HEBREW WORD STUDY – REBEL YELL – HALAL הלל  Hei Lamed Lamed

Psalm 101:1: “A Psalm of David:  I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.”

The word for Psalm here in Hebrew in this verse is mizamar.  Yet, that is not the same word used for the title of the Book. The word for Psalms as in the Book of Psalms is tehillim.  

The word tehillim comes from the root word halal which means to praise like in hallelujah which is a compound word for praise and God in an imperative (command) form – you praise the Lord.  So what are you to do when you praise the Lord.  The word praise in English is an expression of approval or admiration and commendation. According to our English word praise, it really falls short of what halal is.

Halal literally means to shine. Do you ever see anyone when they are so happy their face begins to blush and it is almost like it is shining?  Yet, Halal is more, it is celebrating, it is an expression of pride, joy,  But, let’s go into the very heart and depth of the word halal.  This was a very well known word among the Semitic people.  It has its origins in the old Akkadian cuneiform writing.  The Akkadians were a warfaring people who cried halal when going into battle.  It was meant as a battle cry or war cry as the warriors waved their swords in the sun making them shine from the reflection of the sun. It was used by soldiers going into battle to express solidarity and to intimidate the enemy.  What could be more terrifying than to see an army of soldiers waving their shining swords and yelling as they rushed into battle? 

During the American Civil War, the Confederates had what was known as the Rebel Yell. No one knows for sure what it sounded like as we have no recordings.  It was said to be copied from the Native Americans who would give a war cry, not unlike our modern Western movies.  In fact, the 35^th Battalion of Virginia Calvary was given the nom de guerre (war name) of Comanches.  However, records show that soldiers upon hearing it would call it the rabbit as it sounded like a rabbit’s scream. A rabbit will often scream when it is being chased by a predator or they are dying.  You can hear it on a YouTube video.  I once heard a rabbit scream when I was doing my night time rounds as a camp director through a wooded area leading to one of the cabins. I was with our nature expert and we heard this spine-tingling cry. It sounded like a terrified child and in the night it was blood-chilling. Our nature expert had a good laugh when he explained what it was and he also had a good time telling everyone how their camp director was terrified by a rabbit.

Nonetheless, this is was the purpose of a battle cry.  It was meant to not only to terrify the enemy but also to show the determination of an army and their unity in battle. It got the adrenalin running and created the courage to pursue the enemy. It scared the enemy to death.  If the sword didn’t do them in a heart attack would. 

So what does that have to do with praise?  To most of us praising God is singing some quiet hymns of adoration. I mean really, do you think God is that needy that He needs us to constantly boost His morale by telling Him how great He is?  Is that what David did when he sang of the mercy and judgment of God?  Did he sit playing a gentle little tune on his harp telling God how great He is?   That was David’s battle cry, his rebel yell, his scream.  In the Confederate army as with the Akkadian army, it was the commander who led the charge and led the charge with a  rebel yell.  He didn’t say charge like in those phony movies you see, he just let out a scream and charged and his army responded with a scream and charged with Him.  Soldiers who were tense and nervous before a battle, some whimpering and getting sick in their nap sack would suddenly be emboldened and would halal return the battle cry of their commander and filled with renewed courage would charge right into the enemy’s line. Then when the victory was won there would be a joyful halal, a cry of victory, an exuberant cry of joy with dancing and celebrating. 

That is halal.  Not a quiet, peaceful, thank you, praise you, honor you with little birdies singing in the background.  Halal is a war cry, a rebel yell.  When the enemy makes you feel threatened, fearful, or worried, call in the troops, fellow believers to halal.  It is just not you and other believers giving a halal, but God Himself who is leading the charge and giving His own halal as the enemy turns white with fear and runs in retreat. Then that halal session turns into one of joyous victory and dancing with Jesus right in the middle dancing with you.