Greek · Strong's G5614
ὡσαννά
hōsanná (hoh-san-NAH)
interjection (Hebrew/Aramaic loanword)
A Hebrew cry meaning "Save now!" that became a shout of messianic acclamation when the crowds greeted Jesus entering Jerusalem.
Hosanna transliterates the Hebrew hoshia-na of Psalm 118:25, a passionate plea: "Save, please!" or "Save now!" In the temple liturgy for the Feast of Tabernacles the phrase had become a familiar refrain, addressed first to the LORD and through Him to the Davidic king who would come. By the first century the word functioned both as petition and as praise—closer in feel to "God save the king!" than to a simple cry for help.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the crowds quoted Psalm 118 back to Him: "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:9-10; John 12:13). The acclamation is explicitly messianic. By accepting it Jesus identified Himself as the long-awaited king whose arrival the psalm anticipated, and He did so during the very week when the lambs were being chosen for Passover.
Matthew 21:15 records children continuing the cry inside the temple courts, to the indignation of the chief priests—an irony Matthew highlights by quoting Psalm 8:2. The word "hosanna" thus stands at the hinge of the gospel: the crowd cries "Save now!" to the very One who has come precisely to save, by going to the cross.
Common English renderings
- Hosanna
Key verses
"And the multitudes that went before him, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest."
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"But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were moved with indignation,"
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"And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:"
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"Blessed is the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David: Hosanna in the highest."
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"took the branches of the palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried out, Hosanna: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel."
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