In Psalms chapter three, verse two, the meaning of this word comes at the very end of the sentence: Selah. The definition of this term is uncertain: many believe it may signal a pause, a musical interlude, or a music climax. There are seventy-five instances of “Selah” in the Old Testament and none in the New Testament. Psalms contain all except for four in two different Books of the Bible. The first is in Second Kings fourteen, verse seven, and the other three are in Habakkuk three, verses three, nine, and thirteen, respectively.
Selah appears significantly in the Book of Psalms, with seventy-one instances beginning from chapter three, verse two, to Psalms one hundred and forty-three, verse six. Selah appears at the end of each verse before reading into the next one. Still, Psalms fifty-five, verse nineteen, and Psalms fifty-seven, verse three Selah is at the end between the two sentences. However, in Habakkuk, chapter three, verse thirteen is similar to the instances in the Book of Psalms, except for the other two. In verses three and nine of Habakkuk, Selah is in the middle of these two verses. In verse three, “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise.” “Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.”
Selah has received numerous descriptions, and the meaning does not appear to be wholly determined. Based on the scripture, the word signifies a pause or delay. Some suggest lifting the voice, others insist on a musical note to cause us to consider the sentence as a thing of great importance. However, only God knows when He by His spirit wrote through the prophets.