אָמוֹן

From the study of Proverbs 8:30

Range of meaning

Three main possibilities, each with real support:

1. Artisan / master craftsman. Akkadian ummânu means a skilled craftsman or learned expert. In Mesopotamian tradition the ummânu also included the legendary sages (apkallū) who brought crafts and civilization to humankind. Hebrew ʾommān means "artist, master craftsman" in Song 7:1(2), and ʾāmôn may mean "artisan(s)" in Jer 52:15.
2. Nursling / one being raised. The root ʾmn has a family-care meaning: ʾōmēn is a foster-father or guardian (Num 11:12; 2 Kgs 10:1, 5; Esth 2:7, where Mordecai "was raising" Esther), and hāʾĕmunîm are "those brought up" in purple (Lam 4:5). With the vowels ʾāmûn the word would mean "being nurtured," a child under care.
3. Faithfully / constantly. The same root gives ʾĕmet and ʾĕmûnâ ("firmness, reliability"). Read as an adverb, ʾāmûn would mean "steadily, continually": "I was beside him constantly."

Against the English

BSB and WEB ("craftsman"), ESV and NASB ("master workman") and NLT ("architect") follow sense 1. KJV ("as one brought up with him") follows sense 2. Some modern versions follow sense 3 ("constantly") and put the others in footnotes. Every English version has to choose one, so readers seldom see that the Hebrew allows all three.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation): harmozousa, "fitting together, harmonizing," which suits the builder or artisan idea. Aquila (2nd-century CE Greek): tithēnoumenē, "being nursed," the child sense. Vulgate (Jerome's Latin): cuncta componens, "arranging all things" (artisan). Genesis Rabbah 1:1 (rabbinic, c. 5th century CE) lists several readings side by side: pedagogue, nursling, "covered," great, and artisan. It then reads the word as ʾummān, so that the Torah says: "I was the craftsman's tool of the Holy One," the blueprint God looked into to create the world. Wisdom of Solomon 7:21; 8:6 (1st century BCE) calls Wisdom technitis, "the fashioner of all things," which shows that Jews of that period read the verse in the artisan sense.