H3050 H3050
Yah -- a contracted form of the divine name YHWH, used in poetry, praise, and the exclamation Hallelujah
Yah is a poetic contraction of the divine name YHWH (Yahweh), appearing 48 times almost exclusively in elevated or liturgical contexts. It first surfaces in the Song of the Sea -- 'my strength and my song is Yah' (Exod 15:2) -- and recurs in the archaic phrase 'a hand upon the throne of Yah' (Exod 17:16). Its most famous setting is the Psalter, where it anchors the hallelu-Yah exclamation ('Praise Yah!') that opens and closes the Hallel psalms and the final doxology of the Psalter (Pss 113-118; 146-150). Isaiah quotes the Song of the Sea (Isa 12:2) and uses the doubled form 'in Yah YHWH' (Isa 26:4). The name also appears embedded in dozens of theophoric personal names (Elijah, Isaiah, Zechariah), though those compounds are separate lemmas. Spanish and French Yah and German JAH preserve the form directly.
Senses
1. Yah — The contracted poetic form of the divine name Yahweh, used in early victory poetry (Exod 15:2; 17:16), prophetic citation (Isa 12:2; 26:4; 38:11), and extensively in the Psalter as the core of the hallelu-Yah doxology (Pss 113:1; 115:18; 146:1; 150:6). Its restriction to liturgical, poetic, and exclamatory contexts distinguishes it from the full tetragrammaton. Spanish Yah, French Yah, and German JAH transliterate it directly, reflecting its status as a distinct form of the divine name across all 48 occurrences. 48×
AR["الرَّبّ", "ياه", "يَاه", "يَاهّ"]·ben["যাহ", "যাহর", "যাহ্", "যাহ্কে", "সদাপ্রভু", "হে-যাহ্"]·DE["JAH", "Yah"]·EN["Yah"]·FR["Yah"]·heb["יה"]·HI["याह", "याह-की", "याह-को"]·ID["TUHAN", "YAH"]·IT["Yah", "l'Eterno"]·jav["Yah"]·KO["야", "여호와", "여호와-가", "여호와-를", "여호와-여", "여호와시니", "여호와여", "여호와의"]·PT["JAH", "Yah,", "ao-SENHOR", "do-SENHOR"]·RU["-ЙАГ", "ЙАХ", "Йах", "Ях"]·ES["Yah", "a-Yah"]·SW["Yah"]·TR["YAH", "YAH'", "YAH'I", "YAH'ı", "YAH'ın", "Yah"]·urd["خداوند", "یاہ", "یاہ-کی", "یاہ-کے"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† יָהּ50 n.pr.dei contr. from יהוה, first appears in early poems; Ex 15:2 עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ My strength and song is Yah (cited Is 12:2 ψ 118:14), cf. the poetic extract יָד עַל כֵּם יָהּ = hand to the throne of Yah Ex 17:16 (E), the song of Hezekiah Is 38:11 (repeated by dittography), (א)שׁ להבת יה (so read in preference to the MT שַׁלְהֶבֶתְיָה) = flame of fire from Yah Ct 8:6; ביה יהוה Is…