selah
an expression occurring frequently in the Psalms, thought to be a liturgical or musical direction, probably a direction by the leader to raise the voice or perhaps an indication of a pause.
Origin of selah
1Words Nearby selah
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use selah in a sentence
As selah talks to Mora, the two embark on a kind of intertextual journey.
He was a very busy man, de Psalmist—writin' down hymns all day, sharpen'n' his lead-pencil, bossin' 'roun' de choir—callin' selah!
Eli | Heman White ChaplinBut—'here comes the selah and the voice is hushed'—I will speak of other things.
The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Barrett, Vol. 1 (of 2) 1845-1846 | Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett BarrettIn this view, the word selah directs a repetition of the air or song from the commencement, to the parts where it is placed.
Herder held that selah denoted a swell, or a change in the rapidity of the movement, or in the key.
Afterwards, the Methodist brother learned that he had entertained a Baptist unawares—selah.
British Dictionary definitions for selah
/ (ˈsiːlə) /
a Hebrew word of unknown meaning occurring in the Old Testament psalms, and thought to be a musical direction
Origin of selah
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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