to rejoice, exult, be glad: to break out in high, celebratory joy.
This is the elevated, poetic word for joy that shows itself. It belongs to the raised speech of prophecy and the Psalms, and it turns up at the high points of the story: the promises and warnings of Deuteronomy, the songs of restoration in Isaiah, the praise of the Psalter. It names gladness at full volume, the kind that spills over into celebration.
One word carries a wide range because the joy itself is much the same wherever it appears; what changes is who is rejoicing and over what.
- It can be the faithful exulting in the LORD, in his rescue, and in his promises.
- Most strikingly, it can be God himself delighting over his people, taking glad pleasure in doing them good, pictured even as a bridegroom rejoicing over his bride.
- Its darker edge is joy bound up with someone's downfall: an enemy gloating, a bitter taunt, or God's own fearful delight in bringing judgment.
- And in poetry it is freely handed to creation, so the desert, the sun, and even a warhorse are said to rejoice.
The standard reference works treat it as very close in meaning to the other main words for gladness. What sets it apart is less a special shade of feeling than its lofty setting and the bold uses the prophets put it to. When they reach for a word to say that God rejoices over his people, this is the word they choose.
Nuances
Whether the word "rejoices" stands in the original text of this verse or is a scribal corruption to be emended or removed.
- majorityThe received Hebrew text is sound and should be kept; it is supported by the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa).; Claus Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, OTL (1969); Joseph Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 56-66, Anchor Bible 19B (2003); Shalom M. Paul, Isaiah 40-66, ECC (2012)
- minorityThe word is a corruption and should be emended or deleted.; Bernhard Duhm, Das Buch Jesaia, HKAT (1892); Karl Marti, Das Buch Jesaja, KHC (1900)
Disputed
Whether this verb carries a distinct shade of joy, a demonstrative, outwardly expressed exultation set apart from the quieter, more inward gladness of the ordinary verb for being glad, or whether the two are near-synonyms that differ only in style and setting.
- minorityThe verb names a specifically demonstrative, exuberant joy, distinct from a more inward gladness. This older lexicographic intuition rested partly on a speculative etymology (a supposed sense of leaping or springing, or an origin as an excited cry) and on the verb's concentration in high celebratory contexts.; BDB (Brown-Driver-Briggs), s.v. שׂושׂ, שׂישׂ ("exult, display joy"); G. G. Cohen, "שׂושׂ," in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) no. 2246
- majorityThe verb is essentially synonymous with the other main words for joy, differing in register, genre, and distribution rather than in core meaning; the sharp inner-versus-outer contrast is not supported by usage, since these joy words are overwhelmingly festal and outwardly performed.; F. Stolz, "שׂמח," in Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament (TLOT) 3:1272-1277; G. Vanoni and J. Hausmann, "שׂמח," in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (TDOT) 14:142-157; Gary A. Anderson, A Time to Mourn, A Time to Dance (1991)