What Does Hallelujah Mean and When Do We Say It?

One of the most fascinating quirks of human communication is how one language will adopt the words of another. Some words, like schadenfreude, don’t have an equivalent in a different language. Sometimes it is just simpler to adapt the words from the original language.

Because God began cultivating His plan for salvation in the middle east and through the Hebrew people, the original records of that relationship – preserved in the Old Testament – are in Hebrew, and some words are borrowed from it. In the Christian faith, a handful of Hebrew words have become common parlance such as Abba, and amen.

Another Hebrew word that is often used by Christians is one of worship and praise: hallelujah. People use this word to glorify God and to connect with Him, often in good times. The Bible encourages believers to praise God in the good times and the bad, to praise His name always, and crying out hallelujah is one way to do that.

What Does Hallelujah Mean?

The word “hallelujah” translates to “God be praised!” In the original Hebrew, the word was hallalu-yah, which is a combination of two original words.

The first half of the word, hallalu, is the plural imperative of hallel, the verb meaning “to praise,” and the second half is yah, the shortened form of YHWH, the name of God. In the New Testament Greek, the word is alleluouia. The Latin word, alleluia, is close to the Greek. In contemporary English, if people are trying to model it after the Hebrew, it is spelled hallelujah, and if they’re modelling the Latin, alleluia.

Both spellings are also acceptable in English because of the historical influences of the Germanic and French languages, using hallelujah and alleluia respectively. It is used as an interjection to affirm or to praise God after good news, and as a word of praise during a time of worship. Many languages, not just English, use some variant of this word in their Bible translations.

Hallelujah in other languages can be read:

Arabic: Alhamdulillah ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّٰهِ 

Chinese: Hālìlùyà 哈利路亚

Danish: halleluja

French: alléluia

Russian: аллилуйя

Spanish: aleluya

Turkish: şükür

Verses Where Hallelujah Is Mentioned

This word appears frequently throughout both the Old and New Testaments. In English, anytime the phrase, “Praise the Lord!” is used in the following verses, the word hallelujah was used in the original Hebrew. Just a sample of these verses include:

“Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation” (Psalm 111:1).

“Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!” (Psalm 117:1).

“Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!” (Psalm 149:1).

“After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.’ Once more they cried out, ‘Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.’ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, ‘Amen. Hallelujah’ And from the throne came a voice saying, ‘Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.’ Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns’” (Revelation 19:1-6).

When Should We Sing Hallelujah?

God is always with us and gives us guidance at all times. His glory, greatness, and holiness is something Christians can only get glimpses of, but we do see enough to know He should be worshipped and glorified.

When Christians cry hallelujah, they are participating in that worship; it is easy to do when things are going well and life is good. When God answers a prayer in the affirmative, when He heals, when He provides, He should be praised. But the Bible also states that when things are hard, He should still receive praise. David wrote, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” (Psalm 34:1-3).

During His time on earth, Jesus Christ had wonderful times of fellowship, of respect, and times when He worked miracles that brought forth praise from the people. He even experienced the rightful honor of being recognized as the Son of David, the rightful heir to the throne of Jerusalem, and He maintained His strong relationship with the Father and the Spirit. Even during His low points, when He was rejected, and even on the cross when the Father had to turn His face away from the Son, He was looking to the Father. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before the crucifixion, Jesus gave glory to the Father, and submitted to His will.

In His model prayer, Jesus begins, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9b). This model is not only for prayers in good times; we are to honor the holy name of God, and give Him thanks and praise in all seasons of life.

Join the Multitude

Praise God! Hallelujah! These are the same phrase, just in different languages, but the Bible says that one day in Heaven, people from every nation and tongue will glorify the Lord. In one of the visions given to the Apostle John, he recorded, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10).

Whether you praise God with hallelujah, in your native tongue, or in another language you’ve learned, what matters is that He receives rightful praise and glory. To be one of that multitude, someone must have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The only way to be right before God is to put our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, to believe in Him, which will be confirmed by the Holy Spirit and through sanctification. After being saved, all believers can truly cry, Praise the Lord!

Sources

Baxter, J. Sidlow. Baxter’s Explore the Book. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1960.

Expository Dictionary of Bible Words. Ed. Renn, Stephen. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 2005. 

The Emphasized Bible. Ed. Rotherham, Joseph Bryant. London: H.R. Allenson, 1902. 

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/yotrak

Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.