Original Word: עַלִּיז
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: `alliyz
Pronunciation: ah-leez
Phonetic Spelling: (al-leez')
KJV: joyous, (that) rejoice(-ing)
NASB: exultant, exulting ones, jubilant, revelers
Word Origin: [from H5937 (עָלַז - exult)]

1. exultant

joyous, that rejoiceing

From alaz; exultant -- joyous, (that) rejoice(-ing)

see HEBREW alaz

Word Origin
from alaz
Definition
exultant, jubilant
NASB Translation
exultant (2), exulting ones (2), jubilant (2), revelers (1).

[עַלִּיז] adjective exultant, jubilant (on form compare Lag^{BN 110}); — feminine singular עַלִּיזָה jubilant city Isaiah 22:2 ("" עִיר הֹמִיָּה), Isaiah 32:13, compare Zephaniah 2:15 and (city omitted) Isaiah 23:7; of person, plural שְׁאוֺן עַלִּיזִים Isaiah 24:8; construct עַלִּיזֵי גַּאֲוָתִי Isaiah 13:3, compare Zephaniah 3:11, see גַּאֲוָה.

Hebrew Term and Theological Import

עַלִּיז depicts exuberant rejoicing that can become boastful pride. Scripture sets it in contrast to joy that honors the Lord, exposing celebrations unmoored from covenant obedience.

Prophetic Usage

Every occurrence lies in prophetic oracles that expose and judge human arrogance. Isaiah concentrates the term in judgments against Babylon, Jerusalem, and Tyre, while Zephaniah turns it on Nineveh and on haughty worshipers within Judah. Even the Lord’s “mighty ones” who “exult in My triumph” (Isaiah 13:3) serve as a foil: exuberance is acceptable only when subordinated to His purposes.

Association with Cities and Civilizations

The word is repeatedly bound to urban life:
• “O city of commotion, a city of revelry” Isaiah 22:2
• “Is this your jubilant city, whose origin is from ancient times?” Isaiah 23:7
• “This carefree city dwelt secure… What a ruin she has become” Zephaniah 2:15

Behind the bustling streets and trade routes stood a self-satisfaction soon shattered by divine intervention.

Divine Response to Carnal Jubilation

God dismantles the infrastructure of arrogant celebration:
• Instruments fall silent—“The joyful tambourines have ceased” Isaiah 24:8.
• Fertile estates become wasteland—“Briers and thorns… every household of merriment in the city of revelry” Isaiah 32:13.
• Populations are scattered—“I will remove from your midst those who exult in their pride” Zephaniah 3:11.

Judgment unmasks the fragility of pride while vindicating the holiness of God.

Hope Beyond Judgment

Zephaniah 3:11 links the purging of the proud with the emergence of a humble, God-rejoicing remnant. When self-glorifying exultation is removed, true worship can flourish on the Lord’s “holy mountain.”

Practical Applications

1. Celebrate under the fear of the Lord; joy divorced from reverence mutates into pride.
2. Prosperity and security can breed careless confidence; vigilance must temper festivity.
3. God harnesses even secular powers—“those who exult in My triumph” Isaiah 13:3—to accomplish His plan, reminding believers that history bows to Him.
4. A silenced city warns the church to root its rejoicing in redemption, not circumstances.

Intercanonical Resonance

Paul echoes the prophets: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” 1 Corinthians 1:31. John diagnoses “the pride of life” 1 John 2:16, and Revelation envisions a final, purified celebration where every song centers on the Lamb. The biblical arc moves from cities drunk with self-glory to a new creation ringing with holy, Christ-exalting joy—a transformation anticipated whenever believers forsake self-promotion and “rejoice in the Lord always” Philippians 4:4.

הָעַלִּיזָה֙ העליזה עַלִּיזִ֑ים עַלִּיזֵ֖י עַלִּיזֵי֙ עַלִּיזָ֑ה עַלִּיזָֽה׃ עליזה עליזה׃ עליזי עליזים ‘al·lî·zāh ‘al·lî·zê ‘al·lî·zîm ‘allîzāh ‘allîzê ‘allîzîm alliZah alliZei alliZim hā‘allîzāh hā·‘al·lî·zāh haalliZahInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts