Original Word: רִנָּה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: rinnah
Pronunciation: rin-naw'
Phonetic Spelling: (rin-naw')
KJV: cry, gladness, joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, sing(-ing), triumph
NASB: cry, joyful shouting, shout of joy, shouts of joy, joy, joyful shout, joyful singing
Word Origin: [from H7442 (רָנַן - sing for joy)]

1. (properly) a creaking (or shrill sound), i.e. shout (of joy or grief)

cry, gladness, joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, singing, triumph

From ranan; properly, a creaking (or shrill sound), i.e. Shout (of joy or grief) -- cry, gladness, joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, sing(-ing), triumph.

see HEBREW ranan

Word Origin
from ranan
Definition
a ringing cry
NASB Translation
cry (12), joy (2), joyful shout (1), joyful shouting (9), joyful singing (1), rejoice (1), shout of joy (3), shouts of joy (3), singing (1).

רִנָּה noun feminine ringing cry; — absolute ׳ר Jeremiah 7:16 +; suffix רִנָּתִי Psalm 17:1 +, רִנָּתָם Jeremiah 14:12 +; — ringing cry:

1 in entreaty, supplication, to ׳י, 1 Kings 8:28 2Chronicles 6:19; Jeremiah 7:16; Jeremiah 11:14; Psalm 17:1; Psalm 61:2; Psalm 88:3 (all +תְּפִלָּה), Psalm 106:44; Psalm 119:169; Psalm 142:7; Jeremiah 14:12.

2 in proclamation 1 Kings 22:36.

3 in joy, especially praise to ׳י, +שִׂמְחָה Isaiah 35:10; Isaiah 51:11 (+שָׂשׂוֺן); +תְּהַלָּה2Chronicles 20:22, +שָׂשׂוֺן Psalm 105:43, +תּוֺדָה Psalm 107:22, +עלץ Proverbs 11:10; "" שְׂחוֺק Psalm 126:2; opposed to בְּכִי, etc. Psalm 30:6; Psalm 126:6; compare Psalm 30:5; ׳קוֺל ר Isaiah 48:20; Psalm 42:5 (+תּוֺדָה), Psalm 47:2; Psalm 118:15 (+יְשׁוּעָה); מָּצַח ׳ר Isaiah 14:7; Isaiah 44:23; Isaiah 49:13; Isaiah 54:1; Isaiah 55:12; of ׳יs joy over Zion Zephaniah 3:17; — בָּאֳנִיּוֺת רִנָּתָם Isaiah 43:14 in the ships of their ringing cry, in which they exulted, but dubious; Hi Ew בַּאֲנִיּוֺת (bring down) into mourning their ׳ר; compare Kit-Di Du Che^Hpt Marti.

Overview

רִנָּה (rinnah) is the Old Testament’s vivid noun for a ringing cry—whether a shout of exuberant praise or an impassioned plea. Appearing about thirty-three times, it spans the whole range of human emotion before God, from the jubilation of national deliverance to the whispered entreaty of an afflicted soul.

Semantic Range and Nuances

1. Joyful acclaim: triumphant shouting, festive song, community celebration.
2. Prayerful cry: an earnest, sometimes desperate, petition for divine attention.
3. Prophetic hope: anticipatory rejoicing over promised restoration.
4. Rare lament: the cry that ought to have been heard but was silenced (Job 3:7).

Distribution in the Canon

• Historical narrative: twice in Solomon’s temple dedication (1 Kings 8:28; 2 Chronicles 6:19).
• Wisdom literature: several occurrences in Job and Psalms.
• Major and Minor Prophets: concentrated in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah.
• Post-exilic books: Ezra and Nehemiah echo the prophetic use.

Contexts of Use

1. Joyful Praise and Worship

• Psalm 118:15 — “Shouts of joy and salvation resound in the tents of the righteous.”
• Jeremiah 33:11 — “The sound of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom…”

In Israel’s liturgy rinnah described the communal roar that rose in temple courts and later in synagogue gatherings, a sonic testimony that the LORD’s right hand had triumphed.

2. Victory and Deliverance

• Psalm 20:5 — “We will shout for joy in your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God.”
• Isaiah 35:10 — “Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.”

Military salvation and eschatological deliverance share the same vocabulary: God acts, His people erupt in rinnah.

3. Prayer and Supplication

• 1 Kings 8:28 — “…hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying before You today.”
• Psalm 17:1 — “Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea; give ear to my cry.”

The noun can mark the threshold of prayer: exuberant praise collapses into urgent petition when need arises, yet both are addressed to the same faithful God.

4. Lament and Sorrow

• Job 3:7 — “May that night be barren; may no joyful shout come into it.”

The absence of rinnah intensifies Job’s darkness: joy withheld is a measure of suffering.

5. Eschatological Hope

• Zephaniah 3:14-17 pairs Zion’s rinnah with the LORD’s own rejoicing over His people, envisioning a consummated redemption in which divine and human joy resonate.

Rinnah in Corporate Worship

The Levitical singers (for example, Ezra 3:11-13) cultivated rinnah as part of temple ritual. Chronicles describes choirs appointed “to raise rinnah” when the ark was moved (1 Chronicles 15:16, root form). The word thus identifies the audible heartbeat of covenant worship—God’s deeds proclaimed through collective voice.

Rinnah in Personal Devotion

David, Asaph, and the post-exilic psalmists weave rinnah into private prayer: a single voice, confident that the God who hears national praise also attends individual cries (Psalm 61:1; Psalm 142:6).

Prophetic and Messianic Resonances

Prophets tie rinnah to the coming reign of the Messiah. Isaiah’s vision of ransomed pilgrims returning to Zion (Isaiah 51:11) and Zechariah’s promise of mourning turned to joy (Zechariah 8:19) both employ the term, foreshadowing the New Testament’s proclamation of great joy at Messiah’s birth (Luke 2:10, conceptual parallel).

Theological Themes

• Covenant faithfulness: rinnah rises whenever God proves loyal to His promises.
• Divine immediacy: the same word serves worship and supplication, showing no gap between God’s greatness and His nearness.
• Redemptive arc: from Genesis ruin (Job’s lament) to prophetic restoration, rinnah tracks Scripture’s movement from fall to final glory.

Implications for Ministry Today

1. Corporate gatherings should give place to unrestrained, Scripture-saturated praise that mirrors Israel’s rinnah.
2. Intercessory prayer can borrow the vocabulary of rinnah, fusing confidence and urgency.
3. Missions and evangelism herald God’s mighty acts so that “shouts of joy and salvation” may fill every people group.
4. Pastoral care may guide sufferers like Job from silenced rinnah to restored joy, anchoring hope in the LORD’s redemptive pattern.

Related Hebrew Terms

• תְּרוּעָה (teruah) — trumpet blast or battle shout, often paired with rinnah in synonymous parallelism (Psalm 33:3).
• שִׁיר (shir) — song in a broader sense; rinnah highlights vocal intensity rather than musical form.

Conclusion

Rinnah captures the full-throated response of God’s people to His character and deeds. Whether erupting from temple courts, echoed in exile, or anticipated in prophetic hope, the word invites every generation to join the ancient chorus: “Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music on the lyre to our God” (Psalm 147:7).

בְּ֝רִנָּ֗ה בְּרִנָּ֔ה בְּרִנָּ֥ה בְּרִנָּֽה׃ בְרִנָּ֑ה בְרִנָּ֜ה ברנה ברנה׃ הָֽרִנָּה֙ הָרִנָּה֙ הרנה לְרִנָּתִֽי׃ לרנתי׃ רִ֫נָּ֥ה רִנָּ֑ה רִנָּ֔ה רִנָּ֗ה רִנָּ֣ה רִנָּ֤ה רִנָּ֥ה רִנָּ֬ה רִנָּֽה׃ רִנָּתִ֑י רִנָּתִ֗י רִנָּתִ֣י רִנָּתִי֮ רִנָּתָ֔ם רִנָּתָֽם׃ רנה רנה׃ רנתי רנתם רנתם׃ bə·rin·nāh ḇə·rin·nāh berinNah bərinnāh ḇərinnāh hā·rin·nāh harinNah hārinnāh lə·rin·nā·ṯî lerinnaTi lərinnāṯî rin·nā·ṯām rin·nā·ṯî rin·nāh rinNah rinnāh rinnaTam rinnāṯām rinnaTi rinnāṯî verinNahInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts