Halal praise, the secret that will change EVERYTHING!

This week we’re going to be digging into the second of 7 of the Hebrew words for Praise and do a Hebrew word study on Halal. Did you know there are over 15 Greek + Hebrew words used in the Bible to describe “Praise?” When we use 1 word to describe in English, ancient writers used 15.

Do you think maybe we’re losing some of the value here? 
Yup. I totally agree.

This is one of the reasons I love doing word studies in my everyday reading. Studying the original word in the original language gives so much depth and meaning to verses we may have read 1000 times! 

If you want to study along with me, check out this post and download this free resource!

Ready to dive in?

Step One | GATHER

Remember last week’s study on Yadah? We used Psalm 111:1 and I noted that we see “praise” being used twice here. The second “praise” was Yadah and the first one was Halal. 

Well as promised, we’re back this week to finish out Psalm 111:1 by studying Halal. It will be fun to kick things off right from the start by illustrating how two totally different Hebrew words were translated into English using only 1 word, and how this dramatically alters our understanding of the verse.

After we break down this new word for praise (Halal) you’ll be able to see how much more depth it adds to the meaning and as a result, our grasp of what it means to praise God.

Key Verse

Psalm 111:1 (KJV)

1 Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

The first “Praise” in that verse is today’s Hebrew word, halal.

English Definition

Praise

Verb
1: to express a favorable judgment of : COMMEND
2: to glorify (a god or saint) especially by the attribution of perfections: to express praise

Noun
1a: an expression of approval : COMMENDATION
1b: WORSHIP

2: VALUE, MERIT
barchaic : one that is praised

Context + Literary Clues

• David likely authored Psalm 111, but since it doesn’t specifically have his name on it, we can’t say for sure. 
• Literary form: poetry.
• The author was writing to God and an assembly of the upright.

Additional Notes

Many collections preceded this final compilation of the Psalms. In fact, the formation of psalters  probably goes back to the early days of the first (Solomon’s) temple (or even to the time of David), when the temple liturgy began to take shape. Reference has already been made to “the prayers of David.” Additional collections expressly referred to in the present Psalter titles are: (1) the songs and/or psalms “of the Sons of Korah” (Ps 42-49; 84-85; 87-88), (2) the psalms and/or songs “of Asaph” (Ps 50; 73-83) and (3) the songs “of ascents” (Ps 120-134).

Hebrew Word Study

• Original word: Halal (1984)
• Phonetic: haw-lal’
• Part of speech: Verb
• Origin meaning: a primitive root
• Definition: “to shine, praise, boast, be boastful”

1. to shine
   • (Qal)
     • to shine (fig. of God’s favour)
     • boastful ones, boasters (participle)
   • (Hiphil)
     • to flash forth light

2. to praise, boast, be boastful
   • (Qal)
     • to be boastful
     • boastful ones, boasters (participle)
   • (Piel)
     • to praise
     • to boast, make a boast
   • (Pual)
     • to be praised, be made praiseworthy, be commended, be worthy of praise
   • (Hithpael) to boast, glory, make one’s boast
   • (Poel) to make a fool of, make into a fool
   • (Hithpoel) to act madly, act like a madman

• KJV word usage: 165 times
• Examples: praise 117, glory 14, boast 10, mad 8, shine 3, foolish 3, fools 2, commended 2, rage 2, celebrate 1, give 1, marriage 1, renowned 1

Since halal is already a root word, we don’t need to dig another layer deeper in our Hebrew word study.

Step Two | INTERPRET

Piecing Things Together

Now you’re ready to begin the interpretation process.

IMPORTANT: At this stage, you must not begin applying what you’re learning to yourself. 

Let me say it again. DO NOT begin a personal application process yet. 

If you skip the interpretation step and move straight into “How does this apply to me” you risk misinterpretation, taking things out of context and leading others astray.

When interpreting any ancient text, Biblical or secular, there are set rules that all scholars follow to ensure accurate interpretation. This is one of them. 

Also important – read the passages (chapters are even better) before and after the one containing the key verse. What is the verse saying in context with the entire set of passages/chapters?

Take some notes in your Additional Notes section of the handout

What Was Happening At The Time This Was Written?

Psalms is a collection of prayers and praises written by several authors spanning thousands of years. It is a book of poetry and prayers that don’t have ties to historical and cultural events. In other words the truths contained span the ages, the words glorify God and call his people to glorify Him.

What Did The Original Author Want To Communicate?

The author was obviously demonstrating the outrageous glory of our God! 

Think about it!

To shine, to flash forth light, to boast… This is a word picture designed for us to imagine just how magnificent and brilliantly bright God is. 

Worthy of being boasted about. 

One of the meanings also references acting wildly like a madman! That’s how awesome (inspiring, terrific, EXTRAORDINARY) our God is. To see this level of glory and magnificence elicits an extraordinary response.

That extraordinary response?

Yadah – our word from last week
To raise one’s hands and cast praise with your whole heart.

The author is using superlative language that was tied to physical response to illustrate God’s greatness, immediately followed by a declaration of physical response.

Rewrite Verse To Original Audience In Your Own Words

The LORD shines! He flashes forth great light and glory and I commend His greatness for all to see. There is NO ONE like Him in all His shiny splendor! In response to his magnificence and favor, I will boast about Him and express excessive pride, praising Him extravagantly.

I will raise my hands and cast my praise toward the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. With my body I will lift His name and with my hands held high I will passionately praise him in the midst of the congregation. Fear of what others think of me will not hold me back from my wholehearted praise! I will declare His praises in the earshot and eyeshot of all and attribute value to the one I love with my whole body.

Step Three | APPLY

INWARD | Let’s Get Relational

Ok, You’ve done all the work, now it’s FINALLY time to get personal. To turn that interpretation into personal application. Invite Holy Spirit to turn that principle into application for your own life. 

Ask Him these questions:

• What does this mean for me?
• What do you want to say to me through this?
• Do I need to take action? Repent of some misaligned thought patterns? Extend gratitude and praise? Share this revelation with someone else?
• What are some next steps for us?

Then sit still and listen.

I promise… He’ll respond. 

Journaling

Pay attention to where your thoughts go and write them down. If you’re not used to hearing God’s voice, this is a major way He starts conversations in the beginning. Soon you’ll begin to recognize His unique language with you and it will become easier to recognize His thoughts apart from yours. Remember, He is jealous for you. He desires a relationship with you and with any step you take toward Him, He will respond over-and-above in kind. That is His nature. He is a good, good father. Write down what you hear and build on where that takes you.

If you’re not a journaler by nature, make lists instead. But don’t skip the “write this down” step. To those who are faithful to steward what He gives us, more will be given. (Matthew 13:1-12) Think of writing down what He says as a concrete way to steward the gift of His voice.

Don’t get to that writing stage too quickly though. 🙂 It’s so easy in our hustle and bustle to get into action mode too soon. It’s a discipline to sit in stillness and wait for Him to speak. So much of our “praying” is us talking TO Him without leaving space for Him to talk back. 

And that’s the BEST PART.

Don’t miss out on the best part. You’ll never be the same again.

OUTWARD | Use It In Worship

Now let’s focus everything we’ve learned toward the King in worship – let’s pick a worship song and really take a look at the lyrics of what we’re singing.

Since we’re still in Psalm 111:1, I’m going to go ahead and use another older Planetshakers song.

Now, this song may challenge some of you a bit. There is a section that is pretty rock-techno-dance heavy and I KNOW the musical style won’t appeal to everyone.

This is 100% why I chose it.

Halal isn’t about being comfortable. It isn’t about keeping our worship safe in the little box we’ve created for Jesus and our worship music styles.

This is about halal and halal is LOUD. It’s BIG. It’s FLASHY. It is about BOASTING. It’s about our spirit breaking out and exclaiming about the bigness and magnificence of His light. It elicits a madman-type response. It’s not about us. It’s about HIM. 

And He doesn’t fit in our comfy little box.

So whatever your personal musical preference, whatever your belief is about what’s “appropriate” for church congregational worship. I ask that you lay that aside for the next 3:55 minutes and watch this video, keeping in mind what we now know halal really looks like.

Halal In Action

Watch this video of Dance by Planetshakers

Challenge Your Status Quo

So, how did that hit you? I know for me, it always challenges me. I’m pretty expressive in worship so to watch me praise one might not think I struggle with giving it all to God.

But I do.

I often hold back physically going where my spirit is yearning to explore because I’m afraid. Afraid that others will think I’m performing. Trying to put on a show. Afraid I’ll be distracting (which is a legit concern depending on where I am and what the atmosphere looks like in a room). Afraid my pure desire to worship will meet scorn and judgement.

Friend, your response could be one of many. You may feel an instant resistance to “go there.” You may feel an almost rebellious dismissal to dance and spin around and wildly proclaim anything in public. You may have a naturally reserved personality and be thinking, “this is just not for me.” On the flip side, you may feel an excitement as your very spirit resonates with this word and you literally CRAVE to worship God with this level of abandon…but IRL tho? In church in front of your friends and family?

There is a major reason for this type of resistance.

The enemy fears it.

Why tho?

When we glorify God with this level of praise, and to this extent, things change. Strongholds come falling down. Chains are broken. Darkness HAS to flee. The enemy is trying to deal a death blow to this type of transcendent, glory-focused worship.

In every story in the Bible where a demon encounters Jesus, what happens? They immediately proclaim His glory and His greatness.

Why?

Because they freakin👏🏻 HAVE 👏🏻TO👏🏻.

Philippians 2:9-11(NLT), “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Did you catch that?

Every knee.
In heaven, on earth, and UNDER the earth.

All of ‘em. All the knees.

Wrapping It Up

Are you facing spiritual attack today? Is your family under attack? Your health, finances, job, marriage or relationships? Someone that you know and love?

Halal.
Out loud.

In the secret place or in your car or at church, it doesn’t matter. Bring the enemy to his knees in the presence of the One who’s glory shines so bright, it expels all darkness.

I challenge you today to let this word drive you into deeper expressions of praise. Instead of watching that video of other people’s halal and either try to imitate them, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, dismiss it completely, sit with Holy Spirit and ask Him how YOU can halal.

Maybe it’s a small step. 

If you don’t normally clap during praise songs, try clapping. If you don’t typically raise your hands, try raising one. Or go half-mast 😉 If you’re already a mover like me, try whirling. Jumping up and down. Don’t worry about what you look like. Just take a risk and step out in a new direction.

At Home

Practice at home. Play this song (on YouTube or download the chart here and play it on your instrument) and stretch yourself. 

Ask God to reveal new layers of how you can Halal Him.

Watch it transform your life and your circumstances!

Be on the lookout for upcoming word studies on the 7 Hebrew words for Praise! Be sure to follow this blog or join the list for notifications! And as always, shoot me an email or comment below, I’d love to hear from you! 🙂

Hey, are you new here? I help worship musicians, singers and songwriters grow in their gift through technical training and discipleship. Here are some of our most popular blog posts, check these out!

Please follow and like us: