Why "Selah"?

סֶלָה

Why selah? 

Selah is a word found in the Hebrew Bible 74 times, with 71 occurrences in the Psalms and 3 in Habakkuk.

Despite scholarly attention to its study (see here and page 132 and following here), its meaning is still debated. It is important to note that this is not a new situation, with a variety of understandings reflected even in the historic Greek and Latin Bible translations!

Although we may not understand the precise function and/or meaning of selah, it was chosen here because of what it can represent to people:

1. Bible: The word is in the text of the Bible, including Hebrew Psalm manuscripts even among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and also appears (usually transliterated as selah rather than translated) in vernacular Bible translations. As such, it is a symbol for studying the Bible.

2. Music: Appearing in the context of songs in the Psalms and Habakkuk 3, it is natural to think of selah as having some kind of musical and liturgical function. A variety of functions have been proposed, some of which could overlap, if accurate. These include:

   • A structural/section break

   • A musical pause

   • An increase in volume

   • A key change/lift

   • An indication for the lifting of hands 

   • An indication to repeat, echo, or respond

3. Education: Regardless of the exact meaning and/or function of selah, the mystery surrounding it invites learning. It makes sense to think that since the human authors and original audiences of Psalms and Habakkuk understood what was indicated by selah, there is hope for attaining a clearer understanding, even as scholars and students continue to probe for clues it. Even so, if clarity is achieved, more study will need to occur to apply new insights and more education will need to be undertaken to enlighten others. Likewise, education and learning are not an endpoint, but a journey, and thus, we should aspire to be lifelong learners.

Selah Studies is concerned with all three of these angles: 

• Helping people become better students and communicators of the Bible and the message of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ

• Helping people better appreciate music and grow as musicians, particularly for church music based on Scripture 

• Helping professional educators continue their development as lifelong learners

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