What does Amen mean and why do we say Amen?

The word amen is one of the most commonly uttered words in any given prayer. Whether you pray alone or with a group, you would most likely hear this word. However, have you ever wondered what amen means? Why do we say it? Does the Bible support its use?

It’s quite fascinating how so many people use words that they don’t actually know what it means. One of them is the word amen. While most people understand amen as an expression of confirmation, its meaning is actually more than that.

In this post, we are going to answer all the questions you might have about amen. So, read through this post from beginning to finish to learn more.

What Does Amen Mean and Why Do We say Amen

Table of Contents

Table of content

Here’s a quick look at what you can learn from this post:

What does amen mean?

In its simplest definition, the word amen means “truly,” “verily”, “it is true,” “let it be so,” or “so be it.” The word amen is a declaration of agreement and confirmation of what is said in the prayer or a given blessing.

The word amen is written in different ways depending on the language used. Here are some examples:

Hebrew – אָמֵן (ʾāmēn)
Ancient Greek – ἀμήν (amḗn)
Arabic – آمين (āmīn)
Classical Syriac – ܐܡܝܢ (‘amīn)

The word amen is not just used in Christianity, but also in Judaism and Islam.

The Hebrew root word emunah

Amen came from the Hebrew word, “āmēn,” which basically means truth, certainty, and verily. What’s more interesting is looking at the root of this Hebrew word, which is “emuna” or “emunah,” which means faith or trust. Not only that but emunah can also mean faithfulness, which implies action.

So, what does this teach us? Here are some lessons we can derive from the root word of amen:

When we say amen at the end of our prayers, we are actually putting our faith in God. We are trusting Him that He hears us and that He will do what is best for us.
When we say amen at the end of our prayers, we are confirming that we will also do our part. We agree with God that we will do whatever He wants us to do. We are confirming that we will follow wherever He leads us. Remember, emunah doesn’t only mean faith, but also faithfulness.
Amen and faith have a strong connection and correlation. When we say amen, we are declaring that we have faith but at the same time, we are going to strengthen our faith through action.

How do Bible dictionaries define amen?

To get a better idea of what amen means, take a look at how some well-known Bible dictionaries define amen.

Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Amen. A Hebrew term ( āmēn H589; cf. Gk. amēn G297) used to express assent. In both Greek and English (and many other languages), this term is a transliteration of a Hebrew adverb meaning “truly, verily,” itself derived from a verb meaning “to be reliable, have stability.”

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions

The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon

אמן – verily, truly, amen, so be it

Strong’s Dictionary

The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

אָמֵן – From H539; sure; abstractly faithfulness; adverbially truly: – Amen, so be it, truth.

Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

Amen is a transliteration of the Hebrew word amen [em’a]. The verb form occurs more than one hundred times in the Old Testament and means to take care, to be faithful, reliable or established, or to believe someone or something.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary

Amen – This Hebrew word means firm, and hence also faithful… It is frequently used by our Saviour to give emphasis to his words, where it is translated “verily.” … to confirm the words and invoke the fulfilment of [prayer].

King James Dictionary

Amen – Dependable; faithful; certain.

Smith’s Bible Study

Amen – literally “true” and used as a substantive, “that which is true,” “truth,” ( Isaiah 65:16 ) a word used in strong asseverations, fixing, as it were, the stamp of truth upon the assertion which it accompanied, and making it binding as an oath.

A brief history of the word amen

Most of the New Testament manuscripts that we have now are written in Greek. However, there’s growing evidence that the New Testament was originally written in Aramaic.

As mentioned above, amen originated in Biblical Hebrew. For many years, it has been used in the Hebrew writings. However, the growth of the first-century church led the word amen to be imported into Greek. From there, the word amen was passed into Latin and from Latin to English and other European languages.

The unique way how Jesus used the word amen

Jesus, or properly known by His Hebrew name Yeshua (Yahshua) used amen in the same way as how most Jews would use the word. However, there is one instance when the Savior used the word amen differently.

We read in Mark, Luke, and John how Jesus uses amen to put an emphasis on what He is about to say. Thus, we often read in Mark and Luke Jesus says, “Verily I say unto you.” Sample verses include Mark 3:28 and Luke 4:24. The word verily here is actually amen in Greek. Mark recorded this instance about 15 times while Luke recorded it for about 8 times.

However, what’s interesting is in the Gospel of John. Christ didn’t simply say, “verily” but he says, “Verily, verily” — amen, amen. An example is in John 3:3. The Savior uses this expression almost 30 times in John.

So, what does this teach us? Usually, amen is used at the end of a prayer. However, Yahshua here is using amen at the start of His statement. This tells us that Christ’s words are true, faithful, and dependable. Aside from that, the words Jesus uttered echoed the words of His Father in heaven, and thus, an amen at the start of His statement shows the veracity and authority of His words.

Who is the God of Amen?

Did you know that God was referred to as God of Amen in the Bible? Read Isaiah 65:16:

¹⁶ So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And he who swears in the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My eyes.

Now, you read that verse and you ask, “Where is the God of Amen in the Bible?” Well, you can’t easily find it because it is written differently in English.

The statement, “God of Truth” can actually be translated as “God of Amen.” If you look at the Hebrew word of truth in this passage, it is אָמֵן, which is amen.

So, what does this teach us? This teaches us that God is trustworthy, faithful, and dependable. The prophet Isaiah was telling us that God is unchanging. In fact, His loving, caring, and faithful nature is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Thus, if we are going to rely on anything or anyone, we should and we must only rely on God who is completely trustworthy, reliable, and dependable. You can always count on Yahweh who will deliver whatever He promises.

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How is amen used in the Bible?

The word amen is found in the Bible more than almost 80 times. Of course, this depends on the Bible translation that you use. The book of Deuteronomy mentioned the word amen more than any other books in the Bible followed by Revelation and Romans respectively.

So, how is amen used in the Bible? Let’s see a few of them:

As a way to end a prayer

Matthew 6:13

¹³ And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Saying amen as part of praising God

1 Chronicles 16:36:

³⁶ Blessed be the LORD God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!

And all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD.

Nehemiah 8:6

⁶ And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God.

Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

Psalms 41:13

¹³ Blessed be the LORD God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.

Saying amen as a way to confirm an agreement

Nehemiah 5:12-13 (also read Deuteronomy 27)

¹² So they said, “We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.”

Then I called the priests, and required an oath from them that they would do according to this promise. ¹³ Then I shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.”

And all the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD. Then the people did according to this promise.

As a way to close a message

Galatians 1:3-5

³ Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 1:17

¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

As a way to confirm a statement

1 Kings 1:36

³⁶ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.

Revelation 22:20-21

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Why do we say amen?

Another question we need to answer is why do we say amen at the end of our prayers or in any situation. The Bible shows us different answers and each of these reasons can help us better appreciate the importance of saying amen.

Let’s consider the following reasons:

Saying amen confirms unity

Amen is a way for us to express our agreement and confirmation with each other. When we say amen, we are agreeing to what is being said. This fosters unity in the Church because it helps each individual to express their agreement with one another and their willingness to be united with each other.

The Bible tells us that we must do our best to be in unity:

¹³ … till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).

³ … endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3).

Yahshua or Jesus Christ prayed that we should be united:

²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: (John 17:21-22).

Saying amen confirms we understand what was said

When we say amen to prayer, it means that we understood what was said and its full implication. That’s why the prayer leader should talk clearly and properly so that everyone can hear and understand what is being said.

We read in 1 Corinthians 14:16-17:

¹⁶ Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? ¹⁷ For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.

Saying amen create accountability

When you say amen to prayer or what was said, it means you fully understand it and you agree with it. This creates a level of accountability on your part. If a prayer includes a prayer of asking for God’s will to be done, then you should do your best to follow God’s will to be done because you said amen to it. If a prayer says that you need help to overcome a particular sin, then you should do your best to overcome sin because you said amen to it.

Saying amen is part of worshiping God

We read 1 Chronicles 16:36:

³⁶ Blessed be the LORD God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!

And all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD.

This shows us the correlation between amen and worshiping God.

Saying amen is submitting to God’s authority

Saying amen is actually expressing our willingness to follow God’s will and not our will. We read in Nehemiah 5:12-13:

Then I called the priests, and required an oath from them that they would do according to this promise. ¹³ Then I shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.”

And all the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD. Then the people did according to this promise.

As you can imagine, worshiping God doesn’t only include singing but also obeying God. When we say amen to God’s laws and commandments, we are praising Him as well. We are telling God that whatever He wants us to do, we will do it by saying amen. Amen in this case is like affixing our signature to our prayers.

Final words

As you can see, the five-letter word, amen, has a deep meaning and significance. It is something that we don’t simply utter anywhere or anytime.

Remember the words of our Master and Savior in Matthew 12:36-37:

³⁶ But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. ³⁷ For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Amen carries a huge meaning. It’s an expression of agreement, confirmation, and accountability. Thus, we must be careful saying amen to prayers that might not be in agreement with God’s will.

With that, I hope I was able to help you in understanding better what amen means and why we say it as Christians or followers of Christ.

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