Hallelujah, Halleluyah, and the Latin form Alleluia are transliterations of the Hebrew word הללויה (Modern Halleluya, Tiberian Halləlûyāh) meaning "Praise Yah".[1] The last syllable is from the first two letters of the name of God, YHWH, written JHVH in Latin). 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.[2] It has been accepted into the English language and has a similar pronunciation in many other languages.
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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.[2]
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.[3] 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.[4][5]
The second part, Yah, is a shortened form of YHWH, the name for the Creator.[2] 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". Although the Septuagint translates Yah as Kyrios (the Lord), it is not the title "lord".
In Psalm 150:6 the Hebrew reads kol han'shamah t'hallel yah;[6] 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".[2]
The word hallelujah occurring in Psalms is therefore a request for a congregation to join in praise toward God. It can be translated as "Praise God" or "Praise Yahweh, you people", and is usually worded in English contexts as "Praise the Lord".[1]
"Hallelujah" appears in Revelation 19 in Greek transliteration as "hallelouia" (ἁλληλουϊά), the great song of praise to God for his triumph over the Whore of Babylon.[2] This transliteration also appears in the Septuagint.
(This section has been redone and is currently awaiting Wikipedia approval.) 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. There is no reason to translate halleluyah as "great praise"; it must be translated as "praise ye Yah."
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 the Lent in 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.[7]
In modern English, "Hallelujah" is frequently spoken to express happiness that a thing hoped or waited for has happened.[8] When used in this way, the word does not necessarily indicate religious belief or intentions on the part of the speaker.