Hebrew word · Strong's H559

אָמַר

ʼâmar · aw-mar' · verb · “to say, speak”

In a sentence

Amar means to say or speak — the most common Hebrew verb for speech. It is what God does to create the world: “And God said…” opens the Bible’s great refrain.

Amar simply means to say or speak. It is one of the most frequent verbs in the Old Testament — used of human conversation and of divine speech alike.

Genesis 1 builds its whole drumbeat on it: “And God said (vayomer)… and it was so.” God’s speech is creative and effective; what he says, happens. The God who speaks to make worlds is the same God who speaks to his people.

Strong's reference

Definition: to say (used with great latitude)

KJV usage: answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, [phrase] (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, [idiom] desire, determine, [idiom] expressly, [idiom] indeed, [idiom] intend, name, [idiom] plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), [idiom] still, [idiom] suppose, talk, tell, term, [idiom] that is, [idiom] think, use (speech), utter, [idiom] verily, [idiom] yet.

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Genesis 1:3 “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” Isaiah 55:11 “so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.” Jeremiah 1:7 “But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.”

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.