The curious story of Selah
Biblical Hebrew – hear the song of the Bible
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The most mysterious word in The Psalms
In Psalm 3 you will find the following verse, “Salvation belongs unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah” (Ps. 3:8). What is this final word? Selah is a mysterious word sprinkled throughout the Book of Psalms over 70 times. As with Amen and Hallelujah, Selah is not English. It is an ancient Hebrew term that has not been translated because of its special sanctity. When we look at the Hebrew, there are a few possible interpretations.
The song of the Levites
It is telling that Selah always appears at the end of a block of verses. Since the Psalms were originally sung by the Levitical choir in the Temple, many of them contain musical directions. Some scholars say Selah comes from the Hebrew root SLL (סלל), meaning “to raise up,” instructing the Levites to lift their voices. Others say Selah comes from the Hebrew word sal (סל) meaning “basket,” referencing a drum that was beaten at certain interludes.
The Bible speaks Hebrew, learn to listen
The word Selah is a rare remnant; one of very few Hebrew words that was not translated. But the entire Bible was once in Hebrew, and this is how Moses, David and Jesus heard it. You can still access it if you simply have the tools to read Hebrew. We invite you to encounter the truest form of Scripture: the original text of the Hebrew Bible. Enroll in our live online Biblical Hebrew class today.
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