Hallelujah

Praise ye Jehovah, frequently rendered “Praise ye the LORD,” stands at the beginning of ten of the psalms (106, 111-113, 135, 146-150), hence called “hallelujah psalms.” From its frequent occurrence it grew into a formula of praise. The Greek form of the word (alleluia) is found in Rev. 19:1, 3, 4, 6.

(praise ye the Lord). [ALLELUIA]

hal-e-loo'-ya (halela-yah, "praise ye Yah"; allelouia): The word is not a compound, like many of the Hebrew words which are composed of the abbreviated form of "Yahweh" and some other word, but has become a compound word in the Greek and other languages. Even if the Jews perhaps had become accustomed to use it as a compound, it is never written as such in the text. In some Psalms, Hallelujah is an integral part of the song (Ps 135:3), while in others it simply serves as a liturgical interjection found either at the beginning (Ps 111) or at the close (Ps 104) of the psalms or both (Ps 146). The Hallelujah Psalms are found in three groups: 104-106; 111-113; 146-150. In the first group, Hallelujah is found at the close of the psalm as a lit. interjection (106:1 is an integral part of the psalm). In the second group, Hallelujah is found at the beginning (113:9 is an integral part of the psalm depending on the adjective "joyful"). In the third group, Hallelujah is found both at the close and at the beginning of the psalms. In all other cases, (Pss 115; 116; 117) Hallelujah seems to be an integral part of the psalms. These three groups were probably taken from an older collection of psalms like the group Psalms 120-134. In the New Testament Hallelujah is found as part of the song of the heavenly host (Re 19:1). The word is preserved as a liturgical interjection by the Christian church generally.

A. L. Breslich