Hebrew word · H5937

עָלַז

ta'alozenah

to exult

To exult, rejoice loudly, celebrate in triumph. The word often describes a victor's jubilation, and sometimes gloating over a defeated enemy. It can also be pious joy in God.

Appears 16 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

(Qal) to exult, rejoice, triumph

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Psalm 94:3

Range of meaning

To exult, rejoice loudly, celebrate in triumph. The word often describes a victor's jubilation, and sometimes gloating over a defeated enemy. It can also be pious joy in God.

Against the English

BSB, ESV and YLT have "exult". KJV and WEB have "triumph", which keeps the victory sense. Renderings like "be jubilant" or "gloat" bring out different sides of the word: jubilant celebration and malicious pleasure.

Used elsewhere in the period

In 2 Sam 1:20 David laments: "lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult" over Saul's death, which is gloating after a victory. In Jer 50:11 Babylon is accused: "because you exult, you plunderers of my heritage". God himself "exults" as a victor in Ps 60:6. The word is used of the godly's joy in Ps 28:7, 68:3 and Hab 3:18, and of creation in Ps 96:12. The Septuagint here has καυχήσονται, "will they boast", which anticipates verse 4.

From the study of Isaiah 23:12

Range of meaning

To exult, to be jubilant, to revel. It can be glad worship (Psalm 68:4 [Hebrew 68:5]; Habakkuk 3:18), but it is also often the loud triumph of the powerful and the party noise of a confident city.

Against the English

BSB, KJV and WEB say 'rejoice', which in modern ears, especially church ears, sounds like inner or religious gladness. YLT 'exult', with ESV and NASB in the same direction, is closer, and NIV's 'reveling' catches the social noise.

How it drifted

'Rejoice' has narrowed in English into a mostly religious and positive word. The Hebrew here has a tone of self-assured celebration, and the sentence is taking that away from someone rather than denying her a happy feeling.

Used elsewhere in the period

The related adjective describes Tyre in verse 7 ('Is this your exultant city?'), Jerusalem in Isaiah 22:2, and Nineveh in Zephaniah 2:15 ('the exultant city that lived securely'). Isaiah 13:3 and Zephaniah 3:11 use it of those who exult proudly. It had become almost a stock word for a city sure of itself just before its fall.

From the study of Jeremiah 11:15

Range of meaning

'Exult, rejoice loudly, triumph': loud, public, festive joy, sometimes gloating.

Against the English

'Rejoice' (KJV, NIV) is accurate but tame. 'Exult' (YLT, ESV, NRSV) keeps more of the noisy, celebratory feel.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah 15:17: 'I did not sit in the company of merrymakers, nor did I exult.' Jeremiah 50:11: Babylon exulting as plunderer. Psalm 28:7 and 68:4 (5) use it for exulting before God in worship. Deuteronomy 12:7 and 12 command rejoicing (a different verb) at sacrificial meals before the LORD.

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 1:20 תַּעֲלֹ֖זְנָה they should exult

    Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.

    Here: A step up from 'rejoice': loud, triumphant jubilation. Elsewhere it can describe the gloating of the wicked or of plunderers, which suits this picture of mocking joy over the dead.

Psalms · 7

  1. Psalm 28:7 וַיַּעֲלֹ֥ז and it exulted

    The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I give thanks to Him with my song.

    Here: 'And it exulted': the form used for one event following another in a story, so the joy comes as the result of the help. The word means joy you can see and hear, jubilation, not quiet contentment. This is why some English versions add 'therefore' or 'greatly'.

  2. Psalm 60:6 אֶ֫עְלֹ֥זָה I will exult

    God has spoken from His sanctuary: “I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem and apportion the Valley of Succoth.

    Here: A cohortative, the Hebrew form for 'let me' or 'I am determined to': 'Let me exult!' This is the loud, triumphant joy of a victor, spoken by God as a divine warrior who has won the land.

  3. Psalm 68:4 וְעִלְז֥וּ and exult

    Sing to God! Sing praises to His name. Exalt Him who rides on the clouds—His name is the LORD—and rejoice before Him.

    Here: 'And exult!' This is loud, festive joy, often the joy of victory. It picks up the righteous 'exulting' (ya'altsu, a related verb) in v. 3.

  4. Psalm 94:3 יַעֲלֹֽזוּ׃ will they exult

    How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked exult?

    Here: An imperfect verb (the form for ongoing or future action): "will they go on exulting?" It is the loud cheering of people who have won, here gloating that they get away with it. Verse 4 shows this in their swaggering speech, and verse 7 in their sneer: "Yah does not see."

  5. Psalm 96:12 יַעֲלֹ֣ז let it exult

    Let the fields exult, and all that is in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy

  6. Psalm 108:7 אֶעְלֹ֥זָה I will triumph

    God has spoken from His sanctuary: “I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem and apportion the Valley of Succoth.

  7. Psalm 149:5 יַעְלְז֣וּ let them exult

    Let the saints exult in glory; let them shout for joy upon their beds.

    Here: An imperfect verb used as a wish or call: "let them exult." ‘Alaz is jubilant, often triumphant joy, the kind felt when you have been vindicated over an opponent. That sets up the victory language of verses 6–9.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 23:16 וְתַעְלֹ֥זְנָה so they may rejoice

    My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 23:12 לַעְל֑וֹז to exult

    He said, “You shall rejoice no more, O oppressed Virgin Daughter of Sidon. Get up and cross over to Cyprus—even there you will find no rest.”

    Here: To exult, to revel in triumph, and more public and swaggering than 'rejoice' suggests. It picks up verse 7, where Tyre is mocked as the 'exultant' city, from the same root.

Jeremiah · 4

  1. Jeremiah 11:15 תַּעֲלֹֽזִי׃ you will rejoice

    What right has My beloved in My house, having carried out so many evil schemes? Can consecrated meat avert your doom? When you are wicked, then you rejoice.

    Here: 'You exult / celebrate', the loud joy of festivals and victory. It points to the merrymaking of temple feasts held while guilt goes unaddressed.

  2. Jeremiah 15:17 וָֽאֶעְלֹ֑ז and I rejoiced

    I never sat with the band of revelers, nor did I celebrate with them. Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone, for You have filled me with indignation.

    Here: 'And I exulted.' Here the verb falls under the opening 'not': 'nor did I exult.' ʿālaz is loud, high-spirited celebration, the kind found at feasts. The main pause in the Hebrew verse comes here, closing the first half.

  3. Jeremiah 50:11 תַֽעֲלְז֔וּ you are gloating

    “Because you rejoice, because you sing in triumph—you who plunder My inheritance—because you frolic like a heifer treading grain and neigh like stallions,

    Here: A stronger, louder word than 'rejoice': open, celebratory triumph. Over a fallen enemy it amounts to gloating.

  4. Jeremiah 51:39 יַעֲלֹ֔זוּ they may celebrate

    While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they may revel; then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up, declares the LORD.

    Here: 'They may exult': loud, triumphant celebration. Jeremiah used the same verb of Babylon gloating as it plundered Israel (50:11), so their exulting is now turned into the lead-up to their death. The Greek version reads 'be stupefied' here instead (see textual notes).

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 3:18 אֶעְל֑וֹזָה I will exult

    yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

    Here: A lengthened first-person form (the cohortative) that expresses resolve or self-urging: 'let me exult', 'I am determined to exult'. The verb means loud, triumphant celebration, the joy of victory or festival, not quiet contentment.

Zephaniah · 1

  1. Zephaniah 3:14 וְעָלְזִי֙ and exult

    Sing for joy, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!

    Here: 'And exult!' This is a stronger, victory-flavoured joy. Zephaniah has just used the same root for arrogant celebrating (2:15; 3:11). Now he gives it back to the city as proper, God-given triumph.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.