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Bible Dictionaries
Mammon
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or MAMMON. This is a Semitic word, but of doubtful derivation. It has been referred to Heb. aman , ‘a reliable (store),’ and to taman ( t being elided), ‘hidden treasure.’ Augustine ( Serm. on Mount ) says it was the name for ‘riches’ among the Hebrews, and that the PhÅ“enician agrees, for ‘gain’ in PhÅ“nician is called mammon . PhÅ“nician and Hebrew were near akin, and the ancients often included Aramaic in Hebrew. ‘Mammon’ is not found in OT Hebrew, but occurs in Rabbinical, in Syriac (Western Aramaic), and is used in the Aramaic Targums as the equivalent of Heb. terms for ‘gain’ or ‘wealth.’ Being a well-known PhÅ“n. trade word, it is introduced without translation (unlike corban , etc.) into NT Greek, where the right spelling is mamônas ( Matthew 6:24 , Luke 16:9; Luke 16:11; Luke 16:13 ); with this agrees the Syriac form momûna . A PhÅ“n. deity, Mamon, has been supposed. Though not improbable, the idea seems due to Milton ( P.L . i. 679 ff.). ‘Serve God and mammon’ suggests personification, but compare the phraseology of Philippians 3:19 .
G. H. Gwilliam.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Mammon'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/m/mammon.html. 1909.
