SEVEN HEBREW WORDS FOR WORSHIP

           THE MYSTERY OF SOUND (TMS)


Topic: Seven Hebrew Words for "Praise and Worship."

Instructor: Pastor Gilbert Edoreh


INTRODUCTION
The Hebrew language is quite an interesting one. Not just interesting, but deep.
Having a little insight into such words (seven Hebrew words for Praise and Worship), convey a deeper essence of the things we have been seeing in the Bible. We trust God for deep insight as we examine them. Amen.

SEVEN HEBREW WORDS FOR WORSHIP


BARAK
The first word we'll be considering is the Hebrew word - Barak.
Barak (baw-rak')
Some people spell it as Barauch.
The word "Barak" means to bless God (as an act of adoration). It means to kneel before God our maker in worship.
We can check these scriptures: Psalm 95:6 and 2Chronicles 6:13.

Psalm 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down let us kneel before' the LORD our Maker.

2 Chronicles 6:13 For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and "kneeled" down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.

Now in these scriptures, the word "Barak" is translated as "Kneel."
In our culture as Nigerians, we understand the importance of kneeling. We understand that u don't kneel to a subordinate, but to a superior. In some cultures, it would be utter disrespect for a younger person to greet an older person while standing erect:
Kneeling therefore, is an expression of respect and honour to the person before whom you are kneeling.
Barak as a Hebrew word in worship expresses an attitude of love, submission and trust through the act of kneeling. The essence of this is to continually position our selves in such a way that we consistently give place to God in every area of our lives as a lifestyle.
In Psalms 95vs6, the psalmist was calling the people to a particular approach in worship which was in Kneeling before the Lord who is our maker. When we understand these words, it would help our approach in worship.
I seem to remember that it has been previously mentioned here (I think by the previous instructor, Mr. Jesse Akpomera) that worship is not essentially about singing. He explained this using Abraham's statement; This is really true.

OTHER REFERENCES: Judges 5:2; Psalms 72:15, 96:2, 103:1-2


SHACHAH (SHAW-KHAW')
The next word we'll be looking at is the Hebrew word - Shachah (shaw-khaw).

1 Samuel 15:25
Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.

Jeremiah 7:2
Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

The Hebrew word Shachah is used in these mentioned scripture verses.
Shachah means to prostrate (especially in homage to royalty or God).
This word portrays the act of bowing down or prostrating in homage by an inferior before a superior ruler.
As Africans, especially as Nigerians, I believe nothing more need to be said on this word, as it deeply reflects our culture.
This is the same word Abraham used in Genesis 22:5

Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
"I and the lad will go yonder and "shachah."
We need to understand the depth of this word...

Abraham went with his son Isaac to "Shachah", but according to the account of scripture, we know that Abraham did not "actually prostrate" or ''bow down'', rather he was in the process of offering Isaac in line with the instruction of God.

This infers that this act of "shachah" goes beyond a literal bow or prostration,

It is actually an act of total reverence and surrender to God and to His will!
This brings us to the realization that "worship is not an event, it is a lifestyle"; And in this context, a lifestyle of absolute surrender/yieldedness to the supremacy of God.

When you bow before anyone, you acknowledge that person as your superior.
Hence, with "shachah" we are able to worship God with a consciousness of the fact that He is supreme.



YADAH (YAW-DAW).
YADAH is a verb with a root meaning, "the extended hand, to throw out the hand, therefore to worship with extended hand, to lift the hands."

Psalm 42:5
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise (Yadah) him for the help of his countenance.

2Chronicles 20:21
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise (Yadah) the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 107:15
Oh that men would praise (yadah) the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to 

the children of men.

Psalm 63:4 So I will bless thee as long as I live; I will (yadah) lift up my hands in Thy name.
The word Yadah is used in this part of the scriptures and more.
This word "Yadah" literally means to hold out the hand - It means "to revere or worship with extended hands".
The word Yadah implies lifting open hands to God with love, faith, trust and thanks.
"Yadah is a posture of reverence." It's also a posture that implies "total surrender."
Regardless of circumstances, we can still stretch our hearts and hands to God.
"This is a posture of faith." There are times we come to a point in our lives when everything seem so dark and gloomy. At those points in our lives, it obviously becomes difficult to worship God. But when in the midst of this we are able to look beyond the prevailing situation to "stretch out" our hands and hearts to Him with an attitude of love, trust and awe, at this point we are giving YADAH to Him!
Please, take note of my use of the expression STRETCH OUT. This implies that it may not be comfortable to do so, but we still do so. In Yadah, there's a "stretching out".
"It's worship in inconvenience."

All hope seems lost, but u still "Stretch out", All doors seem shut, but you still "stretch out". Business may not be moving as it should, you have a right to grumble and complain, but instead, you "Yadah (stretch out)".
Looking at the scripture verse quoted (Psalm 63:4), Checking the background of that particular psalm of David, we understand that David wasn't in a good time, he was in the wilderness of Judah. Verse 1 makes it clear that to David, it seemed like God was not around at that moment. Therefore, his soul thirsted, his flesh longeth for God in a dry and thirsty land with no water.
This was the seemingly hopeless state in which David was when he cried out "I will Yadah" in verse 4.
May the Lord open the eyes of our understanding to see the depth of this word in the name of Jesus!

OTHER REFERENCES: Genesis 29:35, 49:8; 2 Chronicles 7:3,6; Psalms 67:3, 108:3; Isaiah 12:1,4;Jeremiah 33:11


CAGAD ( SAW-GAD').
"Cagad" means to prostrate oneself (in homage). It means to fall down.

Isaiah 44:19
And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I "fall down (saw-gad')" to the stock of a tree?

Isaiah 46:6
They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they "fall down", yea, they worship.

We understand by reason of the quoted scriptures that cagad implies submission.
"Shall I " Submit" myself to the stock of a tree?"
"Shall I by my action declare that a tree is superior to me?"

This we are to give only to God. Our absolute submission is only to God, and to none other.
Whao! The Lord by the operation of His Spirit grant us more light and understanding.

TEHILLAH (TEH-HIL-LAW')
TEHILLAH is derived from the word halal and means "the singing of halals, to sing or to laud; perceived to involve music, especially singing; hymns of the Spirit or praise.”
The word "Tehillah" means glory, praise, song of praise, praise-worthy deeds.
This word denotes the "QUALITY" or "ATTRIBUTE" of someone or thing and in this case, we imply the qualities or attributes of God.
"Tehillah" represents the words or song by which God is publicly lauded or by which His glory is publicly declared.

Psalm 22:3
But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises (Tehillah) of Israel.

Psalms 22:25
My praise (Tehillah) shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
A very good example of Tehillah is Exodus 15:11
Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises (tehillah), doing wonders?

So, whenever you stand publicly to declare the attributes of God, you're doing "Tehillah."

OTHER REFERENCES: Exodus 15:11; Deuteronomy 10:21; Nehemiah 9:5; Psalms 9:14, Jeremiah 48:2


Towdah (to-daw')

Psalm 50:14 Offer unto God praise (towdah) and pay thy vows unto the Most High.

Psalm 50:23 Whoso offereth praise (towdah) glorifieth Me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

This is a very strong word. I was held in awe when I realized the depth of this word.
"Towdah" denotes two words:
1. "Adoration" which means admiration or esteem.
Loving devotion or fascination of someone (like in awe of someone).
By this I can say that Towdah implies loving on God.
Standing in awe of Him; being so overwhelmed by His personality; admiring Him; and holding Him in great esteem.
Gents and ladies, you know what it means to admire someone.
Just think back on the eruption of emotions that occurred when you met that person who strongly caught your fancy. Even without him or her being there with you physically, you could literally hold his/her hand. You imagined sweet things about that person. It occupied a major portion in your stream of thoughts. Nothing could satisfy you more than having the person right there with you. I'm sure we've been there at one point in our lives or the other.
😉😉😀😀

But do you realize that all that is a form of worship?
If you could give such to a mortal, how much more the Immortal, the Invincible, the only one wise God? The one who loved you even before you knew of His existence.
Infact the One who will still love u regardless of your flaws.

2. "Avowal" - "Towdah" also denotes avowal. What does this mean?
Avowal is an open declaration of affirmation or admission of knowledge

Synonyms of avowal include - testimony and acknowledgement.
The implication of "Towdah" is that we actually affirm verbally what God has said.
I never knew this to be a form of worship.

We confess His Word; We speak the same thing that He has said; We admit His Word as real/true. We declare openly, freely, unreservedly

"Towdah" implies agreeing with and confessing God's Word. Little do we realize that this is a form of Worship - "just speaking what God has spoken".
Whao! This is indeed awesome - "Towdah"!
So, whenever you find yourself speaking ''anti-God's Word'' you need to know that you are away from worship.
When things are going a bit rough, you need to "Towdah"

Don't speak the circumstance, just "Towdah".

Worship is indeed beyond music! Worship engages your totality.
If worship were to be about music as many think, then it is only singers and instrumentalists that would have been able to worship God in Spirit and in truth. Music is only a form of expression.
So, the next time you meet that friend who thinks he isn't a worshiper just because he doesn't have a voice that sounds good or cannot play a note on the keyboard. Or maybe, he doesn't even know how to clap to rhythm, tell him or her that he/she can "Towdah".
I hope we're blessed with this.
If so, you can shout TOWDAH.....

OTHER REFERENCES: Psalms 42:4, 56:12; Jeremiah 17:26; Jeremiah 33:11

HALLAL (HAW-LAL')
HALLAL is a primary Hebrew root word for praise. Our word "hallelujah" comes from this base word. It means "to be clear, to praise, to shine, to boast, show, to rave, celebrate, to be clamorously foolish."

Psalm 113:1-3 Praise (hallal) ye the Lord, praise (hallal) o ye servants of the Lord, praise (hallal) the name of the Lord.

Psalm 150:1 Praise (hallal) the Lord! Praise (hallal) God in His sanctuary; Praise (hallal) Him in His mighty expanse.

Psalm 149:3 Let them praise (hallal) His name in the dance: let them sing praises with the timbrel and harp.

OTHER REFERENCES: Judges 16:24; 2 Samuel 14:25; 2 Chronicles 7:6; Ezra 3:10-11; Nehemiah 5:13; Psalms 18:3, 56:4, 63:5, 150:2-4; Isaiah 62:9; Jeremiah 20:13; Joel 2:26


In addition let's have "Zamar".



ZAMAR means "to pluck the strings of an instrument, to sing, to praise; a musical word which is largely involved with joyful expressions of music with musical instruments.

Psalm 21:13 Be exalted O Lord, in Thine own strength, so will we sing and praise (zamar) Thy power.

1Chronicles 16:9 Sing to Him, sing praises (zamar) to Him; speak of all His wonders.

Psalm 57:8-9 Awake my glory; awake harp and lyre, I will awaken the dawn! I will give thanks to Thee, O

Lord among the peoples; I will sing praises (zamar) to Thee among the nations.

OTHER REFERENCES: Judges 5:3; 2 Samuel 22:50; Psalms 61:8, 147:1, 7

I want to sincerely appreciate Mr. Elmond Isaiah for the opportunity given to me to take this seminar session, I thank every TMSite for being good and a true blessing all the way.
I pray the Lord by His Spirit bless our hearts and ignite within us a stronger drive for worship in Jesus Name. Amen.

Elmond Isaiah (TMS President).
07016606412
08067370005
themysteryofsound1@gmail.com

08064995728
Pst. Gilbert Edoreh

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