The Psalms are a collection of praise songs or poems composed by Moses, David, Solomon, and other known and unknown authors.
In many of the Psalms, there is a five-letter word that continues to be debated relative to its significance. Found primarily in the Psalms, this word seems to be a one-word sentence or sentence word that is followed by a period.
The oddly positioned word is Selah, and the mystery of its existence and importance cannot be overlooked.
Have you ever thought about what Selah means or why it appears in only two books in the Bible?
Notice the word in Psalm 77: 9 (KJV), “Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.
Selah, similar to other word sentences: Come., Go., Yes., Alas!, and many different responses and directives are also followed by a punctuation mark.
Many religious historians think Selah denotes a pause or reflection after a phrase or verse before reading the next verse.
Selah is a Hebrew word that appears 71 times in 39 of the 150 Psalms. The term also appears three times in the book of Habakkuk in the third chapter, which is both a prayer and a song.
People have debated for a long time why Selah is there and what it means when used. Selah remains a word of mystery.
When I read Selah aloud in a Psalm, I feel its oddity in utterance and rhythm. It seems as if the rhythm of the verse slows and changes when the word appears.
But everything in the Bible has a purpose and significance.
How or should Selah be read?
I’ve only witnessed Selah read aloud, but some may pause at the word to emphasize a moment of reflection. Some may honor the word by reading it, and others by pausing.
In addition to the reflective pause, some refer to Selah as a term of musical direction or interlude. This sounds practical when singing songs or Psalms.
Thirty-one of the 39 Psalms that include Selah are titled ‘To the choirmaster’ or chief musician.
Due to the continued debates and lack of definitive significance, many Bible translations have deleted Selah from the text and included it in the footnotes.
Is Selah a translation?
One reason Selah sounds odd when reading the English text is because it’s a transliteration. In this case, the Hebrew word, Selah, isn’t translated but is transliterated. A transliteration is the sounding out of a word in a familiar or known language in order to read and pronounce it. In other words, Selah, a Hebrew word, is sounded out in English.
Ancient Biblical writers featured Selah 74 times in their poetic songs, praises, and prayers to honor God. We can do the same by singing, uttering, pausing, and preserving these divinely inspired creations that capture the creature’s tie to his creator and provider.
Habakkuk 3:3 (KJV) says, “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.”
Be well.