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holiness, holy thing, sanctuary
Qodesh and its related words (qadosh, qadash) form the central vocabulary for holiness in the Hebrew Bible. BDB defines the root concept as "apartness, sacredness." The word appears in multiple forms: - **קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)**: Holiness as a quality; a holy thing or place - **קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh)**: Holy (adjective) - **קָדַשׁ (qadash)**: To be holy, to sanctify (verb) God alone is inherently holy; all other holiness derives from relationship to him. People, places, objects, and times become holy through divine election and dedication. The sanctuary is called הַקֹּדֶשׁ (the holy place) and its innermost chamber קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים (the holy of holies, lit. "holiness of holinesses").
holiness, sacredness
The quality of being set apart, divine
holy thing, sacred object
Items dedicated to God
sanctuary, holy place
The sacred space of God's presence
to show oneself holy, be treated as holy
to set apart, consecrate, sanctify
to sanctify oneself, keep oneself holy
“the place where you are standing is holy ground”
“Be holy, for I YHWH your God am holy”
“Holy, holy, holy is YHWH of hosts”
“for YHWH our God is holy”
Holiness is the central attribute of God in the Hebrew Bible: 1. **God's Holiness**: God is holy in his essential being—transcendent, pure, wholly other. Isaiah's vision (chapter 6) with the trisagion ("holy, holy, holy") demonstrates this. 2. **Derivative Holiness**: All other holiness flows from God—places, times, people, objects become holy through dedication to him. 3. **Ethical Dimension**: Holiness has both ritual and ethical aspects—Leviticus 19 combines "be holy" with ethical commands about justice, honesty, and love of neighbor. 4. **The Holy Spirit**: The term רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ (ruach haqqodesh, "Spirit of holiness/Holy Spirit") appears in Psalm 51:11 and Isaiah 63:10-11.
Qodesh is important apologetically: 1. **God's Holiness**: Understanding divine holiness illuminates why sin is so serious and why atonement is necessary 2. **Holy Spirit**: The OT background for "Holy Spirit" (רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ) demonstrates continuity with NT pneumatology 3. **Sanctification**: The call to "be holy as I am holy" grounds NT sanctification theology 4. **Temple/Presence**: Holy space theology provides background for Christ as the temple (John 2:21) and believers as temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19)
Modern scholarship has explored: 1. The relationship between Hebrew qodesh and Canaanite sacred/temple concepts 2. The development from ritual/cultic holiness to ethical holiness 3. The "contagion" model of holiness (spreading to what it touches) 4. Rudolf Otto's influential analysis of holiness as mysterium tremendum et fascinans
| Language | Word | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akkadian | qadištu | qadištu | consecrated woman |
| Ugaritic | qdš | qdš | holy |
| Arabic | قدس | qds | to be holy |
קדש
qdš
to be set apart, holy
586 total occurrences across 2 forms