When we hear the word worship in the context of our faith, we immediately think of music and singing. In the old covenants, there are three different words used for worshipping God and none of them means singing or making music to Him. The first word SHACHAH (שחה) is a verb that means bow down before God. For the Ancients, ‘worship’ meant bowing prostrate before God or man, but the implication was clearing their view about God or man. Having a posture of humility, and bowing before another, meant perceiving or restoring one’s view of another’s innate value! It was all about seeing clearly.
The second word is HALAL (הלל), HAL means “behold the leader.” The verbal form of HAL is HALAL, which means “to fix one’s gaze upon” or “fixate upon”. This is where we get our word HALLELUYAH from, to fix your gaze upon Yah or to fixate upon Yah. YAH is short for Yahweh.
The third word YADAH (ידה) means to point out with the finger and to point to God. The verb in the text alludes to lifting up hands or pointing Yahweh out. While we do that during singing, it can be done through our lifestyles, which can point to His character.
– Christy A.