Praise & Worship
(Greek & Hebrew Words)
Praise- an expression of approval or adoration - the rendering
of a number of Hebrew and Greek words - it should never descend to fulsome
flattery - the praise of God is the acknowledging of his perfections,
works, and benefits
Worship- the act of paying divine honour to a deity; religious
reverence and homage - forms - bow down, fall down, to serve, to kiss the
hand in reverence - it's as natural to worship as it is to live
The English language is limited by its vocabulary and it
is necessary to look at the original Hebrew meaning of the words 'praise'
and 'worship'. We don't realize that in the original Hebrew there are a
lot of words for worship and they all have different shades of meaning.
|
Shacah -
to bow down in reverence, prostrate oneself - when coming
before the Lord in worship |
|
Hallel -
to be boastful, praise, celebrate - found more than 160
times in the O.T. |
|
Yadah -
to give thanks, praise - implies worshipping with raised
hands |
|
Todah -
to give thanks - often used in a setting where many people
are singing songs of thanksgiving |
|
Tehillah -
the Hebrew word for the Book of Psalms, a song of praise
(extolling the deeds worthy of it) |
|
Barak - to bless - God needs nothing from us but He still chooses
to receive our 'blessing' |
|
Zamar -
to 'touch the strings' (harp, lyre) - praising in song
with harmony & musical accompaniment |
|
Shabach -
to congratulate, speak well of - suggests triumphantly
celebrating, glory and shouting |
|
Samach -
to be glad, rejoice - out burst of spontaneous joy which
overflows in physical action |
|
Siys -
to be bright, leap with mirth, implies jumping around, to
spin around in delirious delight |
|
Rauh -
battle cry, jubilant shout - army leader raised a battle
cry which demanded response from the army |
|
Quaro -
to call or proclaim - 'I proclaim righteousness in the
great assembly' (Ps. 40:9) |
|
Proskuneo -
to come towards to kiss - reflects inner heart attitude in
worship, expression of intimacy & adoration |
|
Sebomai -
feeling of reverence and awe in the presence of God |
|
Latreuo -
to worship by righteous living |
|
Chaira -
to rejoice - this type of rejoicing should prevail even
when persecuted, joy is not superficial |
|
Agaillo -
to rejoice greatly, to exult, this joy is demonstrated in
action |
Bible verses containing these words:
1 Cor 25:3
-with a harpEx 4:31 - bow head in worship
Neh 12:31
- thanksgiving choir Phil 3:3 - in spirit
2 Sam 6:13
- dancing, leaping Jer 31:4 - dancing
Phil 2:10
- bowing Ps 103:1 - bless
Ps 134
- bless by lifting hands Ps 141:2
- lift hands Ps 143:6 - lift hands
Ps 22:22
- congregational Ps 40:16 - continually
Ps 47:1
- clap hands Ps 150 - instruments
Ps 35:18
- give thanks Ps 42:4 - with joy and praise
Ps 81:1-3
- shout, timbrel, harp, trumpet Ps 95:1
- singing and making noise Zep 3:17
- rejoice Rom 12:1 - as living sacrifices |