. XII, c. 10: "Habet enim magnam
vocem Christi sanguis in terra, cum eo accepto ab omnibus gentibus
respondetur Amen."
4 For a discussion how ecclesiastical practice required "Amen" to be
said ^by the priest or by the people) after the Consecration of the
Elements, see Benedict XIV, De Sacrosancto Missae Sacrificio, Lib. II, c. 23,
110s. 9-1 1.
" AMEN " 21
enumerating the blemishes that would render the Amen-
response ineffective. It might be "Amen pupillum," i.e.
n»liv "cum quis precatione tenetur nee intelligit quod
respondet;" or "Amen surreptitium," i.e. naiDn "cum sur-
ripit et dicit Amen, antequam absolvatur precatio;" or
"Amen sectile," i.e. nQIBp "cum secat in duas partes, nempe
oscitanter audiens, et alias res agens" (Angelus Caninius,
Disquisitiones in locos aliquot Novi Test, obscuriores
[Francofurti, 1602], p. 55).
The English Church, moreover, in addition to distin-
guishing between " Amen " as a response after prayer with
the meaning "So be it!", and "Amen" as said after
a Creed with the meaning "So it is!", recognizes certain
distinctions in the relation of the "Amen" to the form
that precedes it. (1) In some cases the "Amen" is a
response of the congregation, ratifying and accepting what
the minister has said (e.g. Absolutions, Benedictions, Con-
secration of Elements, Commination). (a) In others it is
(perhaps somewhat artificially) regarded as a part of the
formulary, and is said by all who have recited the formu-
lary, i.e. minister as well as people (e.g. Lord's Prayer,
Doxologies, Creeds, Prayer at end of Commination). (3)
In certain cases it is the speaker alone that says " Amen,"
solemnly ratifying what he has said (e.g. formula of
Baptism, reception of the baptized into fellowship of the
Church, Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination, the Paternoster
at the beginning of the Communion service, and one place
in the Commination service). These distinctions are
indicated in the Prayerbook by "Amen" being printed
in italics in (1), but in Boman type in (2) and (3) 1 .
Different from any of these cases, and quite peculiar, is
the formula of the oath of supremacy administered to
bishops, " In the name of God, Amen. I ... do profess, &c."
Somewhat similar is the formula pronounced by the
preacher in some churches.
1 Cf. The Annotated Book of Common Prayer, ed. by J. H. Blunt, 1884, passim.
22 THE JEWISH QUAETEKLY REVIEW
The churches that employ a liturgy have thus to a consi-
derable extent preserved the ancient and natural responsive
use of " Amen." In the other religious bodies the practice
varies. Where great individual freedom prevails, "Amens"
are freely uttered by members of the congregation in
response to any saying that impresses them deeply. Where
there is less flexibility, as e.g. amongst Presbyterians, the
third of our four classes of " Amen " has become the rule,
and, except where sung, the "Amen" is uttered by the
officiating minister alone a .
8. The modern Synagogue. — In the synagogue also
" Amen " is used in two ways ; sometimes with the formula
"and let us say Amen" (fDN "iDNJl) 2 ; sometimes with the
formula " and say ye Amen 3 ." Just before the recital of
the Shema, the worshipper is directed, when prayers are
not said with the congregation, to add, ptO "j^O ^>X , " God,
faithful king."
9. Mohammedan usage. — Mohammedan worship is much
more of a private exercise, though usually performed in
public. Still, "Amen" has been naturalized, and it is
commonly said at the end of the first Sura of the Koran
when uttered in prayer, its assonance with the irregular
lines of the Arabic favouring the practice. Mohammedan
scholars wander about in their attempt to explain the word.
One says it means " Answer thou me ; " another, " It is
strangely asserted by some of the learned that after the
Fatiha it is a prayer which implies all that is prayed for
in detail in the Fatiha." Some solemnly assure us it is
one of the names of God ; while another declares that some
say incorrectly that it means "O God," the word "answer!"
being understood.
10. Secondary A]yplications. — German kings and em-
perors early began to append "Amen" to the introduc-
tory and concluding formulae of state documents, and this
1 On this anomaly, see Catholic Presbyterian Mag., IX, 108 ff.
2 Authorised Daily Prayer-book of the British Empire (1891), p. 69.
3 Ibid., p. 54.
"amen" 23
practice appears to have been quite general till the time of
Charles V. From that time, however, it began to be given
up (Hock in Ersch und Gruber, Allgemeine Encyclopadie,
III, 346, who refers to Ch. G. Hoffmann, De usu particulae
Amen in diplomatibus regum et impp. Germaniae, Tubing.,
1773)-
In Syriac literature, "Amen" came to be used as
a common noun meaning consent or approval, in such
phrases as, " With the ' Amen ' of the whole of Christendom,"
and in modern English the same usage exists \ By a rather
strange fate, however, this word, which, as we have seen,
originally invariably stood at the head of a sentence, is now
also frequently used in the sense of the very last of any
matter in hand.
H. W. Hogg.
1 For examples, see A New English Dictionary (Oxford), sub toe.
