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Bible Dictionaries
Verily
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament
or VERILY.—A formula of asseveration or corroboration.
The Hebrew is אָכֵן, and, while it is translated in the OT by the LXX Septuagint into γένοιτο (cf. Psalms 72:19) or ἀληθῶς (cf. Jeremiah 28:6), and by Aquila into πετιστωμενως, it is simply transliterated by the NT writers, except St. Luke, who, in deference to his Gentile readers, gives ἀληθῶς in three instances where the parallels have ἀυήν (Luke 9:27 = Matthew 16:28 = Mark 9:1; Luke 12:44 = Matthew 24:47; Luke 21:3 = Mark 12:43).
According to R. Judah ben Sima, the formula had three uses: (1) in swearing (cf. Numbers 5:22), (2) in accepting (cf. Deuteronomy 27:15), and (3) in expressing confidence (cf. 1 Kings 1:36).* [Note: Wetstein on Matthew 6:13.] When a Rabbi would add impressiveness to a doctrine, he prefaced it with Amen, ‘Verily,’ signifying that it was a tradition received by Moses on Sinai.† [Note: Lightfoot on Matthew 5:18.] The congregation responded Amen to the prayers in the synagogue, a usage which passed into the Christian ecclesia;‡ [Note: 1 Corinthians 14:16; Aug. de Catech. Rud. § 13.] and the Talmud warns against ‘an orphan Amen,’ meaning one uttered without consideration, or in ignorance whereto the response is being made.§ [Note: Lightfoot on 1 Corinthians 14:16.]
It is somewhat unfortunate that, where it is an asseverative preface, our versions have translated ἀμήν by ‘verily,’ and, where it is a liturgical response, have simply transliterated it. Let it be understood that the word is the same in both cases. See art. Amen.
Jesus, like the Rabbis, was accustomed, by way of bespeaking His hearers’ attention, to preface important declarations with Amen, ‘Verily.’|| [Note: | Aug. in Joan. Ev. Tract xli. § 3: ‘Multum commendat quod ita pronuntiat; quodammodo, si dici fas est, juratio ejus est, Amen, amen dico vobis.’] All our Evangelists represent Him as doing so; but whereas the Synoptists put on His lips a single ‘Verily,’ St. John makes Him in every instance reduplicate the formula, saying ‘Verily, verily.’ What is the explanation of this divergence? It is out of the question to suppose that, since the Johannine and the Synoptic logia are in no case identical, Jesus may have spoken after both fashions, employing now the single, now the double ‘Verily.’ It does not appear that the latter was in use among the Jews, and it may be assumed that Jesus always spoke according to the Synoptic representation. Lightfoot makes a shrewd and far-reaching comment on Mark 5:41. Talitha, kûm means merely “Maiden, arise!” And this is all that Jesus actually said; ‘but in His pronunciation and utterance of these words there flashed forth such authority and commanding energy, that they sounded no less than if He had said: “Maiden, I tell thee, arise.” ’ (Cf. Matthew 9:6 with Mark 2:11 = Luke 5:24). May not this be the explanation of St. John’s reduplicated ‘Verily’? Jesus actually used the single formula; but such was the authority of His tone that St. John, reproducing not merely His language but His spirit, reiterated the asseveration, very much as a modern writer might underline the word, or as the Hebrew idiom expressed plurality or magnitude by repetition; e.g. Genesis 14:10 ‘full of pits of asphalt,’ literally ‘pits, pits of asphalt.’ The beloved disciple held every tone, look, and gesture of the Master in reverent remembrance; and when he limned His picture, he was in nowise careful to reproduce details with slavish and pedantic accuracy, but, with the artist’s instinct, sought to catch those subtle and elusive expressions which reveal the true personality. When he reduplicated ‘Verily,’ he designed to make his readers realize the majesty wherewith the Lord spoke and the authority which His words carried.* [Note: Just. M. Dial. c. Tryph., ed. Sylburg, p. 225 C: δέος γάρ τι ἔχουσιν έν ἐαυτοῖς, καὶ ἱκανοὶ δυσωπῆσαι τοὺς ἐκτρεπομένονς τῆς ὁρθῆς ὁδοῦ, ἀνάπαυσίς τε ἠδίστη γίνεται τοῖς ἐκμελετῶσιν αὐτούς.]
Literature.—Bruder, Concord., and Grimm-Thayer, Lex. s.v. ἀμήν; Hastings, DB [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.] , art. ‘Amen‘; ExpT [Note: xpT Expository Times.] viii. [1896] 100 ff., 190 f., xiii. [1902] 563 ff.; Dalman, Words of Jesus, 226 ff.
David Smith.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Verily'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/v/verily.html. 1906-1918.
