Is Hallelujah the Highest Praise? (Revelation 19:1-6)

Genesis Foundation’s Bible Word-of-the-Week is hallelujah or alleluia. In my recent research, I found that the word hallelujah is equated with praise and the two words are interchangeable. The Greek word for hallelujah is alliloúi, which is translated as “Praise Yah (Yahweh) . . . you people.” In Greek, hallelujah is “a request for a This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC congregation to join in praise toward God.” The two Hebrew words for hallelujah are hallel, which means “to praise joyously.” and Jah, which means “God.”

Different translations of the Bible either use hallelujah or alleluia. According to https://gotquestions.net/, hallelujah “appears four times in the NIV (New International Version) and NASB” (New American Standard Bible) scripture Revelation 19:1-6. In the King James translation of the Bible, hallelujah “takes the form alleluia” in this scripture.

The word hallelujah is found mostly in the Old Testament Psalms. The word hallelujah “appears in 15 different Old Testament Psalms between (Psalms) 104-150” as the word praise. Christian minister, author, and editor Mary Fairchild writes that Psalms 104-150 are “Hallelujah Psalms.” The phrase “praise the Lord” appears throughout these psalms also along with other phrases such as “shout for joy” and “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” (KJV).

Gerhard Kittel writes that “praise the Lord” … (is) “found …as the heading or conclusion to Psalms 104-06, 111-13, 115-17, 135, (and) 146-50.” Fairchild writes that hallelujah is timeless and “is recognized as a Christmas word thanks to German composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)” in his Hallelujah Chorus Handel’s Messiah which is performed as “an integral part of the sounds of the Christmas season.”

In the New Testament, the word hallelujah can be found in Revelation 19:1-6, referred to as “the wedding supper of the Lamb” according to https://gotquestions.net. In this passage, the enemies of the Lord have been defeated and there is rejoicing in heaven. Verse 6 reads “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings saying, Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (KJV). This website notes “so great is the rejoicing by God’s people at the wedding feast of the bridegroom (Christ) and the bride (the church) that hallelujah is the only word grand enough to express it.”

What is the difference between hallelujah and alleluia? Mary Fairchild writes “Hallelujah is an exclamation of worship or a call to praise” and “has been an important utterance in church and synagogue worship since ancient times.” During a Google search, I found that the word alleluia “refers to a chant…Ancient Jews probably chanted hallelujah or alleluia as an antiphon (short sentence sung or recited before or after psalm) or canticle (hymn).

So, is hallelujah the highest praise? According to Jack Taylor in his 2018 book The Hallelujah Factor: An Adventure in the Principles and Practice of Praise, “the word hallelujah … is an almost universal word for praise and is the premier word for praise in the Bible.” According to the website www.quora.com, hallelujah is “a declaration of praise or worship of God” and is “regarded as the most exalted word in the Bible regarding God.”

Hallelujah to the name of our Savior Jesus Christ!

Minister Adjinoria H. Tomlin Sermonette #25 August 9, 2021

Resources

BibleGateway. “NASB.” 2021. Accessed July 18, 2021. www.biblegateway.com/

Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible. Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1989.

Google. “Greek Definition of Hallelujah and Alleluia.” 2021. Accessed July 12, 2021. www.google.com/

Google. “Antiphon Definition.” 2021. Accessed July 18, 2021. www.google.com/

Google. “Canticle Definition.” 2021. Accessed July 18, 2021. www.google.com/

Google. “Scriptures.” 2021. Accessed July 12, 18, 2021. www.google.com/

Got Questions Ministries. “What is the meaning of the word ‘hallelujah’?” 2021. Accessed July 18, 2021. https://printer.gotquestions.net/

Kittel Gerhard and Gerhard Friedrich (eds.) Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1985.

Learn Religions. “Mary Fairchild.” 2021. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.learnreligions.com/

Learn Religions. “What Does Hallelujah Mean in the Bible?” by Mary Fairchild. March 24, 2019. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.learningreligions.com/

Quora. “Where Does the Bible Say Hallelujah is the Highest Praise?” 2021. Accessed July 12, 2021. www.quora.com/

Taylor, Jack. The Hallelujah Factor: An Adventure in the Principles and Practice of Praise. Texas: Burkhart Books, 2018.

Thomas Nelson Publishers. The Holy Bible: King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1994.

YouTube. “Hallelujah Anyhow,” by The Canton Spirituals/Al Green. February 25, 2021. Accessed July 12, 2021. www.youtube.com/

YouTube. “Hallelujah You’re Worthy, by Daryl Coley. December 11, 2020. Accessed July 18, 2021. www.youtube.com/