Wednesday, March 31, 2010

That Hebrew Song from Prince of Egypt

I almost cried tonight when the Jews were going out of Egypt and the children started singing the Hebrew bit in the middle of the song "When you believe". I got curious what they were actually singing so I looked it up. Here are the lyrics in Hebrew and English.

"Ashira l'adonai ki ga'oh ga'ah
Ashira l'adonai ki ga'oh ga'ah
Michamocha, ba-elim adonai
Michamocha nedar-bakodesh
Nachitah v'chasd'cha, am zu ga'alta
Nachitah v'chasd'cha, am zu gaalta
Ashira, Ashira, Ashira..."


Translation:
"I will sing unto Adonai for He has triumphed gloriously.
I will sing unto Adonai for He has triumphed gloriously.
Who is like You, O Adondai, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness?
In Your mercy, you lead the people You redeemed.
In Your mercy, you lead the people You redeemed.
I will sing, I will sing, I will sing..."

"Adonai" means Lord and is a substitute for God's personal name Yahweh. Whenever you're reading in the Old Testament and it says "LORD" in the English that's where a Jew would say "Adonai" instead of pronouncing God's name. Anyway, the song in the movie is based on the song Moses sings in Exodus 15:1-18, specifically verses 1, 11 and 13. I thought it was awesome seeing the joy of people as they came out of slavery into freedom.

14 comments:

  1. I completely agree!! its catchy and I also love the song, its so simplistic but has such meaning. Praise Adonai!!

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  2. YHWH Yahweh. JHVH Jehovah. God's personal name. It means "He Causes to Become"

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  3. I wish there was more of that song!

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  4. "Stand still and see the salvation of JEHOVAH!"

    Moses had an AWESOME privilege; if I make it through Armageddon, I can't wait to meet him in the Resurrection! -- John 5:28,29; 6:39,40,44; Acts 24:15.

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  5. Psalms 147:1 - Praise Jah! It is good to sing praises to our God; Hiw pleasant and fitting it is to praise him!😀🙌🏼

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  6. I absolutely love that song.thank you

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  7. Hi! This is a great translation of the Hebrew, but a couple little things! The 4th line is actually mi kamocha, not mi chamocha.

    Also, Yahweh is not the name of the Jewish G-d! That is a mistaken attempt at pronouncing the letters yud hey vav hey (basically YHVH). The pronunciation has been lost since the Temple was destroyed and while there are guesses, they are only guesses and I've never heard one that actually made sense (there isn't a W or J sound in Hebrew for instance). More importantly, the name is very sacred and even back when we knew it we only uttered it under specific circumstances and I believe only the high priests were the ones who said it. It's both incorrect and offensive to attempt to say it out.

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    1. Also, in Hebrew YHWH is unpointed -- there are no designated vowel sounds in the text. I've never seen "He Causes To Become" as a translation -- usually "I Am Who I Am," but without the vowel sounds you can't tell the tense of the verbs, so could also be "I Am Who I Will Be" or "I Will Be Who I Will Be". Also, many people who are Jewish will not say Adonai often, if at all, in regular conversation, even as a substitute for the actual name of G-d, but will say "Ha'Shem" -- literally "The Name" -- instead.

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    2. Yeah, if it wasn't clear from my comment, I am Jewish!

      Not saying Adonai in every day speech is drawing a fence around a fence (because it is already a place holder for The Name). I mostly don't, but I don't actively avoid it. On the other hand, I do censor G-d. I'm inconsistent that way. I personally usually say Hashem. My friends and I sometimes will censor as "@donai." We like the very Jewish "come at me bro" feel of @ ing Hashem.

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  9. That is only rabbinic tradition. Our God wants His name known and it will be spoken differently in different languages.in American English, we say His name, Jehovah. The "J" exists in English. We know Jehovah wants His name known. All of the names in the Torah had spoken differently by different cultures. Even Ashkenazi to Sephardic cultures. Now, ask yourself why, in Nevi'im Jeremiah, we are warned at 23:27 about forgetting His name.
    Who would want that?

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  10. This is an awesome true Story. What great faith Moses had. But the scary bit is that one could experience or witness God's miracles but in future hardships turn from God. So I like the way the movie ends with Moses holding the Tablets. The Word of God is what we should hold on to and not our miraculous experiences which seem to have no power to control or change behaviour.

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  11. Revelations 2:9. Deuteronomy 28:68 you all have been lied to. And the so called blacks not Africans are Gods chosen people we stopped keeping the Torah and it was prophesied that we would be cursed forever. And we are we’re being destroyed everyday in the news in the streets and the work place till this day. If your a so called black come back home we’re from the holy mother land Jerusalem and are the real Hebrew Israelites we are The most high chosen people don’t let anyone tell you different!!

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