Hallelujah

We say this word all the time in church, in songs, in hymns, and as a reaction. It is a term of praise, but do we really understand its meaning?

The word is originally Hebrew and made up of two words: hallelu and yah (Correct pronunciation is hal-le-lu-yah). The first part, hallelu comes from the verb root hallal, which can mean: to be boastful; to praise; to celebrate; to boast confidently of oneself; to make a fool of; and to denote something as mad or crazy. And so we see that there is a fine line between bragging, boasting, praising something or someone in worship, and being crazy. But hallelu means to praise; specifically, it means you all praise. This word is a command in the third person plural as noted by the “u” at the end of the word.

The second part, yah, is a shortening of the name of God: Yahweh. Thus yah is the object of the praise. The word, hallelujah, is spelt with a “j” rather than a “y” due to German pronunciation and translation. This is the same reason we say “Jerusalem” rather than the literal, “Yerusalem,” and “Jews” rather than “Yews.” Furthermore, the spelling, “alleluia” comes from the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word.

Thus, Hallelujah, means, “You all Praise God!” The word is used by prophets, kings, and even ordinary people, to remind those around them that God is to be praised. At the end of my church service (I attend an Anglican Church), the Leader says, “Let us go forth in the name of Christ” and the congregation responds, “Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!” So what are we saying here? The word becomes a sort of affirmative of the previous statement. Thus, “Praise God! We will go forth!” Next time you hear a song, or are worshipping in church or elsewhere and you come across this word, watch how it is used. Are we just saying it as we now say, “awesome” or “great”? Or are you truly using it to praise God because of what he has done? The point of this is not to over analyze every song and prayer that uses the word, but to infuse it with meaning to enhance your worship. Don’t get overly critical about it!

Now, let us continue in obedience to God’s will. Hallelujah!