ETIMOLOGY, DISCOURSE FUNCTION, AND LITURGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE EXPRESSIONה הללו־י (HALLELUJAH): FROM BIBLICAL HEBREW TO GLOBAL RELIGIOUS TRADITION

ABSTRACT This study offers an integrated philological, linguistic, and liturgical analysis of the expression הַלְלוּ־יָהּ (hallelujah), with particular emphasis on its function within the Psalter and its transmission across Jewish and Christian traditions. While the expression is traditionally interpreted as a second person plural imperative meaning "praise Yah(weh)," derived from the root הלל (HLL) and the theophoric element יָהּ (Yah), this study demonstrates that such an interpretation is insufficient to account for its distribution, stability, and functional behavior within the biblical text. Employing a combined methodological framework that includes etymological analysis, morphological examination, discourse linguistics, and historical-liturgical contextualization, the study argues that hallelujah has undergone a process of lexicalization and functions as a fixed liturgical formula. Its consistent placement at the boundaries of psalms—particularly in Psalms 146–150—indicates that it serves as a discourse marker structuring poetic units and organizing textual flow. In addition, the expression exhibits a strong performative dimension, as its utterance constitutes an act of praise within communal worship. The study further traces the historical development of hallelujah through its transliteration in the Septuagint (ἀλληλούϊα), its preservation in the Latin alleluia, and its continuity across Eastern and Western Christian liturgical traditions. This continuity confirms its status as a translinguistic sacred formula that has retained both form and function across different religious systems. By integrating philology, discourse analysis, and liturgical history, the study proposes a unified interpretative model in which הַלְלוּ־יָהּ is understood simultaneously as a morphological construction, a lexicalized formula, a discourse marker, and a performative act. In doing so, it contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of Biblical Hebrew and offers new perspectives for the study of liturgical language and textual structure. KEYWORDS hallelujah; הַלְלוּ־יָהּ; Biblical Hebrew; Psalter; discourse marker; lexicalization; liturgical formula; performativity; speech act theory; Hebrew linguistics; textual structure; Septuagint; alleluia; Jewish liturgy; Christian liturgy