Amar means to say, speak, declare, or command. It is the most common Hebrew verb for speech, occurring over 5,300 times. It covers everything from simple conversation to divine pronouncement, royal decree, and prophetic oracle.
The overwhelming frequency of amar underscores the biblical worldview that reality is shaped by speech — God creates by saying ('And God said'), prophets deliver God's word ('Thus says the LORD'), and covenant is enacted through verbal declaration. The spoken word carries inherent power.