’Praising God’ in Hebrew

Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭147:1‬ ‭

Praising God is like offering Sacrifice to God. It is called the Sacrifice of Praise. It is imperative for every child of God to offer this sacrifice of praise daily. Praising God is the fruit of the lips - a voice of triumph.

The Scripture is filled with saints who praised God everyday and King David tops the list. The book of Psalms specifically dedicated for this, overflows with thanksgiving and praises to God. In his happy and difficult times as well he never ceased to praise the One who got him through.

Before stepping out for war, in Judges 20:18, we see the children of Israel asking God regarding who would go first. God said, Judah will go first. Judah means Praises. In this way their victory was sure.

These days we use only “Praise the Lord” and “Hallelujah” while offering praises to God. But in Hebrew there are different words used for praising God during different situations.

1. Hallal - Psalms 105:45. This is the Hebrew word for ‘Praise ye the Lord’. It means to celebrate unto the Lord with a clear and distinct sound.

2. Tehillah - ‘God of my praise‘ - Psalms 109:1. Tehillah means to sing forth a clear song of praise to God, without any error.

3. Shabach - ‘Shout unto God with the voice of triumph’ - Psalms 47:1. When the Israelites got victory in a battle, the word Shabach was used.

4. Zamar - ‘I will sing praise to my God while I have my being’ - Psalms 104:33. In Hebrew, Zamar has two meanings:

• Glorious anthems of praise for God.
• I will praise Him with all musical instruments.

5. Yadah - ‘Let the earth rejoice’ - Psalms 97:1. Yadah means acknowledging sins before God by lifting up the hands.

6. Towdah - Psalms 50:23. Towdah means offering thanksgiving. When an Israelite came before God, by lifting up his hands he would offer praises. His praises meant, Lord, I was a sinner, You saved means and now I thank you.

7. Barak - ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul’ - Psalms 103:1. This was done with great reverence by kneeling down.

8. Ruwa - ‘Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving’ - Psalms 95:2. This means praising God for His work of creation and deliverance.

Let’s be people who praise God always and with understanding as well. May God help us.

Be blessed!