Hosanna
“Save now! or Oh save! from yasha (to save) with particle of entreaty”
Summary
Hosanna is a Hebrew acclamation meaning "Save now!" that became a customary expression of blessing and praise, famously shouted by the multitudes at Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
☩Etymology and Meaning
Hosanna is a transliteration of the Hebrew hôshî'âh-nnâ, meaning "Save now!" or "Oh save!" as found in Psalm 118:25. Through constant popular repetition, the phrase was abbreviated from the fuller petition "I beseech thee, O Lord, save now." While originally a formula of supplication, it became conventionally a gratulation or expression of blessing. In the New Testament, the sense appears to be "bestow blessing," as in "Bestow blessing on the Son of David."
☩Use at Jewish Festivals
Hosanna was a customary acclamation at the Feast of Tabernacles, when the Great Hallel (Psalms 113-118) was chanted by a priest while the multitudes joined in responses, waving branches of willow and palm. On each of the seven days of the feast, the people processed about the altar in the Temple, their boughs bending toward it as the trumpets sounded. On the seventh day, they marched seven times around the altar, shouting the great Hosanna. This seventh day was called "the Great Hosanna." Even children who could wave palm branches were expected to participate.
☩The Triumphal Entry
When Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey in fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy, the multitudes raised the Hosanna cry while carrying palm branches, combining elements of the Feast of Tabernacles with the approaching Passover. They shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!" The people recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah and expected Him to bring the salvation associated with the messianic age. Even children continued the cry in the Temple, much to the indignation of the chief priests.
☩"Hosanna in the Highest"
The phrase "Hosanna in the highest" has been interpreted in various ways. Some understand it as a prayer that the salvation God gives to men should fill the highest heaven with rejoicing in His praise. Others see it as meaning "may this blessing also be ratified in heaven." The idea that heaven itself joins in celebration of God's salvation appears elsewhere in Scripture. The dative construction "Hosanna to the Son of David" suggests the crowd was asking God to bless and prosper the Messiah, heaping favors upon Him.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Hosanna," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Hastings (ed.), "Hosanna," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 3.George Morrish, "Hosanna," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Hosanna," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 5.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Hosanna," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).