To be clear; to make a show, to boast, to rave, to celebrate.

1 Ch. 16:4 'And he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, even to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel.'

Neh. 12:24 'And the heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers opposite them, to praise and give thanks, as prescribed by David the man of God, division Coresponding to division.'

Other renderings

Ps. 34:23 'My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name to-gether.'

Isa. 38:18 'For sheol cannot thank Thee, death cannot celebrate [praise] Thee.'

Ge. 12:15 'And Pharaoh's officials saw her and commended [praised] her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house.'

1 Ch. 16:10 'Glory in His holy name; let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.'

Isa. 45:25 'In the Lord all the offspring of Israel will be justified and will glory.'

Ps. 78:63 'The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.' (AV)

Or

'Fire devoured His young men; and His virgins had no wedding songs.' (NASB)

Job. 41:18 'his sneezes flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.'

This last rendering leads to an interesting comparison:

Isa. 14:12-14 'How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High".'

The phrase 'star of the morning' is translated from the word (heylel [1966]). This word comes from (halal) in the sense of brightness. In this passage the AV renders 'Lucifer', also known as Satan. It is interesting that Satan, who was the leader of worship in heaven, took the attributes of his character that reflected praise, celebration, raving, boasting and brightness (see definition of halal above) and turned them onto himself rather than to God. His boasting in the Lord has turned to pride and self worship, from which all sin ultimately stems.

This is an important lesson for all worshippers. Never forget the purpose of worship. For leaders this is especially important; do not let your boasting in the Lord turn into a prideful performance or show of your own abilities. Just see what this has done to a lot of rock stars. Small wonder they too are called 'stars'.

Other Verses

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