Selah Meaning

What Does "Selah" Mean?

Selah (סֶלָה, Strong's H5542) is one of the most mysterious words in the Hebrew Bible. It appears 74 times in the Psalms and 3 times in Habakkuk 3 — and nowhere else. The KJV leaves it untranslated, simply rendering it "Selah."

Proposed Meanings

The exact meaning is uncertain. Scholars have proposed several possibilities, all rooted in Hebrew lexical analysis:

• Musical pause or interlude — The most widely accepted theory. The Septuagint (3rd–2nd century BC Greek translation) rendered selah as διάψαλμα (diapsalma), meaning "musical interlude" or "instrumental intermezzo." This suggests the translators, working within a living liturgical tradition, understood it as a performance cue.
• "Lift up" — from the verb salal (סָלַל, H5549), "to cast up, lift, exalt." A liturgical direction to raise the voices of the congregation, or to raise the volume of instruments.
• "Pause and reflect" — A contemplative pause inviting the reader/hearer to weigh what has just been said.
• "Forever" / "eternity" — Proposed by some based on possible Aramaic cognates, though less supported linguistically.

The ancient Jewish commentary Targum treats it as an affirmation ("truly, forever"), while the 10th-century commentator Ibn Ezra favored the musical-pause reading. Modern Hebrew lexica (BDB, HALOT) list the meaning as uncertain.

Distribution in Scripture

All 77 occurrences of selah fall within Hebrew poetic texts:

• 39 Psalms contain selah — e.g., Psalm 3, 4, 7, 9, 24, 32, 46, 50, 62, 66, 67, 68, 77, 88, 89, 140, 143
• Habakkuk 3:3, 9, 13 — the prophet's psalm-like closing prayer

Positional Pattern

Selah always appears at the end of a phrase or verse, never at the beginning. It often marks transitions between stanzas or moments of climax. For example:

• Psalm 3:2 — "Many [there be] which say of my soul, [There is] no help for him in God. Selah." (first occurrence in the Bible)
• Psalm 46:3 — after describing cosmic upheaval: "Selah."
• Psalm 46:7, 11 — after the refrain "The LORD of hosts [is] with us; the God of Jacob [is] our refuge. Selah."

Why the KJV Keeps It Untranslated

The 1611 translators — like earlier Greek and Latin translators — encountered a technical Hebrew term whose meaning was already obscure in their time. Rather than guess, they preserved the Hebrew word. Most modern translations (NIV, ESV, NASB) have followed the same practice.