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הלל

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Etymology and origin of the Biblical Hebrew word הלל

Three verbs are written הלל in the Bible: the common hillēl “to praise”, a rarer verb “to be foolish, to act madly”, and a verb “to shine” found four times;[1][2][3][4] HALOT treats them as three separate roots, I “to shine”, II “to praise” and III “to be foolish”.[1][2][3][4]

הלל1 to praise

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
Hebrew Bible (Song of David, 2 Samuel 22 = Psalm 18)
Inherited from
Proto-Semitic *hll

Pronunciation

  • Tiberian: piel hillēl, imperative halləlû[5][2]
  • Secunda (Origen's Hexapla): ααλλελ[2]
  • Samaritan reading tradition: yā̊llēlu[6]

Forms

הָלַל (hālal) verb, used in the piel הִלֵּל (hillēl), the pual and the hitpael[5][2] Piel perfect הִלֵּל, imperfect יְהַלֵּל, cohortative אֲהַלְלָה, imperative feminine הַלְלִי and plural הַלְלוּ, infinitive הַלֵּל, participle מְהַלְלִים.[2][7] Pual participle מְהֻלָּל “praised, worthy of praise”; hitpael imperfect יִתְהַלֵּל, participle מִתְהַלֵּל.[2] In the Masoretic text a lamed followed by shewa never takes a doubling dagesh in this verb (הַלְלוּ), while the Secunda and the Greek ἀλληλούια show the doubled consonant.[2]

Etymology

The verb of praise is inherited from Proto-Semitic *hll (“to shout, boast; in a derived stem, to praise”).[8] It has cognates in Ugaritic hll (“to cheer”),[2] Classical Syriac ܗܠܠ (hallel, “to praise, exult with praises”),[9][2] the Aramaic of the Genesis Apocryphon (Qumran),[10][2] Arabic هَلَّلَ (hallala, “to shout in festive joy”)[4][2] and Akkadian alālu (“to shout for joy, Gt-stem to boast”).[11][12][13] Leslau adds a Ge'ez verb meaning to jubilate and utter cries of joy.[14] HALOT, following Littmann, takes the original sense to be a trill or warble, the ululation of a crowd, and Gesenius had already compared the cries of joy that Ethiopian women repeat at public festivities.[2][15]

HALOT keeps this root apart from הָלַל (hālal, “to shine”) and הָלַל (hālal, “to be foolish”).[1][2][3] The older dictionaries joined them: Gesenius derived everything from a sense “to be clear”, first of a sharp sound and then of light,[15] and BDB lists the qal “to be boastful” (Psalms 5:6, 73:3, 75:5) under the verb of praise, where HALOT puts those passages with the verb “to be foolish”.[7][3] Lagarde explained the praise verb as denominative from Arabic هِلَال (hilāl, “new moon”), “to greet the new moon”, a view Gesenius–Buhl reports together with Wellhausen's objections.[16]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb appears in the Song of David (2 Samuel 22:4, repeated as Psalm 18:4), one of the poems Sáenz-Badillos counts among the archaic Hebrew texts:[17][5] məhullāl ʾeqrāʾ YHWH, “I call upon the LORD, who is to be praised”.[5] HALOT would read a form of the verb “to be foolish” there instead, “from those who mock me”.[2][3] In the narrative books the first use in the canon is secular: Pharaoh's officials see Sarai and way-hallû ʾōṯāh, “praised her”, to Pharaoh (Genesis 12:15).[5][2]

Semantic evolution

HALOT's first sense is admiration of a person: the beauty of Sarai or of Absalom (2 Samuel 14:25), a capable wife praised by her husband (Proverbs 31:28), and the warning “let another praise you, not your own mouth” (Proverbs 27:2).[2] Most uses are praise of God, 89 of the 146 in the Psalms alone,[5] including the call halləlû-yāh, “praise Yah”, that opens and closes the psalms from Psalm 104:35 to 150:6.[2] In Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah the piel becomes the technical term for the Levites' liturgical praise, hallēl la-YHWH and the cry of hallelujah at the temple service (1 Chronicles 16:4, 2 Chronicles 5:13, Ezra 3:10–11).[2][5] The reflexive hitpael means “to boast, to glory in”, either in oneself (1 Kings 20:11) or in God (Psalm 34:3), and the pual participle məhullāl is “worthy of praise”, said of God (Psalm 48:2).[2]

The Septuagint renders the piel mostly by Ancient Greek αἰνέω (ainéō) and the hitpael by καυχάομαι (kaukháomai),[5] and it keeps halləlû-yāh as ἀλληλούια (allēloúia), as does the New Testament.[2] From there Latin alleluia and English hallelujah were taken over.[18] The Dead Sea Scrolls use the verb of praise about 240 times, most often in the Psalms Scroll (11Q5) and the Hodayot.[19] In Rabbinic Hebrew the noun hallēl became the name of Psalms 113–118, recited on festivals,[20] and Modern Hebrew הִלֵּל (hilél) still means “to praise”.[21]

Timeline

  • Archaic Hebrew poetry – məhullāl “worthy of praise” in the Song of David (2 Samuel 22:4 = Psalm 18:4).[17][5]
  • Classical Biblical Hebrew – praise of a person: Sarai (Genesis 12:15), Absalom (2 Samuel 14:25).[2]
  • Psalms – 89 of the 146 occurrences, with the call halləlû-yāh.[5][2]
  • Late Biblical Hebrew – the Levites' praise hallēl la-YHWH in Chronicles and Ezra.[2][5]
  • 3rd–2nd century BC – the Septuagint renders it Ancient Greek αἰνέω (ainéō) and transliterates halləlû-yāh as ἀλληλούια.[22][5][2]
  • 2nd century BC – 2nd century AD – about 240 occurrences in the Dead Sea Scrolls.[23][19]
  • c. 200 AD – the Mishnah names Psalms 113–118 the hallēl.[24][20]
  • 1530s – English hallelujah, through Latin and Greek.[18]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (piel) to admire, speak well of a person: a beautiful woman, a wise man, a wife.[2][7]
  2. (piel) to praise God or his name; with לְ, to give praise to the LORD.[2][25]
  3. (piel, late) to call out hallelujah in the temple liturgy.[2]
  4. (pual) to be praised; participle: worthy of praise, praiseworthy.[2]
  5. (hitpael) to boast, to glory in something or in God.[2][25]
  6. (hitpael) to be praised (Proverbs 31:30).[2]

Word family

  • תְּהִלָּה (təhillâ)
  • הִלּוּלִים (hillûlîm)
  • מַהֲלָל (mahălāl)

Descendants

  • Modern Hebrew הִלֵּל (hilél)[21]
  • English hallelujah, from the phrase הַלְלוּ־יָהּ through Greek and Latin[18]

הלל2 to be foolish, act madly

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
First attested
Hebrew Bible
Inherited from
Proto-Semitic *hll
Ultimate origin
Proto-Semitic *hll

Pronunciation

  • Tiberian: qal participle hōləlîm, hitpoel yiṯhōlēl[3][26]

Forms

הָלַל (hālal) verb, in the qal, poel, poal and hitpoel[5][3] Qal imperfect תָּהֹלּוּ, participle הֹלְלִים; poel imperfect יְהוֹלֵל; poal participle מְהוֹלָל; hitpoel perfect הִתְהוֹלְלוּ, imperfect יִתְהוֹלֵל, imperative הִתְהֹלְלוּ.[3]

Etymology

The verb “to be foolish” is inherited from Proto-Semitic *hll (“to be weak-minded, mad”), with Akkadian ulālu (“weakling”) as its Akkadian cognate in StarLing's reconstruction.[27][28] HALOT and Klein compare Classical Syriac ܐܗܠ (ʾahhel, “to deride, scorn”), the aphel of the same root,[3][4][9] which CAL lists in Christian Palestinian Aramaic and Syriac,[10] and a Tigre word for an ignorant person.[3][4] Joüon took the verb as “to be moon-struck” and so joined it to הָלַל (hālal, “to shine”), a view HALOT rejects.[3][16] BDB divides the forms: the qal “boasters” of the Psalms go with הִלֵּל (hillēl, “to praise”) there, and only the poel and hitpoel are counted here.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first use in the canon is David's feigned madness before Achish of Gath: way-yiṯhōlēl bə-yāḏām, “he behaved like a madman while in their power”, scratching at the doors and letting spittle run down his beard (1 Samuel 21:14).[5][3]

Semantic evolution

In HALOT's reading the qal participle hōləlîm of the Psalms (5:6, 73:3, 75:5) are the infatuated, those carried away by arrogance, set beside the wicked;[3] BDB translates them “boasters”.[7] The poel is causative, “to make someone look a fool” (Job 12:17, Qohelet 7:7) or “to make a mockery of” the diviners (Isaiah 44:25), and the poal participle məhôlāl in Qohelet 2:2 calls laughter senseless.[3] The hitpoel is “to pretend to be mad” (1 Samuel 21:14) and “to act like madmen”, said of nations who drink the cup of wrath (Jeremiah 25:16, 51:7) and of chariots driven wildly (Jeremiah 46:9, Nahum 2:5).[3][25] The Septuagint understood the Psalms' participle as Ancient Greek παράνομος (paránomos, “lawless”) and the madness of Jeremiah as μαίνομαι (maínomai).[5] Among the Scrolls, HALOT notes the poel and hitpoel in the Thanksgiving Hymns (1QH).[3][19]

Timeline

  • Classical Biblical Hebrew – David feigns madness, way-yiṯhōlēl (1 Samuel 21:14).[5][3]
  • Prophets – the nations and chariots act like madmen (Jeremiah 25:16, 46:9).[3]
  • Late Biblical Hebrew – the poel and poal in Qohelet 2:2 and 7:7.[3][5]
  • 3rd–2nd century BC – the Septuagint renders the participle as Ancient Greek παράνομος (paránomos).[22][5]
  • 2nd century BC – 2nd century AD – the poel and hitpoel in the Thanksgiving Hymns.[23][3][19]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (qal) to be infatuated, carried away; participle: the arrogant, boastful.[3][7]
  2. (poel) to make look foolish; to make a mockery of.[3]
  3. (poal) participle: senseless, foolish.[3]
  4. (hitpoel) to feign madness; to act like a madman; to drive wildly.[3][25]

Word family

  • הוֹלֵלוֹת (hôlēlôṯ)

הלל3 to shine

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
First attested
Hebrew Bible
Inherited from
Proto-Semitic *hll

Pronunciation

  • Tiberian: hiphil yāhēl, infinitive with suffix bəhillô[1][26]

Forms

הָלַל (hālal) verb, in the hiphil[5][1] Hiphil imperfect יָהֵל, תָּהֶל, יָהֵלּוּ; infinitive בְּהִלּוֹ (Job 29:3); Gesenius–Buhl reads these as qal forms.[1][16] Ben Sira has a piel יהליל “to make shine” (Sirach 36:27), perhaps for a hiphil.[1][29]

Etymology

The verb “to shine” is inherited from Proto-Semitic *hll (“to shine, appear”), cognate with Arabic هَلَّ (halla, “to appear on the horizon, begin to shine”) and its noun هِلَال (hilāl, “new moon”),[1][30][4] and probably with Akkadian elēlu (“to be bright”) and ellu (“bright, pure”).[30][4][16] StarLing reconstructs the noun Proto-Semitic *hilāl- (“new moon”) on the evidence of Arabic, Ge'ez and the Ugaritic god hll, the New Moon.[27][31] HALOT keeps this root apart from הִלֵּל (hillēl, “to praise”), though it notes Palache's attempt to join them.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Isaiah's oracle on Babylon the stars lōʾ yāhēllû ʾôrām, “will not let their light shine” (Isaiah 13:10).[5][1] Job remembers the days bəhillô nērô ʿălê rōʾšî, “when his lamp shone over my head” (Job 29:3).[5][30]

Semantic evolution

All four biblical uses are in poetry and prophecy: the stars that withhold their light (Isaiah 13:10), the light that flashes from Leviathan's sneezing (Job 41:10), God's lamp over Job's head (29:3) and the sun when it shone, which Job did not secretly worship (31:26).[1][32] SDBH classes the verb with emitting or reflecting light, with an overtone of awe.[25] The Septuagint does not keep a single equivalent: Ancient Greek ἐπιφαύσκω (epiphaúskō) in Job 41:10, δίδωμι (dídōmi) in Isaiah 13:10.[5] The same root gives הֵילֵל (hêlēl), the “shining one, son of the dawn” of Isaiah 14:12.[1] Jastrow still lists “to be bright, shine” as the biblical sense of הָלַל in Rabbinic texts.[33]

Timeline

  • Prophets – the stars do not shine (Isaiah 13:10).[5][1]
  • Wisdom poetry – Job 29:3, 31:26 and 41:10.[5][1]
  • 3rd–2nd century BC – the Septuagint renders Job 41:10 with Ancient Greek ἐπιφαύσκω (epiphaúskō).[22][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (hiphil) to let shine, to flash forth light (stars, Leviathan).[1][32]
  2. (hiphil) to shine, give light (a lamp, the sun).[1][32]

Word family

  • הֵילֵל (hêlēl)

Usage notes

The personal name hillēl, the father of the judge Abdon (Judges 12:13, 15), is a short form of a name built on either הלל “to praise” or הלל “to shine”, according to HALOT.[34] The same name was borne by Hillel the Elder, called the Babylonian, whose school (Beth Hillel) is constantly cited in the Mishnah and Talmud.[35]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. הלל I
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. הלל II
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. הלל III
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Klein, Ernest (1987), A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English, Jerusalem: Carta; Haifa: University of Haifa, p. s.v. הלל
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Clear Bible (2023–), MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets (Westminster Leningrad Codex, with Greek alignment), github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-hebrew, CC BY 4.0
  6. ^ Højgaard, Christian Canu; Naaijer, Martijn; Schorch, Stefan (2023), Text-Fabric Dataset of the Samaritan Pentateuch, Zenodo, doi:10.5281/zenodo.7734632
  7. ^ a b c d e f Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; Briggs, Charles A. (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. הָלַל²
  8. ^ Huehnergard, John (2011), "Proto-Semitic Language and Culture" and "Semitic Roots", in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p. s.v. hll
  9. ^ a b Sokoloff, Michael (2009), A Syriac Lexicon, Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns; Piscataway: Gorgias Press, p. 344
  10. ^ a b Kaufman, Stephen A., ed., Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, cal.huc.edu, p. s.v. הלל
  11. ^ Tawil, Hayim ben Yosef (2009), An Akkadian Lexical Companion for Biblical Hebrew: Etymological-Semantic and Idiomatic Equivalents, Jersey City: Ktav, p. 86
  12. ^ von Soden, Wolfram (1965–1981), Akkadisches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 34
  13. ^ Black, Jeremy; George, Andrew; Postgate, Nicholas (2000), A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. s.v. alālu
  14. ^ Leslau, Wolf (1987), Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 217
  15. ^ a b Gesenius, Wilhelm (1846), Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures, transl. Samuel Prideaux Tregelles, London: Samuel Bagster, p. s.v. הָלַל
  16. ^ a b c d Gesenius, Wilhelm; Buhl, Frants (1915), Hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament, 17th ed., Leipzig: F. C. W. Vogel, p. s.v. הלל
  17. ^ a b Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1993), A History of the Hebrew Language, transl. John Elwolde, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 69
  18. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com, p. s.v. hallelujah
  19. ^ a b c d Abegg, Martin G.; Jacobs, Jarod; Roorda, Dirk (2022), The Dead Sea Scrolls, Text-Fabric dataset, version 2.0.2, github.com/ETCBC/dss
  20. ^ a b Jastrow, Marcus (1886–1903), A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature, London: Luzac; New York: Putnam, p. s.v. הַלֵּל
  21. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  22. ^ a b c Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1993), A History of the Hebrew Language, transl. John Elwolde, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 93
  23. ^ a b Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1993), A History of the Hebrew Language, transl. John Elwolde, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 143
  24. ^ Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1993), A History of the Hebrew Language, transl. John Elwolde, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 184
  25. ^ a b c d e de Blois, Reinier, ed. (2000–), Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew, United Bible Societies, sdbh.org, p. s.v. הלל
  26. ^ a b Eep Talstra Centre for Bible and Computer (2021), BHSA: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Amstelodamensis, Text-Fabric dataset, version 2021, github.com/ETCBC/bhsa
  27. ^ a b Militarev, Alexander, et al., Semitic Etymology (database semet), The Tower of Babel (StarLing), starling.rinet.ru, p. s.v. hll
  28. ^ von Soden, Wolfram (1965–1981), Akkadisches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. 1407
  29. ^ Clines, David J. A., ed. (1993–2011), The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, 8 vols, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press / Sheffield Phoenix Press, p. 2:563
  30. ^ a b c Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; Briggs, Charles A. (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. הָלַל
  31. ^ del Olmo Lete, Gregorio; Sanmartín, Joaquín (2015), A Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in the Alphabetic Tradition, 3rd ed., transl. W. G. E. Watson, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. hll
  32. ^ a b c Holladay, William L. (1971), A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. הלל
  33. ^ Jastrow, Marcus (1886–1903), A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature, London: Luzac; New York: Putnam, p. s.v. הָלַל
  34. ^ Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. הִלֵּל
  35. ^ Jastrow, Marcus (1886–1903), A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature, London: Luzac; New York: Putnam, p. s.v. הִלֵּל

Related etymologies

  • אבן · also from Proto-Semitic
  • כשר · also from Proto-Semitic
  • גן · also from Proto-Semitic
  • גוי · also from Proto-Semitic
  • יובל · also from Proto-Semitic
  • גמל · also from Proto-Semitic
  • שק · also from Proto-Semitic
  • אתון · also from Proto-Semitic
Cite this entry

“הלל.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/hbo/%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%9C. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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