In short
Thanksgiving offered as sacrifice: the noun from yadah, where gratitude is not a feeling but an offering brought to the altar.
The full definition
Todah (תּוֹדָה) is the noun grown from yadah: thanksgiving made tangible. In Vayikra [Leviticus] 7:12 it names a specific sacrifice, the thank-offering, bread and animal brought because something has been received. Tehillim [Psalms] 50:14 turns it into a posture for the whole life: “Offer to God a todah.” Gratitude here is not an inward mood but an outward gift, carried to the altar at cost. Modern Hebrew still says todah for “thank you,” but the word remembers the lamb.
Key passages
- Leviticus 7:12
- Psalm 50:14
- Psalm 116:17