A prayer opening the 117th US Congress ended with "Amen and a woman." This level of “Dr” Sweatervest and daughter stupidity has, rightfully, created a lot of discussion (as well as ridicule) on the Internet as "Amen" has nothing to do with men let alone a term that excludes women. It is derived from Hebrew אמן and simply means "may it be so."
Here is the relevant section under אמן from TDOT:
VIII.
ʾamen. The
best-known word built from the root ʾmn
is ʾamen, which was transliterated
into the Greek of the NT as amḗn, and
from there became a part of the language of the Christian Church. It does not
occur very often in the OT-only 24 times; and of this number it appears 12
times in Dt. 27:15ff. alone. Thus it is difficult to trace its function in the
course of history.
The form of this word is qaṭil, which could
suggest an adjectival meaning. However, the use of this word in certain
passages suggests that it is to be interpreted as a particle, so that no
certain conclusion can be drawn about the meaning of ʾamen from its form.
a. In 1 K. 1:36, Benaiah gives this reply to
David’s instruction to anoint Solomon king: “Amen! May Yahweh, the God of my
lord the king, say so. As Yahweh has been with my lord the king, even so.…” In
a similar way, ʾamen appears in
Jeremiah’s reply to Hananiah’s prophecy in Jer. 28:6: “Amen! May Yahweh do so;
may Yahweh make the words you have prophesied come true.…” In both cases “Amen”
introduces the wish that God would give his blessing to that which had already
been planned and said. In both passages reference is made to the speakers only
because they acknowledged what had been said previously and wished that it
might be fulfilled. Their statements might be paraphrased this way in English:
“Precisely! I feel the same way about it, may God do it!” Jer. 11:5 conveys the
same idea in the briefest form. Here Jeremiah makes the oracle God had
delivered his own: “Amen, Yahweh.”
b. The use of ʾamen in Dt. 27:15ff.; Nu. 5:22; and Neh. 5:13 is different. All
three passages have to do with curses that are uttered and then accepted by
saying “Amen.” Dt. 27:15ff. contains curses uttered against those who commit
secret sins and thus are not brought before human judges. By this curse
ceremony, they are handed over to the divine court of justice. But when the
people say “Amen,” they acknowledge that this curse is to become effective
against anyone who transgresses secretly or otherwise. In the same way, the
priest in Nu. 5:21f. hands over the accused woman to God’s court of justice:
“The Lord make you.…” But the woman places herself under this divine judgment
by saying “Amen.” In Neh. 5:13, Nehemiah utters a curse formula: “So may God
shake out every man who.…” But the assembly takes this curse upon itself by
saying “Amen.”
Thus in both groups of passages “Amen” is an
acknowledgment that the divine word is an active force: May it happen in just
this way. The extent to which this use can be said to be cultic or liturgical
is yet to be decided, because (with the exception of Nu. 5) these passages have
to do with specific incidents. But it is clear that the “Amen” has reference to
words and deeds of God, to which the speaker submits himself.
c. In the third place, ʾamen is used in passages that praise God. So we find in Neh. 8:6:
“And Ezra blessed Yahweh, the great God; and all the people answered, ‘Amen,
Amen,’ lifting up their hands.” Here for the first time “Amen” is attested as a
response of the community to a prayer. It seems that by using “Amen” the
community makes the prayer (in this text in particular the prayer of praise)
its own. It is not clear whether the community is following an already existing
custom here, or whether this incident is related because it presents something
new. In any case, the custom of responding to a prayer of praise by saying
“Amen” came into vogue, as is indicated by 1 Ch. 16:36, where it is put back
into the time of David. This is further confirmed by the fact that it was used
in the Synagogue (Ber. v.4; viii.8),
and that it was taken over by Primitive Christianity (1 Cor. 14:16).
d. From this use in public worship has
probably arisen the practice of ending individual books of the Bible with an
ascription of praise to God and its accompanying “Amen.” This may be shown
especially in the books into which the psalms have been collected. That the
doxologies at the end of Pss. 41, 72, 89, and 106 are different allows one to
reach only one conclusion, viz., that the complete book of Psalms was not
divided into five books at a later time, but that at least the first three
books were provided with concluding doxologies before they were brought
together. That the psalms that were inserted later (perhaps at first only
90–119) were then subdivided at Ps. 106 may have its basis in the present
account in 1 Ch. 16. In any case these concluding verses, in which “Amen”
occurs once or twice, form a unit, and thus “Amen” is not a later addition, as
Kraus seems to assume in his comments on Ps. 41.
For the scribes, the confirmatory “Amen” was
an essential element in prayers of praise to God, and they added “Amen”
themselves. The later scribes (if not the authors) of Tobit, 3 and 4 Maccabees,
and many manuscripts of the Gospels took over this use of “Amen” from the
ancient books of psalms.
Thus, what was said later about “Amen” among
the Amoreans can also be said about it in the OT: “Amen is affirmation, Amen is
curse, Amen is making something one’s own.” When he utters the word “Amen,” the
hearer affirms the wish that God may act, places himself under divine judgment,
and joins in praise to God.
e. The text of Isa. 65:16 and 25:1 is
difficult. beʾlohe ʾamen is often
emended to beʾlohe ʾemun or beʾlohe ʾomen both times this expression
appears in 65:16, because it hardly seems that the MT can be translated “the
God of the Amen.” However, it should be observed that ʾamen was in the Hebrew text used by Aquila, for he translates by pepistōménōs here, which is how he
always renders ʾamen (cf. Nu. 5:22; Dt.
27:15; Ps. 41:13; 72:19; 89:53[52]; Jer. 11:5). The reading ʾamen in Isa. 65:16 is also attested by
Symmachus, who transliterates it in this passage. Therefore, it has been
assumed (probably correctly) that Rev. 3:14 presupposes the same tradition when
it reads ho amḗn. Thus the Massoretic
pointing of Isa. 65:16 goes back to an ancient tradition, and should not be
rejected so quickly. It is uncertain whether the LXX translation tón theón tón alēthinón, “the true God,”
assumes a different Hebrew text or represents an attempt to paraphrase ʾelohe ʾamen. On the other hand, in Isa.
25:1 the LXX translation génoito
presupposes an ʾamen after ʾemunah. Aquila assumes that this is the
case with his reading pepistōménōs.
However, by reading pístei Symmachus
seems to be translating a form like ʾemun
or ʾomen. Thus, at a very early
period both passages were read in different ways. But in Isa. 25:1 ʾamen can hardly be translated
intelligibly, while the Massoretic reading ʾomen
can probably be understood as a strengthening of ʾemunah. On the other hand, ʾamen
is probably to be preferred in Isa. 65:16; that ʾamen is connected with barekh,
“to bless,” in Neh. 8:6, and with nishbaʿ,
“to curse,” in Nu. 5:22, certainly favors the view that here also blessing and
cursing are meant to be connected with the God of “Amen.” This would mean that
blessing and curse should be uttered by the God who confirms blessing and
cursing, because he also says “Amen” to his own word and stands by it. This
expression may have been taken up in Rev. 3:14, where Christ is called ho amḗn. (Alfred Jepsen, “אָמַן,” in ed. G. Johannes
Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren ed., Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament
[trans. John T. Willis; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans , 1977], 1:320–322)
The same holds true for Koine Greek αμην. Here is the entry from
BDAG:
•
ἀμήν )LXX occas. for אָמֵן, usu. transl. by γένοιτο; taken over by Christians; in pap symbol. expressed by
the number 99 [α=1 + μ=40 + η=8 + ν=50; ESchaefer, PIand I 29], but also as ἀμήν [POxy 1058, 5]. Ins: ISyriaW 1918; MvOppenheim-HLucas,
ByzZ 14, 1905, p. 34ff, nos. 36, 39, 46, 84)
1. strong affirmation of
what is stated
a. as expression of faith let it be so, truly, amen liturgical formula at the end of the liturgy, spoken by
the congregation (cp. 1 Ch 16:36; 2 Esdr 15:13; 18:6; TestSol, TestAbr; TestJob
53:8; GrBar 17:4; ApcEsdr 7 end; ApcMos); hence τὸ ἀ. λέγειν 1 Cor 14:16, cp. Rv 5:14. At
the end of a doxology (cp. 3 Macc 7:23; 4 Macc 18:24; Mel., P. 45, 323; 65,
466) Mt 6:13 v.l.; Ro 1:25; 9:5; 11:36; 15:33;
16:24 v.l., 27; Gal 1:5; 6:18; Eph 3:21; Phil
4:20, 23 v.l.; 1 Ti 1:17; 6:16; 2 Ti 4:18; Hb
13:21, 25 v.l.; 1 Pt 4:11; 5:11; Jd 25; Rv
1:6; 7:12; 1 Cl 20:12; 32:4; 38:4; 43:6; 45:8; 50:7; 58:2; 61:3;
65:2; 2 Cl 20:5; AcPl Ha 2, 34. W. ναί as transl.: ναί, ἁ., yes (so shall it be),
amen Rv 1:7. Sim. γένοιτο, ἀμήν GJs 6:2, cp. ἀμήν 7:1 (pap, some mss. ἀ. γένοιτο as TestAbr A 2 p.79, 14 [Stone p. 6]; Just., A I, 65, 4, τὸ Ἀμὴν … Γένοιτο σημαίνει=‘Amen’ means ‘May it be so’).—Accord. to later custom
(cp. Tob; 3 and 4 Macc; ApcSed 16:10 p. 137, 19 Ja.; Cyranides p. 124, 18 Ἀμήν· τέλος· ἀμήν· ἀμήν) ἀ. was almost always put at the end of books, but not in
the older mss. (and hence v.l.) Mt 28:20; Mk 16:20; Lk 24:53;
J 21:25; Ac 28:31; 1 Cor 16:24; 2 Cor 13:13; Hb
13:25; GJs 25:2 al. The liturg. formula is extended to ἀ. ἁλληλουϊά (q.v.) after the doxology Rv 19:4; to ἀ., ἔρχου κύριε Ἰησοῦ (cp. μαρὰν ἀθᾶ) 22:20 or μαρὰν ἀθᾶ ἀ. D 10:6.—At beginning and end
of a doxology Rv 7:12.—τὸ ἀ. (w. τὸ ναί): διὸ καὶ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀ. τῷ θεῷ πρὸς δόξαν therefore the ‘amen’ is spoken
through him to God’s glory (w. ref. to the liturgical use
of ‘amen’) 2 Cor 1:20; s. 1 Cor 14:16, above.—Hence
b. asseverative particle, truly, always w. λέγω, beginning a solemn declaration but used only by Jesus (I
assure you that, I solemnly tell you) Mt 5:18, 26; 6:2,
5, 16; 8:10 al. Mk 3:28; 8:12; 9:1
al. Lk 4:24; 12:37; vs. 44 v.l.; 18:17 al. )JO’Neill, JTS 10, ’59, 1-9(. For this J always has ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω )OT ] אָמֵן אָמֵןNum 5:22; 2 Esdr 18:6; Ps 41:14; 72:19], Gk. mostly γένοιτο, γένοιτο, but 2 Esdr 18:6 ἀμήν and in the corresp. passage 1 Esdr 9:47 likew., w. the
v.l. ἀμ. ἀμ. [as in PGM 22b, 21; 25], only to strengthen a preceding
statement) 1:51; 3:3, 5, 11; 5:19, 24f
al. On the emphatic force of repetition s. Rdm.2 68, 1. Cp. Aristaen., Ep. 1,
24 εὐθὺς εὐ.; 2, 13 οἶδα οἶ.
2. Christ as the ultimate
affirmation, the Amen, ὁ ἀ., only in the enigmatic lang.
of Rv, explained as ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς κ. ἀληθινός 3:14 (Ps 88:38); LGillet, ET 56,
’44/45, 134-36; LSilbermann, JBL 82, ’63, 213-15.—On the word gener. Dalman,
Worte 185; Jesus 27f (Eng. tr. 30); PGlaue, Amen: ZKG, n.F. 7, 1925, 184-98;
EPeterson, Εἷς θεός, 1926, index; DDaube JTS 45, ’44, 27-31; Goodsp.,
Probs., 96-98; FSchilling, ATR 38, ’56, 175-81; AStuiber, JAC 1, ’58, 153-59;
JGreig, Studia Evangelica 5, ’68, 10-13; KBerger, Die Amen-Worte Jesu, ’70, ZNW
63, ’72, 45-75; STalmon, Textus 7, ’69, 124-29; JStrugnell, HTR 67, 177-82;
PGlaue, RAC I 378-80.—M-M. TW.
