Hallelujah
Hallelujah (
The phrase is used in
Etymology
Hallelujah is a transliteration of Hebrew: הַלְלוּ יָהּ (hallū yāh), which means "praise ye Jah!" (from הַלְלוּ, "praise ye!" [8] and יָהּ, "Jah".)[9][10][11] The word hallēl in Hebrew means a joyous praise in song. The second part, Yah, is a shortened form of YHWH (Yahweh or Jehovah in modern English).
Interpretation
In the Hebrew Bible hallelujah is actually a two-word phrase, hal(e)lu-Yah, and not one word. The first part, hallu, is the second-person imperative masculine plural form of the Hebrew verb hillel.[8] The phrase "hallelujah" translates to "praise Jah/Yah",[2][12] though it carries a deeper meaning as the word halel in Hebrew means a joyous praise in song, to boast in God.[13][14]
The second part,
In Psalm 150:6 the Hebrew reads kol han'shamah t'halel yah hallu-yah;
Most well-known English versions of the
In the great song of praise to God for his triumph over the Whore of Babylon[3] in chapter 19 of the New Testament book of Revelation, the Greek word ἀλληλούϊα (allēluia), a transliteration of the same Hebrew word, appears four times, as an expression of praise rather than an exhortation to praise.[4] In English translations this is mostly rendered as "Hallelujah",[18] but as "Alleluia" in several translations,[19] while a few have "Praise the Lord",[20] "Praise God",[21] "Praise our God",[22] or "Thanks to our God".[23]
The linguist Ghil'ad Zuckermann argues that the word Hallelujah is usually not replaced by a praise God! translation due to the belief in iconicity: the perception that there is something intrinsic about the relationship between the sound of the word and its meaning.[24]: 62
In the Bible
הַלְלוּיָהּ is found in 24 verses in the
:6. It starts and concludes a number of Psalms.The Greek transliteration ἀλληλούϊα (allēlouia) appears in the Septuagint version of these Psalms, in Tobit 13:17 and 3 Maccabees 7:13, and four times in Revelation 19:1–6, the great song of praise to God for his triumph over the
Usage by Jews
The word "hallelujah" is sung as part of the Hallel Psalms (interspersed between Psalms 113–150).
Psalms 146:10, ending with Halleluja, is the third and final biblical quotation in the Kedushah. This expanded version of the third blessing in the Amidah is said during the Shacharit and Mincha (morning and afternoon) services when there is a minyan present.[30]
Usage by Christians
For most
In day-to-day situations, the expressions of "Hallelujah" and "Praise the Lord" are used by Christians as spontaneous expressions of joy, thanksgiving and praise towards God.
In popular culture
In modern English, "Hallelujah" is frequently spoken to express happiness that a thing hoped or waited for has happened.[36] An example is its use in the song "Get Happy".
"Hallelujah" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, performed in Hebrew by Milk and Honey, including Gali Atari, for Israel.
Leonard Cohen's 1984 song "Hallelujah" was initially rejected by Columbia Records for lacking commercial appeal, was popularized through covers by John Cale (1991) and Jeff Buckley (1994), achieved "modern ubiquity" after its inclusion in the animated movie Shrek (2001), and reached the Billboard charts upon Cohen's death in 2016.[37]
See also
- Praise the Lord, a greeting phrase used by many Christians
- Alleluia, the Christian liturgical chant
- Muslims and by Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians
- Allahu Akbar (ٱللَّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ), similar Arabic phrase
- Subhan Allah (سُبْحَانَ ٱللَّٰهِ), similar Arabic phrase
- "My Sweet Lord", a 1970 song by George Harrison which includes hallelujah along with Hare Krishna
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-687-09260-4.
Alleluia is the Latin form of Hallelujah, an acclamation formed by joining "Hallelu" (to praise) with the first syllable in a Hebrew name for God, Yahweh.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-385-23238-8.
Alleluia. Hebrew hallelujah "praise Yahweh".
- ^ a b c d e Woods, F. H. (1902). "Hallelujah". In James Hastings (ed.). A Dictionary of the Bible. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 287.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86554373-7), p. 355
- ISBN 978-0-393-06226-7.
- ISBN 978-0-33402883-3), p. 6
- ISBN 978-1-55673-596-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8028-0598-0.
- ^ Hallelujah, also spelled Alleluia, Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Brown-Driver-Briggs (Hebrew and English Lexicon, page 238)
- ISBN 978-0-393-06226-7.
- ISBN 978-1-894667-48-7.
The term "Alleluia" or "Hallelujah" represents a call to praise derived from the Hebrew "Hallelu Yah" (a shortened form for Yahweh), which simply means, "Praise the Lord." It is common for Psalms used in Temple worship to begin and end with "Alleluia". Likewise, in the New Testament's description of heavenly worship, we find "Hallelujah" as the centre of the multitude's "roar" of praise. They sum up creation's praise by singing: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!" (Revelation 19:6-7) Given the prominence of "Alleluia" as a biblical form of praise, it is no surprise that one of the greatest Easter hymns, "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" repeats "Alleluia" at the end of each line.
- ISBN 978-3-11-004572-7.
- ^ Joseph Samuel C.F. Frey, A Hebrew, Latin, and English dictionary, 1815, entry for הלל on page 254
- ^ Harris, Stephen L. Understanding the Bible: a reader's introduction, 2nd ed. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. page 21.
- ^ "What is the difference between lord, Lord and LORD? | AHRC". www.ancient-hebrew.org. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ All quotes from the Hebrew are taken from Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, EDITIO FUNDITUS RENOVATA, cooperantibus H. P. Ruger et J. Ziegler ediderunt K. Elliger et W. Rudolph, Textum Masoreticum curavit H. P. Ruger MASORAM ELABORAVIT G. E. WEIL, Editio quinta emendata opera A. Schenker, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.
- Complete Jewish Bible
- ^ King James Version and its recent revisions, the 21st Century King James Version and the New King James Version, the Douay-Rheims Bible, the Knox Version, the New Jerusalem Bible, the Phillips New Testament, Wycliffe's Bible, and Young's Literal Translation.
- ^ Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (LORD)
- ^ Good News Translation
- ^ Worldwide English (New Testament)
- ^ New Life Version
- ISBN 9781403938695 [1]
- ^ Psalm 104:35; 105:45; 106:1, 48; 111:1; 112:1; 113:1, 9; 115:18; 116:19; 117:2; 135:1, 3, 21; 146:1, 10; 147:1, 20; 148:1, 14; 149:1, 9; 150:1, 6.
- ^ David E. Garland, Psalms, Volume 5 of The Expositor's Bible Commentary, page 62.
- ^ Shabbat 118b, Sefaria
- ^ Scott-Martin Kosofsky, The Book of Customs, Harper San Francisco, 2004; pages 25-26.
- ^ Elie Munk, The World of Prayer, Vol. 2, Revised ed., Feldheim, Jerusalem, 2007; pages 129-133.
- ^ Scott-Martin Kosofsky, The Book of Customs, Harper San Francisco, 2004; page 33.
- ^ "Why don't we use alleluias during Lent?" (PDF). Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-6642-7420-4.
Hallelujah and "Praise the Lord" have become acceptable spontaneous expressions of joy, thanksgiving, and praise towards God in many Christian denominations.
- Milwaukee Journal, July 12, 1981
- ^ "Charismatic Catholicism is alive and well". Crux. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
The appeal of charismatic prayer "starts with praise and worship," said Mr. Soares, who is now director of Charismatic Renewal Services for the Archdiocese of Boston. "But as you get deeper, you start to see other things besides just the amen and hallelujah. You see people more rooted in their history."
- ^ "Shouting Methodists". Jesus Fellowship. 20 January 2007. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
- ^ Hallelujah definition in Macmillan Dictionary
- ^ LeDonne, Rob (June 29, 2022). "'More than a song': the enduring power of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 3, 2022.
External links
- The dictionary definition of hallelujah at Wiktionary