תהילה לאל
tehila la'el
The Hebrew phrase for "glory be to God" is תהילה לאל (tehila la'el).
The phrase תהילה לאל is used in liturgical, poetic or highly formal religious contexts to express adoration and to praise or honor God.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of תהילה (tehila), meaning glory or praise and לאל (la'el), which combines the preposition ל (to) with אל (god).
Which one should you use?
While תהילה לאל literally means glory to the god, you may also see the form תהילה לאלוהים. Replacing אל (el) with אלוהים (Elohim) changes the expression to glory to God, which is a more common way to refer to the specific monotheistic deity in religious contexts.
How do you pronounce it?
tehila la'el
Did you know?
- While תהילה לאל is a direct translation, Israelis often use ברוך השם as a casual response to 'how are you'. In this context, it functions more like a social filler than a formal prayer.
- The word אל (el) is one of the oldest names for a deity in the Semitic language family, sharing roots with names found in ancient Ugaritic texts.
- The word תהילה is the basis for the Hebrew name of the book of Psalms, which is Tehillim. This means every psalm is conceptually treated as a form of 'glory' or 'praise'.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a successful medical recovery.
- מאיה Mayaאיתי, אני מרגישה הרבה יותר טוב היום.Itay, ani margisha harbe yoter tov hayom.Itay, I feel much better today.
- איתי Itayזה בשורה משמחת מאוד, תהילה לאל.Ze bshura mesamechat me'od, tehila la'el.That is very joyful news, glory be to God.
- מאיה Mayaתודה רבה על התמיכה שלך.Toda raba al hatmicha shelcha.Thank you very much for your support.
- איתי Itayאין בעיה, מאיה. אני שמח בשבילך.Ein be'aya, Maya. Ani sameach bishvilech.No problem, Maya. I am happy for you.
