{"id":30607,"date":"2016-07-06T22:21:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-06T20:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/clone\/?p=30607"},"modified":"2026-07-06T22:43:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T20:43:39","slug":"getting-our-hallelujah-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/getting-our-hallelujah-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Our Hallelujah On"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hallelujah!” is a glorious Hebrew loan word that we have absorbed into our praise cultures around the world. As I have journeyed to know the word of God better, refining my strengths and committing weaknesses to grace, I have become fascinated with the Hebrew language. As a believer and worship leader, this has helped me to serve the Lord and his church. God has given me something to share with others as he keeps helping me grow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For me, I see biblical Hebrew as the human language God chose to verbalize his will to mankind. He chose to speak through the Semitic nomads who settled in Canaan and were descendants of Abraham’s forefather Eber: aka “Hebrews”. The Roman letter \u201cA\u201d \u2013 Greek \u201cAlpha\u201d came from some of the same root as the Hebrew \u201cAleph.\u201d Emoticons and emojis are a modern version of some of the earliest forms of written communication.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of you may have read the study I prepared on the obscure\u00a0Hebrew word \u201cSelah.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0It was recently brought to my attention that Zondervan actually removed this word from their newest translations (NIV-2011) since “its meaning is uncertain” and it \u00a0“may interrupt reading.\u201d They replaced it with a footnote at the first ocuurence in the chapter. That is to their own shame.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I began to think, \u201cIf we do not take every word of God seriously, in the future, our great, great grandchildren may not have reliable translations to choose from \u2013 if even any Bible at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more I have studied Hebrew, the more I have seen that words have been marginalized, altered or lost to the historical background which created the evolution of their translation that we see today. For example…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jehovah and Hallelujah<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever wondered where the word \u201cJehovah\u201d originated? It appears in a few translations and in a lot of hymns. Psalm 148 is one that the Churches of Christ sing often with fervor. We know it as \u201cHallelujah! Praise Jehovah.\u201d Today, churches love the spiritual song \u201cDays of Elijah,\u201d which includes the crescendo-filled bridge \u201cThere\u2019s no God like Jehovah!\u201d We sing that phrase 16 times in a row during that section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we study the word \u201cHallelujah,\u201d it is good to preface the study with a look at the word \u201cJehovah.\u201d It is a good example, like \u201cSelah,\u201d to show how words end up in our language, even though we may not know why – much less what the word originally meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jehovah, simply put, is an English translation\/transliteration of the Hebrew word YHWH. This word, YHWH is actually the core, covenant name of God. It is the same name God revealed to Moses in Exodus 3 \u201cfor all generations.\u201d<\/a> In the Old Testament, it is used almost 7,000 times! And in Hebrew, it sounds like the phrase \u201cI AM.\u201d  Over the years, it has most commonly translated as \u201cLORD.\u201d Lord is a title, not a name. And there is a real word \u201cLord\u201d in Hebrew: \u201cAdonai.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: Look in the introduction section of your Bible, and you will see explanations of the variations of \u201cLord,\u201d \u00a0LORD,\u201d\u00a0\u201dGod,\u201d \u201dGOD,\u201d and the corresponding Hebrew words. Incidentally, when I wrote the hymn\u00a0\u201cYahweh the Lord \u2018Abba’ Father”<\/strong>\u00a0I mistakenly thought Yahweh was supposed to be translated \u201cthe Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you hear or read a reference to the term \u201cTetragrammaton,\u201d that is a fancy way of saying \u201cfour-letter name\u201d as a reference to YHWH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very briefly, \u201cJehovah\u201d arose overtime, because of these reasons (And this is a time-saving encapsulation)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. YAHWEH was the sacred covenant name of God to the Jews. They have traditionally abstained from saying YHWH. In order to not get close to sinning and using this name in vain as commanded in Moses\u2019 10 commandments, they only said it once a year on Yom Kippur during the temple service. When you read sacred Jewish texts today, in English, a term \u201cHASHEM\u201d is used for God. \u201cHashem\u201d means \u201cthe Name\u201d in Hebrew. It is sad that the personal connection, talking to God on a first name basis was lost \u2013 with good intentions. If you look at\u00a0Psalm 116:13\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0\u00a0Zechariah 13:9<\/a>, you\u2019ll see one example of God wanting us to call on his name \u2013 \u201cYahweh\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. When scripture was read orally, priests and Rabbi\u2019s would substitute YHWH with \u201cElohim\u201d which means \u201cGod\u201d or with \u201cAdonai\u201d which means \u201cLord\u201d \u2013 And of course \u201cHASHEM\u201d is also used now.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. After the oral tradition related to temple service was halted in 70 A.D. as the temple was destroyed, pronunciation practices were quickly lost.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. In the 6th<\/sup>\u00a0century Masoretic scholars, the preservers of ancient Jewish pronunciation, chose to add an \u201cO\u201d vowel to Yahweh. Even though they were not aware of how the word was spoken in antiquity, this would reflect the use of Ado<\/strong>nai and Elo<\/strong>him. The \u201cY\u201d sound as in yellow, can also be shown with a\u201dJ\u201d as in Hallelujah.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Ultimately, denominational scholars of the Christian tradition, added \u201cJehovah\u201d to English literature. A few Bible translations have adopted its use as well. See\u00a0Biblehub.net<\/a>\u00a0or other online scripture search sites.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The irony of the word Jehovah being used, is that its roots were an attempt to not use God\u2019s name in vain. How sad that we have lost the name of God in that process and use words in vain that God intended for us to use in our humble walk with him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A broken hallelujah<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Leonard Cohen, the masterful jazz artist, has given us a beautiful tune about David\u2019s imperfect life and, nevertheless, his “broken hallelujah.” We have heard over a dozen versions of it including even Easter and Christmas renditions. It\u2019s a beautiful songs and is an allegory to our lives, that we can still praise the Lord in our human frailty and imperfections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As I have searched out the scriptures, first as a disciple of Christ and then as a worship musician, my understanding of the word \u201challelujah\u201d has deepened and I want to share these thoughts with you here. Some of my own thinking was wrong and that \u201cbroken hallelujah\u201d is always getting better!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If we want to renew our minds and not conform to the pattern of this world, we need to begin with understanding the meaning of God\u2019s word. \u201cHallelujah\u201d is a Hebrew word that is international. And it is a compound word using three Hebrew terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Jesus said that the kind of worshippers the Father seeks will worship him in \u201cSpirit and truth.\u201d<\/a>  By the grace and truth come through Christ, we can deepen our understanding of truth through deeper Bible study. Looking at the origins of words and their definitions is such a blessing! Even in your mother tongue, it helps to grasp the meaning of a word from its etymological roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Note: Some people may think that using a dictionary in your own language is not a helpful thing. In the case of a loan word like \u201challelujah,\u201d that is true! Looking at the Hebrew carefully and getting advice from a trained teacher to supplement your learning and reading is so important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My growing understanding of \u201challelujah\u201d has made my worship more attuned to God. His good pleasing and perfect will is clearer to me now. Here is why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cHallelujah!\u201d is not a casual exclamation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The exhortation for us with \u201cHallelujah!\u201d is based on the Hebrew verb \u201cHalal.\u201d This verb is translated \u201cEXTOL\u201d in several passages. Extol itself means to praise lavishly!\u00a0Dave Eastman, in his video lesson\u00a0on Psalm 150 describes Halal this way:<\/strong> \u201cThe word Halal carries with it the meaning, to make a show, to boast, to be clamorously foolish, to rave, to celebrate\u2026Halal is a call to expend energy\u2026to pour ourselves out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In other words, if we say Halal, and we do when we say \u201cHallelujah!\u201d it ought to always have a lot of exclamation points in our hearts and minds! Otherwise, it\u2019s more broken than it ought to be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The closest English equivalent besides \u201cextol\u201d I can think of is \u201cHail!\u201d Psalm 150 sums up this culmination of cymbal crashing, clamorous and enthusiastic praise by acclaiming “Let everything that has breath HALAL Yah – Hallelujah!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Knowing what it means, I try to not take this word lightly when I say it or sing it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Reflection Question and Scripture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n