ALLELUIA. — A Hebrew religious acclamation (“Praise the Lord”) that passed into Christian liturgy.
I. IN THE BIBLE
The expression Hallelujah is composed of two words: hallēlû, imperative of hillēlû "to praise" (with a sense of joy), and Jah, abbreviation of Jahweh (the Lord). The versions have preserved it in the original form (Septuagint: αλληλουια; Vulgate: alleluia).In the funeral rites: St. Jerome expressly attests to this (Ep. 77).
From early medieval times, the Latin liturgy, before omitting the a. on the vigil of Septuagesima, used to bid it farewell with an antiphon or even an alleluiatic office, in which the a. was repeated countless times. At present, it is customary to add it twice to the Benedicamus Domino of Vespers. Then, when at the Easter Vigil Mass, after the reading of the Epistle, the a. returns triumphantly, sung three times by the celebrant and the choir, it is announced thus: *Adduntio vobis, reverendissime Pater, gaudium magnum, quod est Alleluia!*
Bibl.: F. Salvadori, L'A., saggio biblico-storico-liturgico, Roma 1899; P. Wagner, Origine e sviluppo del canto liturgico, trad. Righetti, Siena 1910; F. Cabrol, s. V. in DACL, I, coll. 1229-46; M. Righetti, Man. di storia liturgica, III, Milano 1948, pp. 230-36.