Do the Gospels Really End With Amens?

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2 Do the Gospels Really End With Amens? By Hadrian Mâr Élijah Bar Israël The tradition that the Gospels all end with the word Amen actually comes from the King James Version of the Bible. Because of this, there is a belief among some Protestants that all four of the Gospels really do each end with the word Amen, when in fact this was a tradition of the Forty-Seven Translators of the Hampton Court Conference, rather than any kind of authentic tradition of the Church. The King James Version (KJV) was translated from a single Greek Bible manuscript known as the Textus Receptus. Previous versions of the English Bible, known as the Great Bible (1539 A.D.) and the Bishop s Bible (1568 A.D.) were both thought to contain errors which made them unacceptable to the Church of England; and thus the Hampton Court Conference (1604 A.D) mandated the creation of a new version which would be more acceptable to those in power (i.e. the bishops seated in the House of Lords). The new Bible that they created is still with us, and although there is a scholarly consensus that it is far from an accurate translation, it s sheer consistency and poetry give it an undeniable air which will cause it to persist for many years to come. DEFINING AMEN SO WE UNDERSTAND IT In both Aramaic and Hebrew, the word Amen is spelled literally as: NUN ( N ) ן MEM ( M ) מ ALEPH ( A ) א 2014 Nazarani Foundation All Rights Reservered

3 When making a translation it is normally easy for us to give definition to words. But the Aramaic language, and the idiomatic nature of the word Amen make any direct definition nearly impossible. In order to fully grasp the meaning of an idiom, we must first look at how it is used in context, since context changes meaning, especially when you want to understand an Aramaic word as complicated as Amen. AS A TRILETERAL ROOT In Aramaic as well as Hebrew, words are composed of three letter triliteral roots. The triliteral root Alep-Mem-Nun,(אמן) means variously to believe, to have faith, to be reliable, to be faithful, to be confirmed, and to be true. This root word is the source of the modern Hebrew word for faith, which is emuna,(אמון) which by adding the standard vowels is read: Amen which means faith ; and also of the ancient Aramaic word Ayimna. In this sense, the Aramaic word Amen can be understood to mean, be it confirmed or so be it. AMEN MEANING TRULY Some scholars believe that Jesus was the first person to use Amen as an introduction at the beginning of sentences. Jesus begins a total of fifteen (15) sentences in the Gospel of John saying, "Verily, verily I say unto you [See: John 3:3, 3:5, 5:24, 5:25, 6:32, 6:47, 6:53, 8:34, 8:58, 12:24, 13:20, 13:21, 13:38, 16:20, 16:23] whereas verily is actually the Aramaic word ܐܡܝܢ (pronounced Amen ). For instance, the Peshitta version of John 3:3 has Jesus saying: 2

4 ܥܢܐ ܝܫܘܥ ܘܐܡܪ ܠܗ ܐܡܝܢ ܐܡܝܢ ܐܡܪ ܐܢܐ ܠܟ ܕܐܢ ܐܢܫ ܐܠ ܡܬܝܠܕ ܡܢ ܕܪܝܫ ܐܠ ܡܫܟܚ ܕܢܚܙܐ ܡܠܟܘܬܗ ܕܐܠܗܐ Which we translate as: Jesus answered and said to him, "Very, truly, I say to you that if a man is not reborn again, he is not able to see the Kingdom of God". And which the King James Version translates as: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Thus the Amen, amen here means Very, truly AMEN AS AN ACROSTIC But there is also another use of the word Amen in the scriptures as a stand-alone word. In the Bible the word Amen is not always translated, but is left in it s original Aramaic form. This is also true in the liturgy and in the writings of the early church fathers, who preferred to leave this Semitic word as is, rather than attempt an explanation. That is because, more than merely a positive affirmation, the word Amen is also an acrostic, as confirmed by the Talmud. [See: Tractate Shabbat 119b and Tractate Sanhedrin 111a] 3

5 So when we use Amen as a standalone statement whether in writing or in speech, we are actually saying God, is a Trustworthy King"! AMEN MEANING AGES OR EVER There is another form of Amen as well, which we can understand by taking a closer look at the Peshitta text of Matthew 6:13, which reads: ܘܐܠ ܬܥܠܢ ܠܢܤܝܘܢܐ ܐܐܠ ܦܨܢ ܡܢ ܒܝܫܐ ܡܛܠ ܕܕܝܠܟ ܗܝ ܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܘܚܝܐܠ ܘܬܫܒܘܚܬܐ ܠܥܠܡ ܥܠܡܝܢ The final word here is ܠܡܝܢ which is Amyn, or Amen written in the Serto West Syriac Script, and means not Amen, but instead ages or ever So that the full English translation of the sentence, which will be familiar to the members of all liturgical churches, reads: and not bring us into trial, but deliver us from the evil one, for Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever 4

6 This poetic style has been copied many times in both Syriac and Aramaic liturgics, where many prayers end with the words: L ALAM ELMYN which we translate either as, forever and ever, now and forever, or even as unto ages of ages. AMA ܐܡܐ and not AMN ܐܡܢ is the triliteral root of amayeen ܥܠܡܝܢ and means "foundations", so that this should most fully be translated as meaning "until the very foundations of eternity, or up to the source. As if to intimate an end without an ending, but instead the last leg of the journey, moving forward, reaching the source. But the scribes who translated the original Aramaic scriptures to Greek didn t consistently translate this as ages, and some left them simply as Amen at the end of the verses, leaving a clear sign for future generations that the scriptures were not just orally transmitted, but in fact originally written in Aramaic. THE FINAL AMENS IN THE GOSPELS Now although all four Gospels preserve a final Ἀμήν [Matthew 6:13, 28:20, Mark 16:20, Luke 24:53 and John 21:25] in some of the extant Greek versions, they do not do so in all, or even in the most ancient versions. Most telling however is the fact that although two of the Peshitta Gospels do end with the word ܐܡܝܢ one means age and the other means truly. If the Peshitta was a translation from the Greek you would expect to see all five of these translated into Aramaic. However the opposite appears to be true, showing that instead it was the Greek that was translated from the original Aramaic; thus taking the King James Version even further away from the true meaning than ever before. MATTHEW 28:20 According to the King James Version, the Gospel of Matthew ends with the verse: 5

7 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. The Nestle (1904), Westott and Hort (1881), and Tischendorf versions of the Greek all have: διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος. Which closely follows the literal reading of the Aramaic text: ܘܐܠܦܘ ܐܢܘܢ ܕܢܛܪܘܢ ܟܠ ܡܐ ܕܦܩܕܬܟܘܢ ܘܗܐ ܐܢܐ ܥܡܟܘܢ ܐܢܐ ܟܠܗܘܢ ܝܘܡܬܐ ܥܕܡܐ ܠܫܘܠܡܗ ܕܥܠܡܐ ܐܡܝܢ That translates into English as: And teach them to keep all that I have commanded you and behold I am with you always until the end of the ages of this age. And while the final words of until the end of the ages of this age look choppy in English, this translation is much more smooth for the speaker of Aramaic than the alternatives, such as the Textus Receptus (1894), the Greek Orthodox Church (1904), and the Byzantine Majority Text (2005), which has: διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν καὶ ἰδού, ἐγὼ μεθ ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος. Ἀμήν. 6

8 Even Paul Younin s [Peshitta.org], which all have the final Amen as Amen, rather than as age: And teach them to keep all that I have commanded you and behold I am with you until the end of this world, Amen. MARK 16:20 According to the King James Version, the Gospel of Mark ends with the verse: And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. This verse doesn t have the word ܐܡܝܢ or anything resembling it in the Peshitta version: ܗܢܘܢ ܕܝܢ ܢܦܩܘ ܘܐܟܪܙܘ ܒܟܠ ܕܘܟܐ ܘܡܪܢ ܡܥܕܪ ܗܘܐ ܠܗܘܢ ܘܡܫܪ ܡܠܝܗܘܢ ܒܐܬܘܬܐ ܕܥܒܕܝܢ ܗܘܘ Which translates as: And they went out and preached in all the places and our Lord was helping them, and establishing their words by the signs that they were doing. This verse does occur in a number of different Greek versions, none of which appear to follow the Peshitta text. Tischendorf and Nestle have: 7

9 ἐκεῖνοι δὲ ἐξελθόντες ἐκήρυξαν πανταχοῦ, τοῦ κυρίου συνεργοῦντος καὶ τὸν λόγον βεβαιοῦντος διὰ τῶν ἐπακολουθούντων σημείων. Westcott & Hort / [NA27 variants] has: ἐκεῖνοι δὲ ἐξελθόντες ἐκήρυξαν πανταχοῦ, τοῦ κυρίου συνεργοῦντος καὶ τὸν λόγον βεβαιοῦντος διὰ τῶν ἐπακολουθούντων σημείων Πάντα δὲ τὰ παρηγγελμένα τοῖς περὶ τὸν Πέτρον συντόμως ἐξήγγειλαν. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀπὸ ἀνατολῆς καὶ ἄχρι δύσεως ἐξαπέστειλεν δι' αὐτῶν τὸ ἱερὸν καὶ ἄφθαρτον κήρυγμα τῆς αἰωνίου σωτηρίας [ἀμήν] And finally the Byzantine Majority Text (2005) has: Ἐκεῖνοι δὲ ἐξελθόντες ἐκήρυξαν πανταχοῦ, τοῦ κυρίου συνεργοῦντος, καὶ τὸν λόγον βεβαιοῦντος διὰ τῶν ἐπακολουθούντων σημείων. Ἀμήν. LUKE 24:53 According to the King James Version, the Gospel of Luke ends with the verse: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. A similar things happens with Luke 24:53, which in the Peshitta reads: ܐܡܝܢ Which we translate as: 8

10 And at all times they were in the temple while praising and truly praising God. This reading carefully follows the Greek versions preserved by Nestle (1904), Westcott and Hort (1881) and Tischendorf, which read: καὶ ἦσαν διὰ παντὸς ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ εὐλογοῦντες τὸν θεόν. Which translated into English says: And they were always in the temple praising God However the Byzantine Majority Text (2005) has: καὶ ἦσαν διὰ παντὸς ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, αἰνοῦντες καὶ εὐλογοῦντες τὸν θεόν. Ἀμήν. Which takes into account every possible reading of the Aramaic, as if the translator just chose to include every possible meaning of the Aramaic in the Greek version, saying: And at all times they were in the temple while blessing and praising God, Amen. JOHN 21:25 According to the King James Version, the Gospel of John ends with the verse: 9

11 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. John 21:25 in Aramaic reads: ܐܝܬ ܕܝܢ ܐܦ ܐܚܪܢܝܬܐ ܤܓܝܐܬܐ ܕܥܒܕ ܝܫܘܥ ܐܝܠܝܢ ܕܐܠܘ ܚܕܐ ܚܕܐ ܡܬܟܬܒܢ ܗܘܝ ܐܦ ܐܠ ܗܘ ܥܠܡܐ ܐܝܟ ܕܤܒܪ ܐܢܐ ܤܦܩ ܗܘܐ ܠܟܬܒܐ ܕܡܬܟܬܒܝܢ ܗܘܘ Which we translate as: And there are also many other things that Jesus did which if they were written one by one, I suppose that not even the world would be sufficient for the books that would be written. This verse however, actually has four different readings in the Greek! The text from Nestle, and Westcott & Hort closely follow the original Peshitta with: Ἔστιν δὲ καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ἃ ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ἅτινα ἐὰν γράφηται καθ ἕν, οὐδ αὐτὸν οἶμαι τὸν κόσμον χωρήσειν τὰ γραφόμενα βιβλία. But the Byzantine Majority Text (2005) has by far the most words and punctuation, and adds the Amen, at the end. 10

12 Ἔστιν δὲ καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ὅσα ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ἅτινα ἐὰν γράφηται καθ ἕν, οὐδὲ αὐτὸν ο ἴμαι τὸν κόσμον χωρῆσαι τὰ γραφόμενα βιβλία. Ἀμήν. CONCLUSION The King James Bible changed the world, it permanently impacted the way we speak English, and through Protestantism, changed the entire world s view of Christianity, albeit not necessarily to a more authentic form, as many within in that movement have claimed. The Information Age is making it more and more difficult for the Deceiver ( Akelkarsta ) to trick us into believing things which are simply not true. Five-hundred אכלקרצא years ago, regular people got access to a usable English Bible for the first time, and the world changed, because people could interpret the scriptures for themselves, and took the initiative to do so. How much more does the technology we have to-day have the potential to change how we look at things? We are developing the tools to give regular people exemplary access to the ancient Aramaic scriptures and language the actual language spoken by Jesus and His apostles the language also in which the scriptures were originally written. We are asking people to re-examine their faith now, again, in light of the truth that comes to light from the darkness. It is time for the Peshitta, the original scriptures of Jesus earliest followers, to take their place as the dominant force for change the same way that the King James Bible did in its own time. 11