Hallelujah!
We sing it and say it but what does Hallelujah really mean? Here’s how I found out by using The Bible Study App on my iPad.
First I searched on the word Hallelujah using the ESV Translation with Strong’s (in some translations the word is Alleluia). Interestingly enough Hallelujah is only found in four places in the New Testament and they are all in Revelation 19.
Because I’m using a Bible with Strong’s tagging I can then tap the word ‘Hallelujah’ to see the Greek word behind the English translation.
I can then tap ‘look up ἀλληλουϊα’ to see the Greek word in my other resources such as Vine’s or Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary or my Greek New Testament (NA 27 seen here) and compare them in the split screen.
These powerful tools make research and Bible study remarkably easy and whether you’re using The Bible Study App on an iPad, Android device, desktop, or phone the functionality is all very similar.
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#2 written by Andrew 2 months agoHeather,
Thanks for this and you are right! For the purpose of just highlighting how a function in the App works I decided not to go into an in depth word study but I appreciate your add-on here. One of the main downsides of the Strong’s tagging system is that an English translation is not always linked to only one word in the Greek or Hebrew but often several, as you demonstrated so well here. Thanks again!
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#3 written by Sara 2 months ago
Hi,
You are right about that downside to Strong’s tagging. To remedy that, I believe that some apps show a morphology… I think that may be the pie chart that shows how many times that word is translated each way. I would love to have a way to see how a word like “heaven” in Greek is translated with different English words other places in the Bible and how often. Is that possible and do you think it would be useful?
By the way, do we need to get permission to use screenshots of the iPad app on a blog or in an ebook? How would I get that permission?
Thanks for making Olive Tree the best Bible Study app! I love the ability to create nested folders. Keep up the good ministry.
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#4 written by Andrew 2 months ago
We actually have some good Morphology resources if you search ‘Morphology’ on http://www.olivetree.com you can check them out. They work pretty easily within the App and show a list of the different words. Feel free to use screen shots of the App online. Maybe shoot us a link if you can.
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#5 written by gordon papert 2 months ago
To Heather N.;
The word used for “shine” referrring to Moses in Ex. 34:29-30 is not hallel. In that context the Hebrew text says: “karan or panav”=the skin of his face shone. (“karan” here refers to a “ray of light” and also means “horn”, hence the Vulgate’s (and the Greek) mistranslation in this context which led to the famous statue of Moses being portrayed with horns! while it was the “or”=skin of Moses face that shone with rays of light. -
Great insight on how to use the app. I am currently reading a great book which I found here http://www.cumbooks.co.za/view/18429/smith-wigglesworth-on-healing/ and getting help with some of the words is much appreciated. Heather, you are a star!
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I just did a study on this very word a couple of weeks ago. It is found as “Alleluia” in the greek as you have said but it IS actually found in the old testament in the Hebrew definition of a group of words rather than a stand alone word in the text. If you look in the KJV at Psalms 106:1; Ps 111:1; Ps 112:1; PS 113:1 you will see the phrase : Praise ye the Lord. If you look at the Hebrew word for Praise you get:
H1984
הלל
hâlal
haw-lal’
A primitive root; to be clear (originally of sound, but usually of color); to shine; hence to make a show; to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causatively to celebrate; also to stultify: – (make) boast (self), celebrate, commend, (deal, make), fool (-ish, -ly), glory, give [light], be (make, feign self) mad (against), give in marriage, [sing, be worthy of] praise, rage, renowned, shine.
and then look at “the Lord” you get:
H3050
יהּ
yâhh
yaw
Contracted for H3068, and meaning the same; Jah, the sacred name: – Jah, the Lord, most vehement. Cp. names in “-iah,” “-jah.”
Hallal Yah. Two seperate words which became the word we all know as Hallelujah.
One of the definitions of Hallal is “to shine”. In Ex. 34:29-30 Moses face shone after he had been on the mountain with God and had received the Ten Commandments. It says in Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Moses was in the very presence and came off that mountain with a face that shone of the Glory of God. In the New Testament the bible says that we are to “Let our light shine–so that others may see and glorify God. And then there is the Jah part of Hallelujah, or Yah. This is the Holy and sacred name of God. It is the shortened form of Jehovah.
If you look at the rest of the definition for “Praise” we are to “celebrate” Yah; Make a boast about “Yah”. “Glorify” yah. So, I look at this and I see that we are to shine light on what is Praise Worthy about this God we serve so that others will know it and come to praise Him too.