Hallelujah
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Hallelujah, also spelled halleluiah, halleluyah, and the Greek and Latin form alleluia are transliterations of the Hebrew word הללו יה (Modern halleluya, Tiberian halləlûyāh) meaning "Praise ye Yah" or "Praise Jah, you people".[1][2] "Praise Jah" is a shortened form of "Praise Yahweh",[3][4][5] or, in another transliteration of the name, "Praise Jehovah",[6] It is used in different ways in Christian liturgies.[7] The last syllable is from the first two letters of the name of God, YHWH (also written JHVH). Hallelujah is found primarily in the book of Psalms. The word is used in Judaism as part of the Hallel prayers, and in Christian prayer.[8] It has been accepted into the English language and has a similar pronunciation in many other languages.
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[edit] In the Bible
The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (mainly in the book of Psalms, e.g. 111–117, 145–150, where it starts and concludes a number of Psalms) and four times in Greek transliteration in the Christian Book of Revelation.[8]
In the Hebrew Bible hallelujah is actually a two-word phrase, not one word. The first part, hallelu, is the second-person imperative masculine plural form of the Hebrew verb hallal.[9] However, "hallelujah" means more than simply "praise Yah", as the word hallel in Hebrew means a joyous praise in song, to boast in God. Hallel could also refer to someone who acts madly or foolishly.[10][11]
The second part, Yah, is a shortened form of YHWH, the name for the Creator.[8] This name is not pronounced by Jews, as they do not permit the speaking of the name of God, and in any case the correct pronunciation is not known. However, it is sometimes rendered by Christians as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah". The Septuagint translates Yah as Kyrios (the LORD), because of the Jewish custom of replacing the sacred name with "Adonai", meaning "the Lord".
In Psalm 150:6 the Hebrew reads kol han'shamah t'hallel yah;[12] It appears in the Hebrew Bible as הללו-יה and הללו יה. In Psalm 148:1 the Hebrew says "הללו יה hallelu yah". It then says "hallelu eth-YHWH" as if using "yah" and "YHWH" interchangeably. The word "Yah" appears by itself as a divine name in poetry about 49 times in the Hebrew Bible (including hallelu yah), such as in Psalm 68:4–5 "who rides upon the deserts by his name Yah" and Exodus 15:2 "Yah is my strength and song". It also often appears at the end of Israelite theophoric names such as Isaiah "yeshayah(u), Yahweh is salvation" and Jeremiah "yirmeyah(u), Yahweh is exalted".[8]
The word hallelujah occurring in the Psalms is therefore a request for a congregation to join in praise toward God. It can be translated as "Praise Yah" or "Praise Jah, you people",[1][6][7] and in English translations is usually rendered as "Praise the LORD".
"Hallelujah" appears in Revelation 19 in Greek transliteration as "alleluia" (ἀλληλούϊα), the great song of praise to God for his triumph over the Whore of Babylon.[8] This transliteration also appears in the Septuagint.
[edit] Usage by Jews
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In standard modern Hebrew, the word "hallelujah" is sung as part of the Hallel Psalms (interspersed between Psalms 104-150). "Hallel" means "to praise," and "hallelu" is the imperative form. The ending "yah" is not a way of expressing magnanimity in the word Hallelujah. The word "merchav" in (Psalms 118:5) means "a large space" by itself. What the verse is saying in Hebrew is merchav Yah, or Yah brought me into a large place. The word "shalhevet" in (Song of Songs 8:6) does mean flame, but "shalhevetyah" means "flame of Yahweh" as it is written. The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia proposes "shalhavotheyha" and "shalhavoth-yah" as alternate readings, but the correct translation is "flames of Yah." The alternate reading shalhavoth-Yah is identical in construction to Hallelu-Yah and the word Yah is punctuated the same in both cases. See Gesenius' Lexicon under the word שַׁלְהֶבֶת, page 824. See also the Brown/Driver/Briggs Lexicon, page 529, where shalhevethyah is translated "Yahweh-flame = powerful flame." The article also says that the ending -yah (in this particular case) has been interpreted as an encl. part., which would possibly explain the variant reading of shalhavotheyha in Biblia Hebraica. The accepted translation of Hallelu-Yah is "praise ye Yah."[13][14]
[edit] Usage by Christians
For most Christians, "Hallelujah" is considered a joyful word of praise to God, rather than an injunction to praise him. In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, and in many older Protestant denominations, the Alleluia, along with the Gloria in excelsis Deo, is not spoken or sung in liturgy during the season of Lent, instead being replaced by a Lenten acclamation, while in Eastern Churches, Alleluia is chanted throughout Lent at the beginning of the Matins service, replacing the Theos Kyrios, which is considered more joyful. At the Easter service and throughout the Pentecostarion, Christos anesti is used in the place where Hallelujah is chanted in the western rite.
In contemporary worship among many Protestants, expressions of "Hallelujah" and "Praise the Lord" are acceptable spontaneous expressions of joy, thanksgiving and praise towards God, requiring no specific prompting or call or direction from those leading times of praise and singing.[15]
[edit] Usage in informal language
In modern English, "Hallelujah" is frequently spoken to express happiness that a thing hoped or waited for has happened.[16] When used in this way, the word does not necessarily indicate religious belief or intentions on the part of the speaker.
[edit] See also
- Alhamdulillah, similar Arabic phrase used by Muslims and by Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians
- Hallelujah Chorus
- Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song)
[edit] References
- ^ a b Hallelujah, also spelled Alleluia
- ^ Jah (44 Occurrences) - concordances.org. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
- ^ Eugene E. Carpenter, Philip Wesley Comfort, Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words (B&H Publishing Group 2000 ISBN 978-0-8054-9352-8), p. 298
- ^ Michael L. Brown, What Do Jewish People Think about Jesus?: And Other Questions Christians Ask about Jewish Beliefs, Practices, and History (Chosen Books 2007 ISBN 978-0-8007-9426-2), p. 63
- ^ Donald S. Armentrout, Robert Boak Slocum, An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church (Church Publishing 2005 ISBN 978-0-89869-211-2), p. 234
- ^ a b "Do You Know God by Name?" - watchtower.org. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
- ^ a b Alter, Robert (2007). The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06226-7.
- ^ a b c d e Woods, F. H. (1902). "Hallelujah". In James Hastings. A Dictionary of the Bible. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 287. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/hastings/dictv2/Page_287.html.
- ^ Page H. Kelley, Biblical Hebrew, an Introductory Grammar, page 169. Ethics & Public Policy Center, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8028-0598-0.
- ^ George Fohrer. Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary of the Old Testament, under הלל. Walter de Gruyter, 1973. ISBN 978-3-11-004572-7.
- ^ Joseph Samuel C.F. Frey, A Hebrew, Latin, and English dictionary, 1815, entry for הלל on page 254
- ^ 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.
- ^ Brown-Driver-Briggs (Hebrew and English Lexicon, page 238)
- ^ page 403, note on line 1 of Psalm 113, Alter, Robert (2007013485). The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06226-7.
- ^ At Pipe Organ Pizza, a pipeline for prayers, Milwaukee Journal, July 12, 1981
- ^ Hallelujah definition in Macmillan Dictionary
