# What does "Selah" mean in the Psalms.



## raderag (May 21, 2004)

Kind of an embarrassing question, but no one has ever told me.


----------



## C. Matthew McMahon (May 21, 2004)

It means either one of two thing - strange enough:

1) Pick up the beat.

2) Slow down the beat.

Strange huh? In hebrew we do not have a clear idea. It could mean to go faster, or it could mean to go slower in the song. Most colleagues I have read think it is to slow it down. There are a couple of professors I had that believe it woudl be better to pick it up. It is, though, agreed, that it is a musical term of sorts.


----------



## blhowes (May 21, 2004)

Here's what Strong's says:

H5542
sela&amp;#770;h
seh'-law
From H5541; suspension (of music), that is, pause: - Selah.

H5541
sa&amp;#770;la&amp;#770;h
saw-law'
A primitive root; to hang up, that is, weigh, or (figuratively) contemn: - tread down (under foot), value.

I've always thought of it as just saying &quot;Stop and think about what was just said. Its important.


----------



## fredtgreco (May 21, 2004)

Short answer:

no one knows. Anyone who says they know (and I don't think that is what Bob was saying) is either lying or wrong.


----------



## raderag (May 21, 2004)

*Thanks for the answers.*

But honestly, I am rather disappointed.

I was hoping for something a bit more grandiose. 

Must be my sinful nature.


----------



## blhowes (May 21, 2004)

That's interesting what Matthew and Fred say about the word Selah. Learn something new (almost) every day.

Regardless of what it actually means, my mind is &quot;programmed&quot; to pause and think whenever I see the word. I only wish there were more Selahs sprinkled throughout the rest of the scriptures to remind me not to read too quickly over important material.


----------



## JonathonHunt (May 21, 2004)

I had always been told that the most likely explanation was a pause, or perhaps a pause for musical interlude. When I read the Psalms, I always pause for a few seconds at each Selah. 

Many ministers I have heard pause in the public reading of the psalms also, and don't actually say 'Selah' - they insert a pause instead.


----------



## rembrandt (May 21, 2004)

The college ministry at my church is called &quot;Selah.&quot; 

They say it means &quot;Pause, Reflect, Think&quot; (that is the slogan for the ministry), but who knows...

Rembrandt


----------



## Puritan Sailor (May 21, 2004)

[quote:3df7396cd0][i:3df7396cd0]Originally posted by blhowes[/i:3df7396cd0]
I've always thought of it as just saying &quot;Stop and think about what was just said. Its important.&quot; [/quote:3df7396cd0]
You are not alone in this application of it Bob. Spurgeon used this understanding of the term in his Treasury of David (commentary on the Psalms). In the first occurence of the word (Psalm 3?) he goes into how the meaning is lost so he simply uses it as a point to stop in the Psalm and reflect upon the verses just read.


----------



## andreas (May 22, 2004)

It means, to consider carefully the weight,the importance,the gravity of what has been revealed to us.
andreas.


----------

