So, I finally watched this vid, and yeah, its pretty out there... sort of... so, swedishfriend, to answer your questions about the historical accuracy of his argument:

All that stuff about Amenhotep IV and the introduction of a one god, whom he called Aten, is pretty much true... also, Nefertiti (of the beautiful bust that is in Berlin) was his wife, and Tutankhamen (King Tut) was his son, (or perhaps nephew, its debatable) and the second heir to his throne. There is a pretty good article on wikipedia about him and Atenism if you need a starting place.

However, the central thesis of this video, that the word 'Amen' is somehow derivative of the name 'Amenhotep' is dubious at best... in fact I think its probably just plain wrong. I consulted a few different Etymology Dictionaries, and they all list 'Amen' as having derived from the Greek 'amen', which in turn seems to have come from Hebrew word for 'truth', roughly spelt out a-m-n, and was used in both languages as way to say 'truthfully' in agreement to something. One source on the matter states that it was only recorded as being used at the conclusion of prayers from 1230 CE onward, about 2600 years after the rule of Amenhotep, which, in my mind, is a bit long to suddenly revive something like that for the sole purpose of ending off a prayer.

Also, linguistically, although the Egyptian language of modern times is grouped with other Semitic languages (like Hebrew) this is only due to the Arab invasions and their influence in the region. The language of the New Kingdom was much much different and unlikely to have influenced Hebrew, which evolved separately in the East.

Lastly, I find it highly unlikely that early Christians drew inspiration from the name Amenhotep for religious reasons related to the origins of monotheism, because once Amenhotep instituted Atenism, he changed his name to Akhenaten, which would have been the name appropriate to him in a religious context. That is also how he was primarily remembered throughout history, as most all of his monuments were carved with his new name. The name 'Amenhotep IV' was not likely to have been remembered in connection with the new religion of the one god.

So, raven's vote: this guy is full of crap with this theory, don't take it seriously, but, do pursue your interests in the ancient world (I certainly do )... however, this vid is crazy and highly entertaining... so, upvote from me.

Furthermore, the 'Amen' in Amenhotep's name is in reference to the God Amun, and the entire name 'Amenhotep' means 'Amun is satisfied'. Amun's name, in turn, means 'the hidden one', so it probably had no influence whatsoever on the Hebrew or Greek word for 'truthfully'.

Discarding this video. It failed to receive enough votes to get sifted up to the front page within 4 days.

*save everyone loves a history lesson!

Saving this video from the discard pile and sending it back to the queue for one more try; last queued Friday, December 14th, 2007 7:59am PST - save requested by raven.