Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds. His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. (Ps 98:1)
שִׁירוּ לַיהוָה שִׁיר חָדָשׁ כִּי־נִפְלָאוֹת עָשָׂה הוֹשִׁיעָה־לּוֹ יְמִינוֹ וּזְרוֹעַ קָדְשׁוֹ׃
ᾌσατε τῷ κυρίῳ ᾆσμα καινόν, ὅτι θαυμαστὰ ἐποίησεν κύριος· ἔσωσεν αὐτῷ ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ βραχίων ὁ ἅγιος αὐτοῦ.
Cantate Domino canticum novum, quia mirabilia fecit.
Wonders are things—events in human life—that elude both science and nature. When we think of wonders in the Old Testament, we see before our eyes God who, for example, led his People out of slavery amid signs and wonders. God who intervened in Israel’s history many times so that people could see with their own eyes and experience his power.
And then another wonder happened—first in Nazareth, when God sent Gabriel to Mary, and she, consenting to become the Mother of the Lord, conceived Jesus; then, after nine months, in Bethlehem, where God and man in one Person came into the world. It is precisely this wonder that we celebrate in these days. It was a wonder for Mary and Joseph, for the Shepherds and for the Magi; it is also a wonder for us, because truly the earth has seen its Savior, and through faith we share in it.
פֶּלֶא [péleʾ]
The Hebrew word פֶּלֶא [péleʾ] means a wonder, a marvelous and incomprehensible thing, and in the Bible it refers to God’s supernatural action that surpasses human abilities and reveals his holiness, power, and faithfulness to his saving promises (e.g., Ex 15:11; Ps 77:15; Is 9:5). The Greek biblical equivalent is θαῦμα [thaûma]—a wonder, something astonishing.