About the word “amen”

Reader comment:

The word AMEN appears to be of pagan origin but it is used quite often in the bible can you explain this.thank you

Our response:

The word "amen" is from a Hebrew word אמן pronounced "ʼāmán", meaning "truth" or "so be it".   Many think or assume a pagan origin of "amen" because they've heard  there was an Egyptian god called "Amen" or "Amen-Ra", but there is simply no historical evidence that the Hebrew word came from any Egyptian influence.   What is really happening is this:  The Hebrew  "אמן" is pronounced phonetically using English letters "a-m-e-n".  The Hebrew Aleph sounds like the English "a", the Hebrew Mem sounds like the English "m" and the Hebrew Nun sounds like the English "n".  Thus the English word "amen" came from the phonetic pronunciation of the Hebrew, that's all.  Over time, saying "amen" became an English word meaning the same thing as the Hebrew word.  The English "amen" has no ties to or implied meaning from the mythical Egyptian god.