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RuyLopez · 56-60, M
Facebook posts claim the word “amen” is derived from the ancient Egyptian god Amun Ra. This is false; experts say the common ending to prayers has Hebrew origins -- not Egyptian.
“AMEN = AMUN RA,” says text above an image of a painting in an April 6, 2021 Facebook post.
“Above is a painting of Amun Ra, one of the creator gods in Egyptian mythology, decorates a tomb in Luxor, Egypt. Amun Ra often appears as a human figure with a ram's head, as he is the predecessor of Baphomet. When Christians say AMEN, they are worshiping and giving power to the opposite of what they intended, out of ignorance,” the post says.
Amun is one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt, but is not related to the word “amen.”
“The word ‘amen’ used in Christian and Jewish prayer is of Hebrew origin, not Egyptian,” Andrew McGowan, dean of Yale University’s Berkeley Divinity School, told AFP by email.
McGowan said the similarity of the sound of “Amun” and “amen” is a coincidence.
“There is no connection with the personal name Amun or Amen, originally the name of a local Theban deity who later becomes identified with the sun god Ra.”
Jan Ziolkowski, a professor of Medieval Latin in the Department of the Classics at Harvard University, agreed about the origin of “amen.”
He said by email: “Amen entered Western languages from Church Latin, which took it from Greek, which in turn derived it from Hebrew. In Hebrew, it is a noun that means certainty or verity, related to a verb meaning to confirm.”
He explained that “the word is found in the Hebrew Bible to mark the end of prayers or professions of faith.”
And Paul Duff, a religion professor at The George Washington University, also said via email that he was “extremely skeptical” of the claim and that he had “never heard anything about (amen) being connected to Amun Ra.”
The post also claimed that the Amun Ra was the predecessor of Baphomet.
In the early 1300s, the Knight Templars were accused of worshiping Baphomet -- who later continued to be associated with the occult -- and were prosecuted for devil worship.
“The name Baphomet does not resonate with me in terms of ancient Egypt or what happened in Greco-Roman times,” Salima Ikram, professor and head of the Egyptology Unit at the American University in Cairo, said by email.
“There is a lot of esoteric ideology/iconography that is derived from ancient Egypt, generally re-interpreted and misunderstood,” she said, also noting that “some scholars think that Baphomet is an old French corruption or version of Mohammed (Mahomet), anathema to the crusaders.”
And Yale’s McGowan said that while there are depictions of Baphomet from the trials of the Templars “suggesting an animal-headed being or idol, they are not remotely close to the ram-headed version of Amun -- and not Egyptian.”
“AMEN = AMUN RA,” says text above an image of a painting in an April 6, 2021 Facebook post.
“Above is a painting of Amun Ra, one of the creator gods in Egyptian mythology, decorates a tomb in Luxor, Egypt. Amun Ra often appears as a human figure with a ram's head, as he is the predecessor of Baphomet. When Christians say AMEN, they are worshiping and giving power to the opposite of what they intended, out of ignorance,” the post says.
Amun is one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt, but is not related to the word “amen.”
“The word ‘amen’ used in Christian and Jewish prayer is of Hebrew origin, not Egyptian,” Andrew McGowan, dean of Yale University’s Berkeley Divinity School, told AFP by email.
McGowan said the similarity of the sound of “Amun” and “amen” is a coincidence.
“There is no connection with the personal name Amun or Amen, originally the name of a local Theban deity who later becomes identified with the sun god Ra.”
Jan Ziolkowski, a professor of Medieval Latin in the Department of the Classics at Harvard University, agreed about the origin of “amen.”
He said by email: “Amen entered Western languages from Church Latin, which took it from Greek, which in turn derived it from Hebrew. In Hebrew, it is a noun that means certainty or verity, related to a verb meaning to confirm.”
He explained that “the word is found in the Hebrew Bible to mark the end of prayers or professions of faith.”
And Paul Duff, a religion professor at The George Washington University, also said via email that he was “extremely skeptical” of the claim and that he had “never heard anything about (amen) being connected to Amun Ra.”
The post also claimed that the Amun Ra was the predecessor of Baphomet.
In the early 1300s, the Knight Templars were accused of worshiping Baphomet -- who later continued to be associated with the occult -- and were prosecuted for devil worship.
“The name Baphomet does not resonate with me in terms of ancient Egypt or what happened in Greco-Roman times,” Salima Ikram, professor and head of the Egyptology Unit at the American University in Cairo, said by email.
“There is a lot of esoteric ideology/iconography that is derived from ancient Egypt, generally re-interpreted and misunderstood,” she said, also noting that “some scholars think that Baphomet is an old French corruption or version of Mohammed (Mahomet), anathema to the crusaders.”
And Yale’s McGowan said that while there are depictions of Baphomet from the trials of the Templars “suggesting an animal-headed being or idol, they are not remotely close to the ram-headed version of Amun -- and not Egyptian.”
RuyLopez · 56-60, M
@revenant @GeistInTheMachine More light reading.
Etymology
"Amen" in contemporary (Madnhāyā) Syriac script. https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?curid=2007749
The usage of amen, meaning "so be it", as found in the early scriptures of the Bible is a word of Hebrew origin.[3] It originated in the Hebrew Scriptures, as a response of confirmation, and is found in Deuteronomy as an confirmatory response made by the people.[4] Moreover, in the Books of Chronicles (16:36), it is indicated that around 1000 BC, the word is used in its religious sense, with the people responding with "amen" to hearing the blessing: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from now and unto all eternity".[4] The basic triconsonantal root from which the word is derived, is common to a number of languages in the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages, including Aramaic. The word was imported into the Greek of the early Church from Judaism.[5][6] From Greek, amen entered the other Western languages. According to a standard dictionary etymology, amen passed from Greek into Late Latin, and thence into English.[7] Rabbinic scholars from medieval France believed the standard Hebrew word for faith emuna comes from the root amen. Although in English transliteration they look different, they are both from the root aleph-mem-nun. That is, the Hebrew word amen derives from the same ancient triliteral Hebrew root as does the verb ʾāmán.[8]
Grammarians frequently list ʾāmán under its three consonants (aleph-mem-nun), which are identical to those of ʾāmēn (note that the Hebrew letter א aleph represents a glottal stop sound, which functions as a consonant in the morphology of Hebrew).[7] This triliteral root means to be firm, confirmed, reliable, faithful, have faith, believe.
In Arabic, the word is derived from its triliteral common root word ʾĀmana (Arabic: آمن), which has the same meanings as the Hebrew root word.
Popular among some theosophists,[9] proponents of Afrocentric theories of history,[10] and adherents of esoteric Christianity[11] is the conjecture that amen is a derivative of the name of the Egyptian god Amun (which is sometimes also spelled Amen). Some adherents of Eastern religions believe that amen shares roots with the Hindu Sanskrit word Aum.[12][13][14][15] Such external etymologies are not included in standard etymological reference works. The Hebrew word, as noted above, starts with aleph, while the Egyptian name begins with a yodh.[16]
The Armenian word ամեն (amen) means "every"; however it is also used in the same form at the conclusion of prayers, much as in English.[17] In French, the Hebrew word amen is sometimes translated as Ainsi soit-il, which means "So be it."[17]
The linguist Ghil'ad Zuckermann argues that, as in the case of Hallelujah, the word amen is usually not replaced by a translation due to the speakers’ belief in iconicity, their perception that there is something intrinsic about the relationship between the sound of the signifier (the word) and what it signifies (its meaning).[18]:62
Etymology
"Amen" in contemporary (Madnhāyā) Syriac script. https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?curid=2007749
The usage of amen, meaning "so be it", as found in the early scriptures of the Bible is a word of Hebrew origin.[3] It originated in the Hebrew Scriptures, as a response of confirmation, and is found in Deuteronomy as an confirmatory response made by the people.[4] Moreover, in the Books of Chronicles (16:36), it is indicated that around 1000 BC, the word is used in its religious sense, with the people responding with "amen" to hearing the blessing: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from now and unto all eternity".[4] The basic triconsonantal root from which the word is derived, is common to a number of languages in the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages, including Aramaic. The word was imported into the Greek of the early Church from Judaism.[5][6] From Greek, amen entered the other Western languages. According to a standard dictionary etymology, amen passed from Greek into Late Latin, and thence into English.[7] Rabbinic scholars from medieval France believed the standard Hebrew word for faith emuna comes from the root amen. Although in English transliteration they look different, they are both from the root aleph-mem-nun. That is, the Hebrew word amen derives from the same ancient triliteral Hebrew root as does the verb ʾāmán.[8]
Grammarians frequently list ʾāmán under its three consonants (aleph-mem-nun), which are identical to those of ʾāmēn (note that the Hebrew letter א aleph represents a glottal stop sound, which functions as a consonant in the morphology of Hebrew).[7] This triliteral root means to be firm, confirmed, reliable, faithful, have faith, believe.
In Arabic, the word is derived from its triliteral common root word ʾĀmana (Arabic: آمن), which has the same meanings as the Hebrew root word.
Popular among some theosophists,[9] proponents of Afrocentric theories of history,[10] and adherents of esoteric Christianity[11] is the conjecture that amen is a derivative of the name of the Egyptian god Amun (which is sometimes also spelled Amen). Some adherents of Eastern religions believe that amen shares roots with the Hindu Sanskrit word Aum.[12][13][14][15] Such external etymologies are not included in standard etymological reference works. The Hebrew word, as noted above, starts with aleph, while the Egyptian name begins with a yodh.[16]
The Armenian word ամեն (amen) means "every"; however it is also used in the same form at the conclusion of prayers, much as in English.[17] In French, the Hebrew word amen is sometimes translated as Ainsi soit-il, which means "So be it."[17]
The linguist Ghil'ad Zuckermann argues that, as in the case of Hallelujah, the word amen is usually not replaced by a translation due to the speakers’ belief in iconicity, their perception that there is something intrinsic about the relationship between the sound of the signifier (the word) and what it signifies (its meaning).[18]:62
revenant · F
@RuyLopez Thank you. There are still an awful lot of coincidences. The yod is also indicative of God in Hebrew; " The hand of god". The finger of God in christianity.
AUM is really interesting too as you noted.
The Egyptians had their tree of life, so do the Jews as well as the Hindus, Sounds are and were also very important indeed.
Hamsa is also present
English language and "western " languages share roots with Sanskrit.
And so on..
If we dig long into the past, we might find an awful lot in common !
AUM is really interesting too as you noted.
The Egyptians had their tree of life, so do the Jews as well as the Hindus, Sounds are and were also very important indeed.
Hamsa is also present
English language and "western " languages share roots with Sanskrit.
And so on..
If we dig long into the past, we might find an awful lot in common !
