Lexical Summary
hillul: Praise, celebration
Original Word:הִלּוּל
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:hilluwl
Pronunciation:hil-LOOL
Phonetic Spelling:(hil-lool')
KJV: merry, praise
NASB:festival, praise
Word Origin:[fromH1984 (הָלַל - To praise) (in the sense of rejoicing)]
1. a celebration of thanksgiving for harvest
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
merry, praise
Fromhalal (in the sense of rejoicing); a celebration of thanksgiving for harvest -- merry, praise.
see HEBREWhalal
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
halalDefinitiona rejoicing, praise
NASB Translationfestival (1), praise (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] (Late Hebrew
id.) only plural :
Judges 9:27 i.e. a vintage-rejoicing, merry-making, connected with thanksgiving etc. (i.e. god baal-Berith, seeJudges 9:4).
,Leviticus 19:24 (H)holiness of praise, i.e. a consecrated thing in token of thanksgiving for fruit, offered in 4th year (compare Late Hebrew).
Topical Lexicon
Definition and Scopeהִלּוּל (hillul) signifies exuberant rejoicing directed to a deity. In Scripture it appears only twice, yet it gathers around it the ideas of vocal celebration, festive praise, and the consecration of fruit or labor to the LORD.
Cultic and Agricultural Context
Leviticus 19:24 legislates the vineyard’s “praise‐offering” year: “In the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD”. The first three years’ produce was untouchable; the fourth belonged entirely to God in a public act of jubilation. Israel’s worship was thus entwined with its agrarian calendar. Harvest did not culminate merely in private benefit but in communal, God‐honoring celebration, underscoring that the land’s bounty was covenantal gift rather than human achievement (Deuteronomy 8:10–18).
Connection with Praise and Worship
Hillul expands the concept of praise from speech to substance. To consecrate fruit as hillul was to embodyPsalm 24:1, acknowledging, “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof.” Later prophets envision similar rejoicing when the nations stream to Zion (Isaiah 25:6–9), hinting that hillul foreshadows universal worship.
Canonical Usage
1.Leviticus 19:24 anchors hillul to holiness, linking rejoicing with sanctification.
2.Judges 9:27 records a profaned counterpart: the Shechemites “gathered the grapes, trod them, and held a festival” before Baal-berith. Their hillul became idolatrous revelry, ending in judgment. The two occurrences thus frame a moral polarity—holy exultation versus pagan excess.
Theological Themes
• Lordship: All produce belongs to God; praise is acknowledgment rather than embellishment of His glory.
• Holiness: Joy is not antithetical to sanctity; true holiness is vibrant, not austere.
• Judgment and Discernment: The same outward festivity can either honor God or provoke wrath, depending on the object of praise.
Christological Implications
The consecrated fruit of the fourth year anticipates the “firstfruits” motif fulfilled in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20). Just as the vineyard’s earliest mature yield was dedicated to God, so the resurrection of Jesus inaugurates a harvest of redeemed lives offered in perpetual hillul.Hebrews 13:15 exhorts, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.” The writer merges Levitical imagery with Christian worship, demonstrating continuity between Testaments.
Practical Application for Ministry
• Stewardship: Encourage congregations to treat income, time, and abilities as fruit reserved first for the Lord, transforming giving into joyous celebration.
• Worship Planning: Integrate moments that visibly link material blessings (harvest tables, testimonies of provision) with verbal praise, reviving the holistic spirit of hillul.
• Discipleship: Teach discernment between God‐centered joy and fleshly revelry; highlight biblical festivals as models for righteous celebration.
• Outreach: The contrast inJudges 9 teaches that culture will celebrate something; the church must offer authentic, God‐honoring alternatives that satisfy the human impulse for festivity.
Hillul, though rare in vocabulary, provides a rich template for understanding how tangible offerings, joyous sound, and consecrated living converge in biblical worship—past, present, and future.
Forms and Transliterations
הִלּוּלִ֑ים הִלּוּלִ֖ים הלולים hil·lū·lîm hilluLim hillūlîm
Links
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