Podcast Episode Details

Podcast Intro

Our reading today is Psalms 3 through 5, I’ll give you some of my thoughts on those chapters, and then, there’s the “On This Day In Church History” segment, and we will have some “Prayer Requests” at the end of the show.

Thoughts on Psalms 3-5

Selah is a word that is most found in the book of Psalms. Habakkuk is the only other book in which it appears, but only three times. Here in Psalms it occurs 71 times.

But what does it mean?

I would love to give you a definite definition, but the truth is that we don’t know! But here’s what scholars surmise.

The Hebrew word calah seems to be related to selah, and it means “to hang” or “to measure or weigh in the balances.” Job says, when speaking of wisdom, “The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold” (Job 28:19). The word translated “valued” in that sentence is the Hebrew word calah. Job is saying that wisdom is beyond comparing even with jewels, and when weighed in the balance against wisdom, the finest jewels cannot equal its value.

Another thought about the meaning of selah is that it comes from two Hebrew words: s_lah, which means “to praise”, and s_lal, which means “to lift up”.

And another idea is that selah comes from the Hebrew salah, which means “to pause”. The Psalms were written as songs, so perhaps this is a musical notation which told the musicians to pause. Maybe to take a breath. Maybe to sing a cappella. Maybe for an instrumental interlude. Could be they were to stop and praise God and/or lift their hands in worship. If this interpretation is true, all of the mentioned meanings combined would make perfect sense. 

Interestingly, the Amplified Bible adds “pause and calmly think about that” when the word selah appears. 

So when we see the word as we are reading the Bible, we should stop and meditate on what we have just read, lifting our hearts to praise God. Selah!

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 3-5 HCSB

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