“Give thanks to the LORD for He is good!”  – “Hodu La’Adonai Ki Tov!”  This is a command in the Hebrew scriptures, echoed by Rabbi Saul in 1 Thessalonians 5:16.

Let’s examine a few Hebrew heroes of faith who contributed to this precedent.

Leah the mother of Judah:

Connection to Jewish identity should arguably be first and foremost a connection to giving thanks to God. Why? Because the word “Jewish” (Yehudi) means in Hebrew “from Judah.” And “Judah” means “giving thanks/praise to God.”

“Once more she conceived and bore a son, and she said, ‘This time I will give thanks to the Lord‘; therefore she named him Judah.” (Genesis 29:35 NABRE) After years of rejection, Leah overcame; and when her baby Judah (Yehudah) was born, she gave thanks to God.

Jehoshaphat the King of Judah:

When a great multitude invaded from the direction of present-day Jordan, Jehoshaphat was terrified. “Frightened, Jehoshaphat resolved to consult the Lord. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.  Then Judah gathered to seek the Lord’s help; from every one of the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.” 

The king gathered his army of swordsmen. But he also gathered a contingent of men to follow the precedent of the Psalms, to praise and thank the God of Israel. “After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: ‘Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.’” (2 Chronicles 20:21)

The enemy was defeated in a miraculous victory.

The Israelite exile Daniel:

After spending sweaty hours with a death penalty waving over his head — God revealed to him what the cruel, capricious Babylonian dictator had dreamed. Now he and the other royal counselors would live another day. In relief he proclaimed: “To you, God of my ancestors, I give thanks and praise, because you have given me wisdom and power. Now you have shown me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the king’s dream.” (Daniel 2:23)

Then some years later, again Daniel’s life was hanging by a thread, this time under the threat of his new boss, the Persian (Iranian) dictator and execution in the lions’ den. His response again included thanks-giving. “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” (Daniel 6:10) The mouths of the lions were soon shut tight!

Come to think of it, Daniel was from the tribe of Judah.

What a joy to become part of the commonwealth of Judah – in other words to become one who gives thanks and praises God.