DID YOU KNOW?
The answer
"Save now," or "save, I pray." Hosanna comes from the Hebrew of Psalm 118:25, which reads in English "Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!" By the time the Gospel crowds shout it, the cry has become praise.
Why it’s interesting
The crowd's next line is the next verse of the same psalm: "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord" is Psalm 118:26. Later Jewish tradition records that pilgrims sang this group of psalms as they entered Jerusalem for the festivals.
Scholarly consensus
Learn the Bible.
Not just the stories, but the history, authorship, and scholarship behind it.