Hebrew Words For Praise And Worship Summary

Chapter 3

“Hebrew Words for Praise and Worship”

It is important to note here that the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. In order to grasp the true meaning of any verse or chapter, it is important to study the rudimentary origins of the Hebrew or Greek word(s) of the passage of scripture that you are studying. Paul schools Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15 ‘Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth’.

I personally make it a habit to separate my devotional time from my study time. Of course my devotion and study time intertwine sometimes, but usually my devotional time consists of reading God’s word and praying to draw closer to God

There are more than 300 times the worshipper is exhorted to sing with various Hebrew words for "sing", however it is only the songs that flow from our spirits that are called tehillah praise. It implies to total involvement of oneself in praise to God (Ps 65:1; 100:4). Isaiah confirms that it is music that is the healer to the soul stating that the Spirit of God has given a garment of “tehillah” to replace the “spirit of heaviness” (Isa 61:3). Tehillah has only one translation in the Old Testament and this praise, and we know that these are a song or hymn of praise! Here are some scriptures relating to a ‘tehillah’ praise – Neh 12:46; Ps 33:1; 145:21; Jer 49:25; Zeph 3:20.

• SHABACH– means to address in a loud voice, tone, shout, to command, triumph or glory with a loud voice. The phrase "shout unto the Lord" can be understood as the action of Shabach. Have you ever praised God to a stage that you have shouted out “thank you Jesus!!!”? You have just entered the ‘Shabach zone’ of praise! Shabach is translated in the Old Testament into the following words: praise, still, keep it in, glory, triumph, and commend. Here are some scriptures relating to a ‘shabach’ praise - 1 Chron 16:35; Ps 63:3; 117:1; 147:12; Prov