Sparks from the Fire

In a recent letter, Byron V. Johnson presents a compelling idea to consider.

He writes:

I am acquainted with the belief that the word hallelujah is the highest praise that we can give God.  I do not share that belief, although I would agree that the word may be described as the premier word for praise, which for me is quite different than speaking of hallelujah as the highest praise.

In your article, “Hallelujah! The Power of the Word,” you wrote of the word hallelujah, “It is the penultimate word in the human language in praise of God.”

From that statement, would I be correct in thinking that you regard the word as not merely one of several Hebrew words for praise, but in contrast to them, it is a praise in itself when uttered? (more…)

A minister I knew once questioned the depth or “the soul” of a song I wrote because it was “ a song of largely just Hallelujahs”.  Today I’d like to take a moment on this issue and look at the word “Hallelujah” in some depth.

Its etymology is from the Hebrew and means “Praise Jah” or “Praise God”.  Interestingly enough, it is a word that circumnavigates the globe and spans most languages.  When translated, the word “Hallelujah” (or sometimes “Alleluia”) remains the same: In Spanish it’s “Aleluya”, in Finnish and German it’s “Haleluja”, in French it’s “Alleluia”, in Estonian it’s “Haleluuja”, in Icelandic it’s Halleluja, in Slovak it’s “Aleluia” and on and on like that.  So it’s a word whose four syllables mean the same thing to most of mankind.  Say the word almost anywhere in Africa and they know how you feel.  Very few words translate that way.  Consider even the word “God”.  Even this word changes dramatically in its pronunciation and spelling in translation.  “Hallelujah” is truly universal.

I know of no other word in language or song that carries such joy, such celebration, such depth of spirit and soul.  With its four open vowels, it is a gorgeous utterance to sing and when sung alone or surrounded by itself and repeated over and over it is the epitome word of celebration in human language.  I find that when I’m writing a sacred song and I am most filled with the spirit of God, these are the words that spill out of me over and over as the melodies pour through me from God.  Over and over again, “Hallelujah”.  It happens so often that I have to rewrite the lyrics into other words, otherwise most of my songs would sing nothing but “Hallelujahs”.

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