On the translation of amen

Traduttori traditori \n translators, traitors

Translating is hard.

OT uses of ‘amen’

The word amen finds its original use in the OT as a statement of affirmation. Carson identifies it as “a Greek transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning ‘faithful’ or ‘reliable’ [[Carson, EBC]]. This affirmation is almost universally a response:

Num. 5:22
Deut. 27:15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
1 Kings 1:36
1 Chron. 16:36
Neh. 5:13; 8:6
Ps. 41:13; 72:19; 89:52; 106:48
Jer 11:5

One instance where it may be a prepending interjection is in Jer. 28:6 but it’s more likely that this is Jeremiah’s response to the “prophet from Gibeon” (v. 1).

In total there are 24 uses of amen in the OT with 23 of them functioning as affirmations.

NT uses of ‘amen’

In the NT, amen is used mostly by Jesus and mostly as an interjection preceding his teaching.

(31x) Matt. 5:18, 26; 6:2, 5, 15; 8:10; 10:15, 23, 42; 11:11; 13:17; 16:28; 17:20; 18:13, 18, 19; 19:23, 28; 21:21, 31; 23:36; 24:2, 34, 47; 25:12, 40, 45; 26:13, 21, 34
(14x) Mark 3:28; 8:12; 9:1; 10:15; 10:29; 11:23; 12:43; 13:30; 14:9, 18, 25, 30; 16:8
(6x) Luke 4:24; 12:37; 18:17, 29, 21:32, 23:43
(25x) John 1:51; 3:3, 5, 11; 5:19, 24, 25; 6:26, 32, 47, 53; 8:34, 51, 58; 10:1, 7; 12:24; 13:16, 20 21, 38; 14:12; 16:20, 23; 21:18

Amen is also used frequently in the epistles in confirmation of a benediction.

(5x) Rom. 1:25; 9:5; 11:36; 15:33; 16:27
(1x) 1 Cor. 14:16 (in rhetorical narrative)
(1x) 2 Cor. 1:20 (in explanation)
(2x) Gal. 1:5; 6:18
(1x) Eph. 3:21
(1x) Phil. 4:20
(2x) 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:16
(1x) 2 Tim. 4:18
(1x) Heb. 13:21
(2x) 1 Pet. 4:11; 5:11
(1x) 2 Pet. 3:18
(1x) Jude 25
(7x) Rev. 1:6, 7; 5:14; 7:12; 19:4; 22:20

It’s also used as a description of Jesus himself.

Rev. 3:14

This comes out to 27 uses of amen not by Jesus and about 76 uses by Jesus (counting the double amens of John’s gospel as one).

LXX and other evidence

The LXX generally translates amen with γένοιτο with a few exceptions:

1 Chron. 16:36
Neh. 5:13; 8:6

So 3 of the 23 uses of amen in the OT are transliterated as amen in the LXX. This suggests that the transliteration used in the NT is something distinctly Christian. The usual translation preferred by the LXX is γένοιτο (also carrying the connotation of “may it be”).

The only positive uses of γένοιτο are in Luke 1:38 where Mary expresses agreement with Gabriel’s message and in Acts 5:24 after the apostles are freed from prison by an angel where the captain of the temple and the chief priests are “wondering what this would come to.”

Every other use of γένοιτο is in the strongly negative μὴ γένοιτο: Luke 20:16, Rom. 3:4, 3:6, 3:31, 6:2, 6:15, 7:7, 7:13, 9:14, 11:1, 11:11, 1 Cor. 6:15, Gal. 2:17, 3:21, 6:14.