Skip to main content

What does "holy" mean?

What does “holy” mean?

Webster’s Dictionary defines “holy” as:
(1)        exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.
(2)        divine (for the Lord our God is holy [Psalms 99:9 KJV])
(3)        devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity (a holy temple; holy prophets)
(4)        having a divine quality (holy love)
(5)        venerated as or as if sacred (holy scripture; a holy relic)

The Hebrew root word translated “holy” is QDSh (QADOSh / QODESh)

(1)        Removed from common use, subject to special treatment, forfeit to the sanctuary
(2)        To transform someone to the state of holiness, dedicate.
(3)        To proclaim a holy period.

Examples: (The word “holy” appears 611 times in the KJV.)  The underlined words below are the translations of QADOSH / QODESH.

Genesis 2:3 –Then ELOHIYM blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that He had done.

Genesis 38:21 - He asked the men of that place, “Where is prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?” “There hasn’t been a prostitute here,” they said. [literally, “the holy woman”]

Exodus 3:5 - “Do not come any closer,” ELOHIYM. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 

Exodus 13:2 – Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”

Exodus 20:8 – “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Exodus 22:31 – “You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.

Joshua 6:19 – “All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to YAHWEH and must go into his treasury.”

Now, after reading the above verses -- What does "holy" mean? In the Hebrew culture it means "to be separated for a specified task or use." 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why did they lay their coats at Saul's feet?

The witnesses, laying their coats at the feet of Saul, were the men that would cast the first stones at Stephen in Acts 7. Why did they all lay their coats at Saul’s feet? The Talmud contains a very interesting account of the act of stoning that may provide the answer. “When the trial was over, they take him [the condemned person] out to be stoned. The place of stoning was at a distance from the court, as it is said, ‘Take out the one who has cursed.’ [i] A man stands at the entrance of the court; in his hand is a signaling flag [Hebrew   sudarin = sudar , ‘scarf, sweater’]. A horseman was stationed far away but within sight of him. If one [of the judges] says, ‘I have something [more] to say in his favor,’ he [the signaler] waves the   sudarin , and the horseman runs and stops them [from stoning him]. Even if [the condemned person] himself says, ‘I have something to say in my favor,’ they bring him back, even four of five times, only provided that there is some substance to what he

Are Saul and Paul the Same Person?

There has always been some confusion over whether Saul and Paul is the same person. The confusion begins in the Book of Acts. ● “Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul . . . he brought him to Antioch . . . for a whole year they taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called ‘ Christians ’ in Antioch .” ( Acts 11:25-26 ) ● “ Then Agrippa said to Paul , `You almost persuade me to become a Christian .’” ( Acts 26:28) ● “ Then Saul , who also  is called   Paul . . . ” ( Acts 13:9a ) Based on the three verses above, we would assume they are references to the same person – but is he the Paul we read about in the Epistles? The name “ Saul ” doesn’t appear in the Epistles. In order to answer that question we must examine the stories of the “ conversion experiences ” of Saul in Acts and Paul in Galatians . Pay close attention to the time periods and places mentioned in both accounts. Saul’s experience is found in Acts 9 and it took

Rabbi Stephen S. Wise’s Sermon at Synagogue on Jewish Jesus Causes a Storm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Samuel_Wise#/media/File:Stephen_Samuel_Wise.jpg Rabbi Stephen S. Wise gave this sermon in late December 1925 and it set off a storm of protests in Jewish communities.  Before you read the article, it is important for you to be aware of some of the accomplishments of Rabbi Wise. ● a founder of the New York Federation of Zionist Societies in 1897 ● first vice-president of the   Oregon State Conference of Charities and Correction in 1902 ● appointed Commissioner of Child Labor for the State of Oregon in 1903 ● co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) ● founding of American Jewish Congress (AJCongress) in 1918 ● founded the   Jewish Institute of Religion, an educational center in New York City  in 1922 ● founding president of the World Jewish Congress in 1936 (created to fight Nazism) ● co-chair of the American Zionist Emergency Council in WWII ● held press conference