Selah vs Sela

Girl Names
1

I have recently began attending church (non-denominational) and reading the bible, and I have noticed that in Psalms many of them end with “[name]Selah[/name]” which I have also notice popping up around Nameberry quite a bit. I have mostly noticed [name]Selah[/name] being compared to [name]Sela[/name]… But I don’t understand why if [name]Sela[/name] means “rock” why would the Psalms end with [name]Selah[/name] - which I sort of take to mean the same as [name]Amen[/name] or as kind of a indication to pause and reflect.

So I went ahead and Googled it and I found many sources that supported my thoughts that [name]Selah[/name] is similar in meaning/use to [name]Amen[/name]. [name]Sela[/name], on the other hand I have found to simply mean rock in Hebrew, and also a place name… Also a charcter from [name]Star[/name] Trek… Anyway, does Nameberry need to be updated in the definition of [name]Selah[/name], because it lists it as a variation of [name]Sela[/name].

Also, are they pronounced the same? I would think they are pronounced like SEE-lah, is this correct?

Thanks!

2

I am also wondering about this! I’ve asked a few people, and the replies are always different. Is it SEE-luh, [name]SAY[/name]-luh, se-LAH?

But yes I think they are referring to two different things…[name]Sela[/name] is “rock” and [name]Selah[/name] is thought to indicate a musical direction (remember the Psalms are songs meant to be sung, so perhaps it’s a musical interlude)

3

I pronounce [name]Selah[/name] as [name]SAY[/name]-luh and it’s how the only person I know with the name pronounces it.

4

I like [name]Sela[/name](prn See la) like [name]Sela[/name] [name]Ward[/name].

5

I don’t know anything about the definition, but I know of a place called [name]Zelah[/name] (prn. [name]Zee[/name]-lah) which I believe was named after somewhere mentioned in the bible, so I’d be inclined to pronounce [name]Selah[/name] like ‘See-lah’.

6

I agree! [name]Selah[/name] ([name]Say[/name]-La) is our favorite name and we’ve always heard it means “pause and reflect” I’m surprised NameBerry has the definition wrong. For the record,I’ve always thought [name]Sela[/name] is pronounced See-la- different my from [name]Selah[/name]. But it seems like you should just choose what you like. If we have a daughter she will be [name]Selah[/name] ([name]SAY[/name]-la) :wink:

7

[name]Selah[/name] in my mind would be pronounced [name]SAY[/name]-luh. Most people that attend my church say it the same way.