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Bible Encyclopedias
Selah
The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia
or Term of uncertain etymology and grammatical form and of doubtful meaning. It occurs seventy-one times in thirty-nine of the Psalms, and three times in Habakkuk 3 It is placed at the end of Psalms 3, , , , and in most other cases at the end of a verse, the exceptions being Psalms 55:20, 57:4, and Habakkuk 3:3,9. Of the psalms in which it is found, twenty-three belong to the group in which "Elohim" is used to designate God; twenty-eight to that called by Briggs the "director's (
="choir-leader"; See Psalms, Critical View) copies"; and twenty to the "Davidie" collection. Again, nine of the twelve Korahite and seven (LXX. eight, including 80:8) of the twelve Asaph psalms have the term. Three psalms with "Selah" are headed "Miktam"; seven, "Maskil"; ten, "Shir"; twenty-six, "Mizmor"; while Habakkuk is superscribed "Tefillah."
Technical Term.
That the real significance of this curious term (or combination of letters) was not known even by the ancient versions is evidenced by the variety of renderings given to it. The Septuagint, Symmachus, and Theodotion translate διάÏαλμαâa word as enigmatical in Greek as is "Selah" in Hebrew. The Hexapla simply transliterates Ïελ. Aquila, Jerome, and the Targum give it the value of "always" (Aquila, á¼ÎµÎ¯; Jerome, "semper"; Targum, for the most part 
= "in secula" or 
= "semper"). Theodotion in Psalms 9:17 has the translation á¼ÎµÎ¯; the Quinta gives Îµá¼°Ï ÏÎ¿á½ºÏ Î±á¼°ÏÎ½Î±Ï (
); and the Sexta, διαÏνÏÏÏ, (in Psalms 20:4, Îµá¼°Ï ÏÎλοÏ). Jacob of Edessa, quoted by Bar Hebræus (on Psalms 10:1), notices that instead of διάÏαλμα some copies present αεί=
; and he explains this as, referring to the custom of the people of reciting a doxology at the end of paragraphs of the liturgical psalms. In five passages (see Field, Hexapla on Psalms 38 [Hebr, ] 12) Aquila offers, according to the Hexaplar Syriac, 
="song," the á¼Ïμα by which, Origen reports Aquila to have replaced the διάÏαλμα of the Septuagint. According to Hippolytus (De Lagarde, "Novæ Psalterii Græci Editionis Specimen" 10), the Greek term διάÏαλμα signified a change in rhythm or melody at the places marked by the term, or a change in thought and theme. Against this explanation Baethgen ("Psalmen," p. , 1st ed. Göttingen, 1892) urges the circumstancethat the enigmatical expression occurs also at the end of psalms. The cogency of this objection would hold if the mark had been inserted by the original writer and not, as is most probable, by a later editor who may have expected the Psalms to be recited in succession without reference to the divisions in the Masoretic text; or if it were an indubitable fact that where in the Hebrew a psalm now ends it ended in the original. Augustin (on Psalms 4:3) regards διάÏαμα as indicating that what follows is not to be joined to the preceding. He suggests also the possibility that the Hebrew "Selah" meant "Fiat" = "Let there be [made]." The Masoretic accentuation always connects "Selah" with the preceding, as though it were part of the text or thought, most likely because it was held to mean "forever." In fact, the vowel-points in 
seem to indicate a "ḳere" 
(with "ḳameáº" on account of ת)= "forever" (see B. Jacob in Stade's "Zeitschrift," [1896] 129 et seq.).
Modern Views.
Nor is there greater unanimity among modern scholars than among the ancient versions. Only on one point there agreement, namely, that "Selah" has no grammatical connection with the text. It is either a liturgico-musical mark or a sign of another character with a bearing on the reading or the verbal form of the text. As thirty-one of the thirty-nine psalms with the caption "To the choir-master [
]" present "Selah," the musical value of the mark has been regarded as well assured. In keeping with this it has been assigned to the root 
, as an imperative that should properly have been vocalized 
, "Sollah" (Ewald, "Kritische Grammatik der Hebräischen Sprache,"p. 554; König, "Historisch-Kritisches Lehrgebäude der Hebräischen Sprache," , part , p. 539). The meaning of this imperative is given as "Lift up," equivalent to "loud" or "fortissimo," a direction to the accompanying musicians to break in at the place marked with crash of cymbals and blare of trumpets, the orchestra playing an interlude while the singers' voices were hushed. The effect, as far as the singer was concerned, was to mark a pause. This significance, too, has been read into the expression or sign, "Selah" being held to be a variant of "shelah" (
="pause"). But as the interchange of "shin" and "samek" is not usual in Biblical Hebrew, and as the meaning "pause" is clearly inapplicable in the middle of a verse or where a pause would interrupt the sequence of thought, this proposition has met with little favor. Neither has that which proposes to treat it as a loan-word from the Greek Ïάλλε = "strike the harp," etc.
Grätz ("Kritischer Commentar zu den Psalmen," 1:93 et seq.) argues that "Selah" introduces a new paragraph as it were, a transition in thought, and also in some instances a quotation (e.g., Psalms 57:8 et seq. from 108:2 et seq.). The fact that the term occurs four times at the end of a psalm would not weigh against this theory. As stated above, the Psalms were meant to be read in sequence, and, moreover, many of them are fragments; indeed, Psalms 9 is reckoned one with Psalms 10 in the Septuagint, which omits διάÏαλμα also at the end of Psalms 3, , and B. Jacob (c.) concludes (1) that since no etymological explanation is possible, "Selah" signifies a pause in or for the Temple song; and (2) that its meaning was concealed lest the Temple privileges should be obtained by the synagogues or perhaps even by the churches.
More Liturgical than Musical.
Another series of explanations is grounded on the assumption that its signification is liturgical rather than musical. It marks the place, and is an appeal, for the bystanders to join in with a eulogistic response. Briggs ("Jour. Bib. Lit." 1899, p. 142) accepts the etymology and grammatical explanation given above, e., that "Selah" is a cohortative imperative, meaning "Lift up [your benediction]," the eulogy with which psalms or sections of psalms were concluded. One would expect the imperative to be in the plural if the address was to more than one bystander. However, Briggs' explanation indicates the line along which the mystery connected with this term or combination of consonants is to be removed. It has been suspected that "Selah" is an artificial word formed from initials.
Probably a Contracted Form.
That is probably the case, though the resolution of the initials usually suggested, 
(= "Return to the beginning, O singer"), has to be abandoned. The renderings in the versions, "'olmin," άεί, and the like (= "forever"), if they do not prove that 
is a corruption for 
âthe word "'olam" standing for the first noun in the benedictionâcreate a strong presumption that the initials of the verse in which "'olam" occurs are hidden in the puzzling word "Selah." Grätz (c.) shows that in Psalms 55:20 
is a corruption for 
(or even for 
), meaning "destroy"; and a similar corruption of the first and third consonants throughout has contrived to make "Selah" the "crux interpretum." If in some instances 
or 
(= "destroy") be read and in others 
, the enigma disappears. "K l ḥ" represents the eulogy "Ki le'olam ḥasdo" (
), hence the 
or á¼Îµá½¶ of the versionsâa eulogy which is familiar and which is found as such in the Psalms (Ps. c. 5, 106:1, 107:1, 118:1 et seq.; especially; also I (Chron. 16:34,41; 2 Chronicles 5:13, 20:21). This is confirmed by the fact that just such phrases as 
, and perhaps 
, actually do occur in passages where "Selah" might stand equally well and with as little bearing on the context (Psalms 52:11,12). In Psalms 34:11 
at the end is certainly superfluous; but it stands where one would expect this very term 
; and, therefore, it is not too bold a conjecture to read here 
in the sense of a technical abbreviation of the eulogy. In this connection the midrash on Psalms 118 is of importance; quoting Isaiah 3:10, it commands that after the mention of the righteous the words 
should be added, but that after reference to an evil-doer a curse should be pronounced.
The latter injunction throws light on many passages in which "Selah" has another sense than that noted above, and in which it should be read 
or 
(= "Destroy them"), as one word. It is noticeable that the term occurs frequently after areference to evil-doers (Psalms 4:3; 7:6; 9:21; 32:5; 49:14 [49:16 ?]; 52:5; 54:5; 57:4,7; 59:6; 62:5; 66:7; 82:2; 88:8; 89:46,49; 6; Habakkuk 3 [A. V. ] 13); and at the mention of these the bystanders break forth into malediction, as they do into benediction at the mention of God's wonderful deeds. Their comment on the recital is "Destroy them," "Make an end of them," or "of the evils," e., "Forego" (as in Psalms 88:8). "Selah" is thus identical with 
as twice repeated in Psalms 59:14(Hebr.), "Destroy in anger; destroy that they be no more." This very verse ends with "Selah," which, as explained above, is a repetition (but in the mouths of the bystanders) of the passionate outcry 
(="Destroy").
Sometimes Meaning "Delete."
Some few passages remain in which 
seems to fit in neither as a eulogyâe., as a corruption of 
or as an artificial combination of initials making 
ânor as an imprecation. But even in these the reading 
(="Destroy") suggests itself, not indeed as a liturgical response, but as a note to indicate that something in the text should be deleted. This seems to be the case in Psalms 55:8 (R. V. 7), where verses 8 and 9 virtually conflict; for the desert is the place where storms blow. "Selah" here has the appearance of a sign that the verse, being a quotation from somewhere else and really not belonging to the psalm, should be omitted. The same holds good in Psalms 81:8, where the third member of the verse is clearly it marginal note explanatory of the preceding. "Selah" after 
, "at the waters of Meribah, "indicates this fact, and means 
(="Delete"). Another instance of this is Psalms 60:6, where the words 
break the connection between verses 6a and 7, and really make no sense. In Habakkuk 3 () 3, 9, also, "Selah" points to some defect in the text.
Perhaps the latter use of the term will throw light on the origin of the Greek διάÏαλμα. It may be connected with the verb διαÏÎ¬Ï = "to rub away thoroughly," "to erase." At all events some of the versions point to a reading in which 
was visible, e.g., διαÏανÏÏÏ (Sexta), while the translation of Aquila according to the Hexaplar Syriac, 
, meaning "responsive, antiphonal song," corroborates the assumption that the benediction or malediction was marked as anticipated in the passage.
"Selah" occurs also in the text of the Shemoneh 'Esreh. This fact shows that at the time when the text of this prayer was finally fixed, the term had become a familiar one; and as the "Shemoneh 'Esreh" draws its vocabulary largely from the Psalms, the appearance of "Selah" in the prayer is not strange. In the Talmud that word is treated as a synonym of "neáºaḥ" and "wa'ed," all three signifying eternal continuance without interruption ('Er. 54a, 
). Ḳimḥi connects the term with the verb 
(= "lift up"), and applies it to the voice, which should be lifted up, or become louder at the places marked by it (commentary on Psalms 3:2). Ibn Ezra (on Psalms 3:2) regards it as an equivalent of 
or 
, an affirmative corroborative expletive.
These files are public domain.
Singer, Isidore, Ph.D, Projector and Managing Editor. Entry for 'Selah'. 1901 The Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tje/s/selah.html. 1901.
