Now you may have never heard the word Selah before. But it is a Hebrew word that is found in the Bible, almost exclusively in the Psalms. It is thought to be a kind of musical direction, as the Psalms were actually songs. But what does the word mean? Based upon inferences from the context of its usage, the two best definitions I have found are – 1) pause and reflect, and 2) lift your voices in praise. You may be thinking “That’s nice but why are you telling me this?” Great question.
As you may recall, we lost our well-loved dog Jolee in June of 2023. In March of this past year we got a new puppy and we named her Selah. Now a new puppy is quite different than a 16 year-old dog. And that is an understatement. Selah seems to have two speeds at this point – 90 miles an hour or dead stopped. When she is racing around the living room on a tear, she is quite entertaining. A few months ago, my wife made an observation when she said, “Selah doesn’t fit her. She should be named Broom Hilda.” She said this because Selah certainly does not seem to be in “pause and reflect” mode. She actually would seem to be the antithesis of that.
But then I thought, “Is Selah supposed to pause and reflect? Or perhaps it is I who am to pause and reflect.” When the term Selah is used in the Psalms, it is not the song that is to pause and reflect but the singer. I wonder if that is not the same with this puppy. Next time I will tell you what I am learning, as I pause.