Defining words: Hallelujah

One website that I visit on a somewhat regular basis (once a month, approx), is http://www.dictionary.com/. I am a bit "attentive" about spelling words correctly and so will often go there to check spelling. Or sometimes I go there to see what a word means, mainly so that I don't use it incorrectly. Two weeks ago, I explained "prodigal." Today, the journey continues...

One word that is said quite regularly, in my opinion, is Hallelujah!
Especially if you attend church regularly, Hallelujah pops up in many many songs. However, interestingly enough, it is only in 4 verses of the Bible, according NIV and NASB translations, and all four times are located in the book of Revelations, in chapter 19. Interesting!

According to http://www.dictionary.com/, the word Hallelujah originates in the Hebrew language and quite wonderfully means "Praise Ye Yahweh!" or more modernly "Praise the Lord!"

And while humanity has liberalized the word so that it might mean:

• an expression of relief or a similar emotion
• a shout of joy, praise, or gratitude;

when you break the word down by origin, the word still means "Praise Ye Yahweh!"

So last week, my "atheist" co-worker responded, by email, to a situation that we had been working on by saying "Hallelujah! Have a good Friday."
Imagine my delight and chuckle!
Praise the Lord indeed!