Hi! Welcome to “Dusty Phrases.” You will find below an ancient phrase in one language or another, along with its English translation. You may also find the power to inspire your friends or provoke dread among your enemies.
Hosanna is an interesting word, wherein the original sounds largely remain intact and unchanged throughout time and translations. The meaning has also remained similar, but the expression of the meaning is more complex. (via wiki)
Hosanna (/hoʊˈzænə/) is a liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it refers to a cry expressing an appeal for divine help. In Christianity it is used as a cry of praise.
Etymology
The word hosanna (Latin osanna, Greek ὡσαννά, hōsanná) is from Hebrew הוֹשִׁיעָה־נָּא, הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא hôšîʿâ-nā and related to Aramaic ܐܘܿܫܲܥܢܵܐ (ʾōshaʿnā) meaning ‘save, rescue, savior’.
In the Hebrew Bible it is used only in verses such as “help” or “save, I pray” (Psalms 118:25). However, in the Gospels it is used as a shout of jubilation, and this has given rise to complex discussions. In that context, the word Hosanna seems to be a “special kind of respect” given to the one who saves, saved, will save, or is saving now. If so Hosanna means “a special honor to the one who saves.” The literal interpretation “Save, now!”, based on Psalm 118:25, does not fully explain the occurrence of the word.
Liturgical use in different traditions
Judaism
In Jewish liturgy, the word is applied specifically to the Hoshana Service, a cycle of prayers from which a selection is sung each morning during Sukkot, the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. The complete cycle is sung on the seventh day of the festival, which is called Hoshana Rabbah (הושענא רבה, “Great Hoshana”). In Judaism it is always used in its original Hebrew form, הושע נא Hosha na or הושענא Hoshana.
Since those welcoming Jesus were Jewish, as of course Jesus himself was, some would interpret the cry of “Hosanna” on the entry of Jesus in its proper meaning, as a cry by the people for salvation and rescue.
It is applied in numerous verses of the New Testament, including “Hosanna! blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lᴏʀᴅ!” (Matthew 21:9,15; Mark 11:9–10; John 12:13), which forms part of the Sanctus prayer; “hosanna in the highest” (Mark 11.10); and “hosanna to the Son of David” (Matt 21:9). These quotations, however, are of words in the Jewish Psalm 118. Although not used in the book of Luke, the testimony of Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem is recorded in Luke 19.
Hosanna is a word that you are likely to hear a lot during the Christian Holy Week, particularly on Palm Sunday preceding Easter, and even more particularly in song. Imbedded below is one such example:
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