Saturday, January 04, 2020

The Orthodox Study Bible: Amen

The Orthodox Study Bible: Amen

Preface

This article originally published on Blogger, 20200104, revised on Blogger for an entry on academia.edu, 20250809.

The Orthodox Study Bible, New Testament and Psalms, (1993) Saint Athanasius Orthodox Academy, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 


This text review continues...

From the Glossary and Reverend John W. Morris, PhD

Amen

"So be it" in Hebrew. Amen is said or sung at the close of a prayer or hymn, showing the agreement of the people to what has been said (Deut. 27:15-26; 1 Cor. 14:16). (793).

In my view, this entry within that Orthodoxy text, explains the biblical definition, but also how the use of 'amen' fits within the practice and tradition of the Orthodox Church.

The Hebrew from Strong page 16; the Greek from Strong page 10.





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Using the 1 Corinthians 14: 16 example, listed by the Orthodox Study Bible, from the Courson commentary:

"Amen' is one of the two words understood by every believer in every culture--the other is "Alleluia." Courson (1082).

Why should we say Amen? "Amen" literally means "So be it." (1082).

The Corinthians said 'amen' after prayers. (1082). Courson explains (paraphrased) that the Church should agree on prayer. (1082). Hopefully, being in agreement in prayer through the God the Holy Spirit will lead the Church (and each individual Christian church that prays together) to reasonable, theological, certainty in prayer. There should be a reasonable, theological, certainty when praying that God's will shall be done, as in 'so be it'.

From the Browning, Oxford Dictionary, he explains that 'amen' in Hebrew means 'certainly'. Browning (14). The statement identifies the Church with the preceding prayer, and also notes 1 Corinthians 14: 16 as example (14). The Hebrews connects to ideas of truthfulness and steadfastness (14).

These concepts are transferred from the Hebrew Bible to the New Testament. 

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Bible Hub New Testament Greek links 



Cited

'amén: Amen, truly, verily 

Original Word: ἀμήν'

Cited 

'Strong's Exhaustive Concordance amen, verily. 

Of Hebrew origin ('amen); properly, firm, i.e. (figuratively) trustworthy; adverbially, surely (often as interjection, so be it) -- amen, verily.' 

Cited 

'amen: Amen Original Word: אָמֵן'

'Strong's Exhaustive Concordance 

Amen, so be it, truth

From 'aman; sure; abstract, faithfulness; adverb, truly -- Amen, so be it, truth.'

Cited

'aman: To confirm, support, believe, trust, be faithful 

Original Word: אָמַן'
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Reflections

Stating 'amen' at the end of a prayer, should be done in a trustworthy manner. The prayer should seek the will of the triune God. To pray and expect the request (s) within a prayer, will surely be done and/or will certainly be done, and therefore, so be it, is to be asking of God. There is no guaranteed result (s), unless the prayer is within the perfect will, or at least, the permissible will of God. 'Amen' is not a magical ending of a prayer in order to seal its successful outcome, rather it is stating that the prayer should be answered with a positive outcome, if the contents of the prayer are also within the true will of God. This whether it is something God directly wills in divine, perfect will, or something God indirectly allows in divine, permissible will. The Orthodox text stated that 'amen' showed the 'agreement' of the people to what has been said. I reason that the idea of agreement is sound theology, when the prayer is within God's true will.
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BLOESCH, D.G. (1996) ‘Prayer’ in Walter A. Elwell (ed.) Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Books.

BROWNING, W.R.F. (1997) Oxford Dictionary of the Bible, Oxford, Oxford University Press. 

COURSON, JON (2005) Application Commentary, Thomas Nelson, Nashville.

ERICKSON, MILLARD (1994) Christian Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House. 

FEINBERG. JOHN S. (1986) Predestination and Free Will, David Basinger and Randall Basinger (eds.), Downers Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press. 

FEINBERG, JOHN S. (1994) The Many Faces of Evil, Grand Rapids, Zondervan Publishing House. 

FEINBERG, JOHN S. (2001) No One Like Him, John S. Feinberg (gen.ed.), Wheaton, Illinois, Crossway Books.

RICHARDSON, ALAN (1999) ‘Prayer, Theology of’ in Alan Richardson and John Bowden (eds.), A New Dictionary of Christian Theology, London, SCM Press Ltd.

STRONG, J. (1890)(1986) Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Burlington, Welch Publishing Company.

The Orthodox Study Bible, New Testament and Psalms, (1993) Saint Athanasius Orthodox Academy, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee.
 
THIESSEN, HENRY C. (1956) Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.