Hosanna

Biblical Texts

The word "hosanna" appears in three of the New Testament Gospels.

• Matthew 21:9: The multitudes cry, "Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest."
• Matthew 21:15: When the children in the temple cry, "Hosanna to the Son of David," the chief priests and scribes are sore displeased.
• Mark 11:9-10: The crowds cry hosanna and bless "the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord."
• John 12:13: The people who had come to the feast take branches of palm trees, go out to meet the "King of Israel," and cry hosanna.

All three passages describe Jesus' entry into Jerusalem (the Triumphal Entry). The Gospel of Luke records the same scene (Luke 19:38) but does not use the word "hosanna."

Meaning and Background of the Word

Hosanna is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew hoshia na. Transliteration reproduces only the sound of a word rather than translating its meaning. The expression consists of the verb "save" with a particle of entreaty attached, and it is therefore rendered "save now." Its source is Psalm 118:25. The New Korean Revised Version translates this verse as "O LORD, I beseech thee, save now" (compare the King James Version: "Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD"). Consequently, a reader of the Korean Bible alone would find it difficult to recognize that the psalm verse and the Gospels' "hosanna" are the same expression.

The words the Gospel crowds shouted along with it, "he that cometh in the name of the Lord," come from the very next verse, Psalm 118:26. Psalms 113–118 form a collection of praise psalms known in Judaism as the Hallel. They are known to have been sung at festivals such as Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. The feast mentioned in John's Gospel is Passover.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

In Psalm 118 the expression was a prayer asking God for salvation. It is widely held that by the time of the Gospels it was also used as an acclamation expressing joy and praise. The phrase "Hosanna in the highest" is frequently cited as evidence that the word was used more as praise than as petition.

The Gospels record this acclamation together with the titles "Son of David" and "King of Israel." In this way they portray the scene as the welcoming of Jesus as the Messiah descended from the line of David. Jesus' quotation shortly afterward (Matthew 21:42) of "the stone which the builders refused" (Psalm 118:22), from the same psalm, is also read in connection with this scene (Psalm 118:22).

Interpretations and Points of Discussion

• The crowd's intention: Interpreters differ on whether the crowds shouted the word literally as a prayer for salvation or simply as an acclamation. It is also debated whether the salvation the crowds expected was political liberation from Rome.
• The claim that "the crowd that shouted hosanna cried 'Crucify him' a few days later": Although this is commonly said in sermons, the Gospels do not state that the two crowds were the same people. The claim is a matter of interpretation rather than something recorded in the text.
• Liturgical tradition: Hosanna is known to appear in the eucharistic prayer of the Didache, an early Christian document. Churches that emphasize liturgy (worship following a set order and prescribed prayers), such as the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church of Korea, and the Lutheran Church in Korea, sing "Hosanna in the highest" in the Eucharistic prayer. Most Korean Presbyterian, Baptist, and Pentecostal churches do not use it as a fixed liturgical text.

In the Korean Church

Hosanna is most often treated in sermons for Palm Sunday and Holy Week. Along with Hallelujah and Amen, it is one of the best-known terms of praise used untranslated in its original form, and it also appears in the lyrics of hymns and gospel songs. Many churches also use it in the names of choirs or worship teams, as in "Hosanna Choir."