Amen is a declaration of affirmation first found in the Hebrew Bible and subsequently in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish and Muslim worship as a concluding word or response to prayers. Common English translations of the word amen include "verily", "truly", “so be it”, it can be used colloquially to express strong agreement, as in, amen to that. In English, the word amen has two primary pronunciations, ah-men or ay-men, with minor additional variation in emphasis. In anglophone North America the ah-men pronunciation is used in performances of classical music, in churches with more formalized rituals and liturgy and in liberal to mainline Protestant denominations, as well as every Jewish congregation, in line with modern Hebrew pronunciation; the ay-men pronunciation, a product of the Great Vowel Shift dating to the 15th century, is associated with Irish Protestantism and conservative Evangelical denominations and is the pronunciation used in gospel music. In Arabic the pronunciation ah-meen is used upon completing a supplication to God or when concluding recitation of the first surah Al Fatiha in prayer.

The usage of amen, meaning "so be it", as found in the early scriptures of the Bible is a word of Hebrew origin. It originated in the Hebrew Scriptures, as a response of confirmation, is found in Deuteronomy as an confirmatory response made by the people. Moreover, in the Books of Chronicles, 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"; 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. From Greek, amen entered the other Western languages. According to a standard dictionary etymology, amen passed from Greek into Late Latin, thence into English. 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. Grammarians list ʾāmán under its three consonants, which are identical to those of ʾāmēn; this triliteral root means to be firm, reliable, have faith, believe. In Arabic, the word is derived from its triliteral common root word ʾĀmana, which has the same meanings as the Hebrew root word. Popular among some theosophists, proponents of Afrocentric theories of history, adherents of esoteric Christianity is the conjecture that amen is a derivative of the name of the Egyptian god Amun; some adherents of Eastern religions believe. Such external etymologies are not included in standard etymological reference works; the Hebrew word, as noted above, starts with aleph. The Armenian word ամեն means "every". In French, the Hebrew word amen is sometimes translated as Ainsi soit-il, which means "So be it."The linguist Ghil'ad Zuckermann argues that, as in the case of Hallelujah, the word amen is 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 and what it signifies.

The word first occurs in the Hebrew Bible in Numbers 5:22 when the Priest addresses a suspected adulteress and she responds “Amen, Amen”. Overall, the word appears in the Hebrew Bible 30 times. Three distinct Biblical usages of amen may be noted: Initial amen, referring back to words of another speaker and introducing an affirmative sentence, e.g. 1 Kings 1:36. Detached amen, again referring to the words of another speaker but without a complementary affirmative sentence, e.g. Nehemiah 5:13. Final amen, with no change of speaker, as in the subscription to the first three divisions of Psalms. There are 25 in John; the five final amens, which are wanting in certain manuscripts, simulate the effect of final amen in the Hebrew Psalms. All initial amens occur in the sayings of Jesus; these initial amens are unparalleled in Hebrew literature, according to Friedrich Delitzsch, because they do not refer to the words of a previous speaker but instead introduce a new thought. The uses of amen in the Gospels form a peculiar class.

Jesus used the word to affirm his own utterances, not those of another person, this usage was adopted by the church. The use of the initial amen, single or double in form, to introduce solemn statements of Jesus in the Gospels had no parallel in Jewish practice. In the King James Bible, the word amen is preserved in a number of contexts. Notable ones include: The catechism of curses of the Law found in Deuteronomy 27. A double amen occurs in Psalm 89, to invoke the fulfillment of them. Amen occurs in

Christopher Penfold is an English scriptwriter and editor. Television shows that he has worked on include Pathfinders, Take Me High, the second season of John Christopher's The Tripods, One by One, All Creatures Great and Small, EastEnders, The Brack Report and thirteen series of Midsomer Murders. Penfold is most well known for being one of the brains behind Gerry Anderson's science fiction series Space: 1999, he worked as story consultant for the original series and is credited for writing'Guardian of Piri','Alpha Child','The Last Sunset','War Games','Space Brain' and'Dragon's Domain' for the first series and'Dorzak' as a freelance contributor for the second. Penfold was uncredited for re-writing the series' premiere'Breakaway' as well as David Weir's'Black Sun' and fellow staff member Edward di Lorenzo's'Missing Link'. In 2010 Christopher Penfold contributed a foreword to the novel, Space: 1999 Omega and its sequel novel, Space: 1999 Alpha. Both novels were written by William Latham and published by Powys Media and were released on 27 February 2010.

He is credited with a thank you for his input on the Jonathan Glazer film Under the Skin. Christopher Penfold on IMDb Profile at Space 1999

This is a list of ancient tribes in the ancient territory of Illyria. The name Illyrians seems to be the name of a single Illyrian tribe, the first to come into contact with the ancient Greeks, causing the name Illyrians to be applied to all people of similar language and customs; the locations of Illyrian tribes/peoples prior to the Roman conquest are approximate, as sometimes many wholly different locations are given by ancient writers and modern authors. After the Great Illyrian Revolt, the Romans deported and resettled Illyrian tribes within Illyria itself and to Dacia, sometimes causing whole tribes to vanish and new ones to be formed from their remains, such as the Deraemestae and the Docleatae, some of them mixed with Celtic tribes. Many tribal names are known from Roman civitates and the number of their decuriae, formed of the dispersed tribes in Illyria. Albani or Albanoi were an Illyrian tribe whose first historical account appears in a work of Ptolemy, they were the citizens of Albanopolis, located in the center of modern Albania, in the Zgërdhesh hill fort, near the city of Krujë.

The national ethnonym of the Albanians is derived from this tribe. Ardiaei or Ouardiaei, was an Illyrian tribe, residing inland, that settled on the Adriatic coast; the Ardiaei had 20 decuriae. The Ardiaean dynasty ruled over the Illyrian Kingdom. Autariatae or Autariates was an Illyrian tribe that became prominent between the 6th and 4th centuries BC; the tribe had been Celticized. The Balaites were an Illyrian tribe known from epigraphical findings only who were organizing themselves in a koinon, it is that they lived in the vicinity of Apollonia. Bathiatae was an Illyrian tribe. Bylliones was an Illyrian tribe. According to Robert Elsie, the tribe was Illyrian. Cavii was an Illyrian tribe, they lived close to Lake Shkodër. Their main settlement was Epicaria, they are mentioned by ancient writers. Chelidones was an Illyrian tribe whose name in Greek meant'snail-men', they lived in the Drin valleys. Daorsi or Duersi or Daorsii or Daorsei was an Illyrian tribe. Another name of the tribe was Daversi; the Daorsi had suffered attacks from the Delmatae that made them along with Issa seek the aid of the Roman state.

The Daorsi fought on the Roman side. After the Illyrian Wars, the Daorsi were given immunity, their most important city was Daorson. They had 17 decuriae. Dardani or Dardanians were located at the Thraco-Illyrian contact zone and their identification is uncertain. Dassareti was an Illyrian tribe, they were located between the Ardiaei. Appian of Alexandria wrote in his Illyrian wars that according to the Ancient Greeks, the ancestor of the Illyrians, had a daughter, from whom sprang the Dassareti, they are not to be confused with the ancient Greek Dassaretae the Lake Ohrid region. Deretini or Derriopes was an Illyrian tribe in Narona conventus with 14 decuriae. Deuri was an Illyrian tribe. Other possible names are Derbanoi; the Deuri had 25 decuriae. Dyestes or Dyestae was an Illyrian tribe located around the silver mines of Damastion. Only Strabo passingly mentions this tribe; the Enchelei or Sesarethii were an Illyrian tribe. Their name, given by the Greeks, meant "eel-men". In Greek mythology and Harmonia ruled over them.

Several locations are hypothesized for the Encheleans: around Lake Ohrid. Kinambroi was an Illyrian tribe, they surrendered to Octavian in 33 BC. Mazaei or Maezaei was a tribal group, including 269 decuriae. Melcumani or Merromenoi or Melkomenioi was an Illyrian tribe; the Melcumani had 24 decuriae. Narensi or Narensii or Narensioi or Naresioi or Naresii was the name of a newly formed Illyrian tribe from various peoples at the River Naron; the Narensi had 102 decuriae. Penestae was the name of an Illyrian tribe, their chief town was Uscana. Sardeates or Sardiotai was an Illyrian tribe close to Jajce. Sardeates were settled in Dacia; the Sardeates had 52 decuriae. Selepitani was an Illyrian tribe located below the Lake Scutari. Dalmatae were an ancient Illyrian tribe, they were Celticized. The Delmatae had 342 decuriae; the Iapydes were an ancient people who dwelt north of and inland from the Liburnians, off the Adriatic coast and eastwards of the Istrian peninsula. The first written mention of an Illyrian tribe known as "Iapydes" is by Hecataeus of Miletus.

Baridustae were an Illyrian tribe, settled in Dacia along with Pirustae and Sardeates. The Baridustae was a Dalmatian tribe. Docleatae or Dokleatai were an Illyrian tribe, their capital was Doclea, they are called after the town. They had settled west of the Morača river, up to Montenegro's present-day borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Docleatae were prominent for their cheese, exported to various Roman provinces within the Roman Empire. They were composed of parts of the Taulantii, the Pleraei or Pyraei, Sasaei, Labeatae that came together after the Great Illyrian revolt; the Docleatae had 33 decuriae. Pleraei or Pyraei or Palarioi was