Hosanna!
What does Hosanna mean? It’s a word that only comes up around Palm Sunday. But we don’t automatically know what it means since it is not translated but rather transliterated. Its only use is in relation to the beginning of the passion week. The crowds shout it out when Jesus enters Jerusalem but what does it mean when we say ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’ or ‘Hosanna in the highest?’
Definition
At first I looked at the definitions. When we look at the meaning of the word, most references will say it means something along the lines of ‘save us, please’ (Swanson) or ‘save now, help now’ (Mounce 1315). This seems to come from a close association with Psalm 118. In two places the exclamation is followed by the phrase: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” The phrase also occurs in Ps. 118:26. The preceding verse of the Psalm says, ‘save us, we pray, O LORD!’ Based on the sound of the Hebrew, this translation makes sense and it is attested by most of the sources I referenced.
Not only does Psalm 118 make sense due to the quotation, but it was additionally used in the liturgy for the Feast of Tabernacles. The waving of branches was also a part of the feast. But of course, in the gospels, we are actually in the feast of Passover. However, we do learn an important historical fact from the uninspired book of 2 Maccabees. The indication there is that this manner of celebration can be used outside of the Feast of Tabernacles (2 Macc. 10:6-7). So, it is not unusual that the people responded to the Messiah in this way, even at Passover. Nevertheless, the translation still proves difficult in the gospel context (Taylor 482).
Scriptural Evidence
The term Hosanna occurs in 3 variations:
- As an isolated exclamation: “Hosanna!”
- In the phrase “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
- In the phrase “Hosanna in the highest!”
Substituting any of the translations in to the 2nd and 3rd phrases doesn’t quite make sense. The Hebrew meaning in Psalm 118 is a supplication. The use in the gospels is not phrased as a request.
What we do know from Scripture is:
- It is a Messianic exclamation since the term Son of David is attached to it. Messianic terms are also found in Psalm 118.
- It is meant as a form a praise. When the chief priests and the scribes complain to Jesus about the people shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”, he responds by quoting Psalm 8:2: “out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise.”
The verses that we find Hosanna in are Matt. 21:9,15; Mark 11:9,10; and John 12:13. Conspicuously absent is any quotation from Luke. However, the triumphal entry of Jesus is also in Luke’s gospel. Here we find that the word Hosanna is not used at all. Luke 19:38 says, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Conclusion
Here we have the answer we’ve been looking for. Luke substitutes the word ‘glory’ for ‘Hosanna.’ This accords with the quote from Ps. 8 given by Jesus as well as the grammatical sense we find in the other gospels. Glory is easily substituted into the other phrases. This does not negate is relation to the original meaning in the Psalm but even scholars can agree it is used “without the supplicatory meaning of the original phrase in Ps. 118” (Taylor 482). Although it translates to ‘save us,’ it has become an exclamation of praise, much in the way people shout Hallelujah today.
As Jesus enters Jerusalem in triumph, ready to save the world through his death and resurrection, the people exclaim:
Hosanna!
Glory!
Glory to the Son of David!
Glory in the highest!
References
Mounce, William D. Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words, Zondervan, 2006.
Swanson, James. Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament), Electronic ed., Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997.
Taylor, J. B. “Hosanna.” New Bible Dictionary, edited by D. R. W. Wood et al., 3rd ed., InterVarsity Press, 1996.
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