What Does the Word “Amen” Mean?

The word “Amen” comes from Hebrew. It means firm, steadfast, true or faithful. It is also used in the sense of “so be it” or “hear our prayer”. So what does “Amen” mean in the Bible? Where does it come from? And why do we say “Amen” at the end of a prayer?

According to Bible dictionaries, the word “Amen” appears many times in Scripture, and four main meanings or uses can be distinguished:

1. Amen as confirmation of an oath or covenant

This use of “Amen” is found in the Book of Deuteronomy (27:15-26), where it occurs twelve times, always to confirm an oath or covenant:

“Cursed be the man who makes a graven or molten image, an abomination to the LORD, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret. And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
Cursed be he who dishonors his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Cursed be he who removes his neighbor’s landmark. And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Cursed be he who misleads a blind man on the road. And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Cursed be he who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.'”

So we see that “Amen” was said after the curse upon anyone who broke one of God’s prohibitions. There are other uses in the same sense in the Book of Jeremiah (11:5) and in Nehemiah (5:13):

“…that I may perform the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “Amen, O LORD.”

“I also shook out my lap and said, ‘So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not perform this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.’ And all the assembly said ‘Amen’ and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.”

2. Amen meaning “hear our prayer” or “so be it”

“Amen” appears in several places in the Bible meaning “hear our prayer”, “so be it” or “may it come to pass”, including in Saint Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians.

3. Amen meaning “truly” on the lips of Christ

In the New Testament, Christ uses the word “Amen” to mean “truly”, as when He says: “Amen, amen, I say to you”.

In these and similar verses, the word translated “truly” is in fact “Amen”.

4. “The Amen” as one of the names of Christ

In the Book of Revelation, “the Amen” appears as one of the names of Christ:

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.'” (Revelation 3:14)

The word also appears as an attribute of Christ, who is faithful and true:

“For in him every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes.’ For this reason it is through him that we say the ‘Amen,’ to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Why do we say “Amen” at the end of a prayer?

We say “Amen” at the end of a prayer to express our faith and our agreement with what we have prayed for. It means “so be it” or “Lord, hear our prayer”, and with it we affirm our hope and our trust in God.

Prepared by Rita of the Sawt el Rab team