Holiness

Freedom from sin, or the conformity of the heart to God. It does not consist in knowledge, talents, nor outward ceremonies of religion, but hath its seat in the heart, and is the effect of a principle of grace implanted by the Holy Spirit, Eph 2:8; Eph 2:10. Joh 3:5. Rom 6:22. It is the essence of happiness and the basis of true dignity, Pro 3:17. Pro 4:8. It will manifest itself by the propriety of our conversation, regularity of our temper, and uniformity of our lives. It is a principle progressive in its operation, Pro 4:18. and absolutely essential to the enjoyment of God here and hereafter, Heb 12:14.

See SANCTIFICATION. WORKS.

See most HOLY

Holiness has been described as "a nature that delights in purity, and which repels evil." Adam and Eve were ’innocent,’ not holy; for though they might have delighted in purity, they did not repel the evil of Satan. God is ever holy; in heaven there is no evil to separate from, and He was holy, consistent with His perfection in everything, before there was any evil. The Spirit is the Holy Spirit though He is down here where sin is, and the Lord Jesus when in this sinful world was holy, harmless, and undefiled. God is called ’the Holy One of Israel,’ Isa 30:15, etc., and the Lord Jesus ’the Holy One.’ Mar 1:24; Act 3:14.

The Israelites having been redeemed out of Egypt, and separated to God, it was said to them, "Thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth." Deu 7:6. They were viewed as the chosen of God, as set apart for Him. This should have led to practical holiness, as God said, "Be ye holy, for I am the Lord your God." Lev 20:7. The Christian also is sanctified and justified, and Christ is made of God sanctification to him (1Co 1:30), referring to the separative call of God, and the means and measure of his sanctification. As new created in Christ he partakes of the divine nature, so that holiness is followed. He is chastened also by the Father of spirits in order to his being partaker of God’s holiness.

One has said, "The Christian is called holy because he is set apart for God absolutely, according to the rights won by Christ in His death, and made good when he is born again, and thus set apart in a real way; and more perfectly, and with more intelligence, when he is sealed by the Holy Ghost, as cleansed by the blood of Christ." Upon this are based the practical exhortations: "As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation." 2Co 7:1; 1Th 4:7; Heb 12:14; 1Pe 1:15; 2Pe 3:11.

Being Holy

Exo_22:31; Lev_11:44-45; Lev_19:2; Lev_20:7; Lev_20:26; 1Pe_1:15-16.

GOD Calling Us To Holiness

1Th_4:7.

Not Giving That Which Is Holy Unto Dogs

Mat_7:6.

The LORD Being Holy

Lev_11:44-45; Lev_19:2; Lev_20:26; Lev_21:8; Psa_99:5; Psa_99:9; Psa_145:17; Isa_5:16; Isa_6:1-3; Isa_43:3; Isa_43:14-15; Isa_57:15; Act_3:13-14; Heb_7:22-26; 1Pe_1:15-17; Rev_3:7; Rev_4:8; Rev_15:4.

What Is Holy

Exo_31:14-15; Lev_27:30; Rom_7:12.

Who Is Holy

Rev_20:6.

HOLINESS.—The word ‘holy’ is etymologically connected with ‘whole,’ ‘hale,’ ‘healthy,’ etc. (cf. Ger. heilsam, heilig). Modern lexicographers hesitate to speak with certainty in regard to the primitive meaning of the root whence this group of words is derived. Murray’s English Dict. is content to equate ‘holy’ with the Lat. sanetus, sacer, on the ground that ‘we cannot in Old English get behind the Christian sense.’ It is probable that the sense-development is either from hailo, i.e. inviolate, inviolable, that which must be preserved whole; or from hail in the sense of health, well-being.

In all the passages to which reference will be made, the Greek word is ἅγιος or one of its derivatives, with the exception of Act 2:27; Act 13:35, Luk 1:75, Heb 7:26, where ὅσιος or ὁσιότης is found. In Acts the words of Psa 16:10 are quoted twice; ‘thy Holy One’ is a title of the Messiah to whom pre-eminently belongs the OT designation of the theocratic nation,—οἱ ὅσιοι τοῦ θεοῦ, God’s pious ones. ‘The ὅσιος, the German fromm, is one who reverences the everlasting sanctities and owns their obligation’ (Trench, Synonyms of the NT, § lxxxviii.). In Luk 1:75 ‘holiness’ and ‘righteousness’ are closely associated, as is frequently the case both in classical and biblical usage. The words are complementary, though the sharp distinction drawn by Plato (Gorgias, 507 B) cannot be maintained: in the NT ‘righteousness’ cannot be limited to duties toward men, nor can ‘holiness’ be restricted to duties toward God. Righteousness is the manward, as holiness is the Godward aspect of pious character and conduct. Hence Jesus, our High Priest, is ‘holy’ (Heb 7:26); in His filial reverence and in His devotion to His Father’s will there is no flaw; He is, therefore, fitted to appear in the presence of God to do priestly service on our behalf. The LXX Septuagint usually renders חָסִיד (‘godly’ or ‘beloved’) by ὅσιος (Deu 33:8, 2Sa 22:26, Psa 4:4 etc.), but קָדו̇שׁ is generally translated ἅγιος (Exo 19:6, Num 6:5, Psa 15:1, etc.).

Both ἅγιος and קָדו̇שׁ are used when holiness is ascribed to God as well as to persons and things. The question, therefore, arises—What is the primary meaning which underlies and connects these different applications of the word? If the fundamental idea is , the progress of thought is from the negative to the positive, from men and things to God, from the cleansing which is an essential qualification for use in the service of God to purity as the central attribute of God Himself. But if the fundamental idea is Divinity, separation becomes a derivative conception; the progress of thought is then from the positive to the negative, from God to external things and persons. Every devoted to God must be separated from profane or common uses; and every devoted to God is not only thus set apart, but is also under moral obligation to fit himself for drawing near to God by separating himself from all that is sinful.

Those who regard separation as the radical meaning of ἅγιος make it almost synonymous with ἁγνός, which signifies pure, and sets forth a negative conception of holiness. Stevens (Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible ii. 399) follows Trench, and interprets 1Jn 3:3—ἐκεῖνος ἁγνός ἐστιν—of God. But, as Westcott (Com. in loc.) points out, ἐκεῖνος in this Epistle always refers to Christ; it is in respect of His true humanity that it can be said ‘He is pure,’ and not only ‘He was pure.’ In His glorified state ‘the result of the perfection of His earthly discipline (Heb 5:7 ff.) still abides.’ According to St. John, a ‘hope set on’ ( Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 ) Christ is a constant incentive to strive after holiness; and the standard by which the disciple will always measure his attainments is the perfect purity of his Lord. Few will doubt the soundness of the inference which Westcott bases on his exposition of this verse and on his study of the words:

‘Both ἁγνὸς and καθαρός differ from ἅγιος in that they admit the thought or the fact of temptation or pollution; while ἁγιος describes that which is holy absolutely, either in itself or in idea. God can be spoken of as ἁγιος but not as ἁγνός, while Christ can be spoken of as ἀγνός in virtue of the perfection of His humanity. A man is ἅγιος in virtue of his Divine destination (Heb 10:10) to which he is gradually conformed (ἁγιάζετκι, Heb 10:14); he is ἁγνὸς in virtue of earthly, human discipline.’

This clear and helpful distinction assumes that the primary meaning of ἅγιος must be sought in the revelation of the essential nature of God; the various meanings of ἅγιος may thus be traced in orderly sense-development from its root το ἅγος, ‘religious awe,’ ‘reverence.’ ‘Holy is his name’ (Luk 1:49) is the starting-point; things and persons are holy by reason of their being destined for Divine uses; the secondary meaning of separation from defilement arises at a later stage, as clearer perception of the nature of God also reveals the need of preparation for His service by cleansing from all impurity.

This conclusion must be tested by a brief study of the Jewish conception of holiness. The etymology of קָדו̇שׁ (LXX Septuagint generally ἅγιος, sometimes καθαρός, never ὁσιος) is disputed. Little can be learnt from the use of cognate words by non-Israelitish peoples. The profound and indeed unique meaning of holiness in the religion of revelation can be ascertained only from a careful investigation of the phraseology of the OT writers. An excellent sketch of the probable history of the word, which assumes that its fundamental idea is separation, is given in Sunday-Headlam’s Romans (note on 1:7); but it is acknowledged that ‘there is a certain element of conjecture … which is inevitable from the fact that the earlier stages in the history of the word had been already gone through when the Hebrew literature begins.’ There is, therefore, scope for further inquiry.

Kittel (PR^{E [Note: RE Real-Encyklopädie fur protest. Theologic und Kirche.] 3 [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred]} vii. 566 ff.) maintains that the root-idea of the word is positive. Things are not holy because they are separated from other things; they are separated from other things because they are holy. When holiness is ascribed to vessels, animals for sacrifice, etc., either order of thought is suitable. But this is not the case when, e.g., the temple, Zion, and heaven are called holy; they are holy because they are the abode of God. If the primary meaning of holy is that which belongs to God and is devoted to His service, persons may be called holy who stand in a close relation to God, inasmuch as they are in a special sense His servants. Very instructive is Num 16:5 ‘In the morning the Lord will show who are his, and who is holy.’ As applied to persons and to the nation, holiness acquired a deeper significance. In the Law of Holiness (Leviticus 17 ff.) the command. ‘Ye shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy’ (Lev 19:2), is seen to involve both external requirements referring to ritual, and inward requirements referring to moral character.

The holiness of God means, if the positive idea is primary, His ‘essential Divinity.’ Kittel’s exposition accords with Bengel’s saying that God’s glory (כָּבו̇ד) is His disclosed holiness, and His holiness (ק̇סֶשׁ) is His inner glory. God’s holiness is ‘that which proves Him to be God; that which is worthy of God.’ Cf. ‘The Lord God hath sworn his holiness’ (Amo 4:2), with ‘The Lord God bath sworn himself’ (Amo 6:8). If it be said that this definition is vague, the reply is that ‘the Divine essence cannot he expressed in a single formula which is suitable for all stages in the development of the OT idea of God.’ It is a manifest advantage of this view that the evolution of the idea of holiness finds its explanation in the historical evolution of the idea of God. An early stage is seen in 1Sa 6:20 ‘Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God?’ None may approach Him save those who have complied with the prescribed regulations (cf. 1Sa 21:5). As the moral nature of God was more clearly apprehended, the conception of His holiness was spiritualized; in Hos 11:9 ‘I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee,’ the Divine holiness is the ethical motive of the resolve, ‘I will not come in wrath ((Revised Version margin) ) into the city.’ Kittel rightly distinguishes God’s glory from His holiness: ‘Olory’ is a cosmic predicate of God, and refers to the outshining of His attributes, which may be metaphysical or moral; but ‘holiness’ has always a tendency to acquire an ethical significance, and becomes at last solely His moral glory.

The fact that the conception of holiness varies with the conception of God explains the occasional deterioration of the idea. When stress was laid upon the transcendence of God, stress was also laid upon ritual purity. But, in general, later Jewish teaching has insisted upon moral as well as ceremonial purity as being essential qualifications for the service of the Holy One of Israel. Rightly to understand the meaning of ‘holy’ as used by our Lord and His contemporaries, it is needful to remember that for rabbinical Judaism holiness became ‘synonymous with purity of life, purity of action, and purity of thought’ (see Jewish Encyc. vi. 441^b). Holiness is ‘an ideal state of perfection attained only by God’ (Jerus^{. [Note: Jerusalem.]} Ber. ix. 13a); but ‘man grows in holiness the more he aspires to the Divine will, rising above the sensual’ (Yoma, 39a). Dalman says (Words of Jesus, p. 202) that ‘the Holiness’ (הַקּדִשׁ) became a Divine title (Siphre, Num. 112, ed. Friedm. 33a).

The NT passages which fall within the limits of this article may be classified according as (1) holiness is ascribed to things, places, or persons by (a) the Evangelists, (b) our Lord; (2) holiness is ascribed to Christ (a) in the Acts, (b) in the Epistles.

1. Holiness in the Gospels.—(a) The Evangelists speak of ‘the holy city’ (Mat 4:5; Mat 27:53), ‘the holy place’ (Mat 24:15), ‘his holy covenant’ (Luk 1:72): Jerusalem and the temple are holy, as being the abode of God; the covenant made with Abraham is holy, as being a revelation of the gracious purpose of God in choosing a people to serve Him in holiness (Luk 1:75; see above on ὁσιότης). Persons are described as holy, because they are devoted to God’s service: in the Gospels mention is made of ‘the holy angels’ (Mar 8:38, Luk 9:26), ‘his holy prophets’ (Luk 1:70), and Herod is said to have recognized the holiness of John the Baptist (Mar 6:20); in such uses of the word there is included an assertion of the moral purity which is an essential qualification for the service of God. In Luk 2:23 an OT quotation (Exo 13:2) explains that the offering of the parents of Jesus, when they presented their child to the Lord in the temple, was a recognition of the fact that every firstborn son was holy as belonging to God. The ascription of holiness to the Divine Spirit (Mat 1:18 etc.) will be considered in paragraph (b); but here it may be noted that in the story of the Annunciation (Luk 1:35), Mary is told that the Holy Spirit shall come upon her with the result that her child shall be holy (τὸ γεννώμενον ἅγιον); and that once (Luk 4:1) Jesus is described as ‘full of the Holy Spirit.’ In Mar 1:24 = Luk 4:34 the man with an unclean spirit calls Christ ‘the Holy One of God,’ and according to the true text Simon Peter uses the same title (Joh 6:69). The phrase is a designation of the Messiah, described by John (Joh 10:36) as ‘him whom the Father consecrated’ (ἡγίασε. For this and other uses of ἁγιάζειν see art. Consecration). Finally, holiness is ascribed to God in the Magnificat, and the whole context (‘his mercy,’ etc.) shows that ‘holy is his name’ (Luk 1:49) is a declaration of the moral glory of God.

(b) Our Lord never speaks of any person, save the Father and the Spirit, as holy; and only once does He describe any thing as holy. His command, ‘Give not that which is holy to the dogs’ (Mat 7:6), is a proverbial expression whose origin is probably some Jewish exclamation of horror at the thought of profaning altar-flesh, which had been offered in sacrifice to God (Lev 23:6 ff. LXX Septuagint τὰ ἅγια). A similar saying is quoted from Aristotle: ‘Do not fling wisdom into the street’ (μήτε ῥίψαι σοφίαν εἰς τοὑς τριόδους, ap. Themist. p. 234).

The application of our Lord’s words need not be limited to preachers of the gospel; and it is certain that they do not sanction any doctrine of reserve in the statement of truth; their obvious meaning seems to be that holy themes are not to be exposed to the contempt of the profane. John Wesley’s comment (Sermon xxx.) is both pithy and pertinent: ‘Beware of thinking that any deserve this appellation till there is full and incontestable proof.’ But ‘great and glorious truths’ are not to be forced upon those who ‘contradict and blaspheme.’ ‘Do not begin a discourse with these upon remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost.… The most probable way to make Felix tremble is to reason with him of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come.’

In each of the four Gospels there are passages in which our Lord speaks of the Holy Spirit, viz. Mat 12:32; Mat 28:19, Mar 3:29; Mar 12:36; Mar 13:11, Luk 12:10; Luk 12:12, Joh 14:26; Joh 20:22. In so speaking He definitely ascribes essential Divinity to the Spirit. Not in this way could He have spoken of ‘a created Intelligence above the angels’ but inferior to Himself. Moreover, this Divine agent is distinguished both from the Father who sends Him, and from the Son in whose name He is sent; and in the NT the phrase which normally describes Him—‘the Holy Spirit’—ascribes to Him the essential attributes of Deity, the moral glory of God.

In this sense Dalman’s words (op. cit. p. 202f.) must be understood when he says, ‘As regards content, there is no difference between “Spirit of God” and “Holy Spirit.” ’ He is careful to point out that, as ‘the Holiness’ had become a Divine title, ‘it might readily be supposed that in the term דוּתַ קֽדְשָׁא “the Holy Spirit,” the word קֽדְשָׁא became in reality a name for God, so that τὁ τνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ would represent it more accurately than τὁ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. But in that case terms like רוּתַ קֽדִשְׁךָ “thy holy spirit” (Psa 51:11), רוּחָא רְקֽדְשָׁי “my holy spirit” (Targ. Is 42:1), would be impossible. And yet it must be maintained that the addition of קֽדִשָׁא is expressly meant to specify Divinity as an attribute of the Spirit.’ See, further, Holy Spirit.

The last recorded example of our Lord’s use of the word ‘holy’ is in His intercessory prayer. He who never called any human being ‘holy’ prays that His disciples may attain unto holiness. His petitions are both negative and positive: from the corruptions of the world He asks that they may be kept in the name (Joh 17:11 Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 ) which in its fulness it had been His mission to reveal. But it is not enough for them to be kept from entering the domain of the Evil One (Joh 17:15 ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ, cf. 1Jn 5:19 ‘the whole world lieth in the evil one’). If they are to continue Christ’s work, they must be partakers of His holiness, for only in complete devotion of all their powers to the service of God can they share their Master’s joy. Hence He also asks, as in absolute self-sacrifice He consecrates Himself, that ‘they themselves also may be consecrated in truth’ (Joh 17:19). In these petitions the love of Christ for His own finds full expression, and they are fitly introduced by the unique phrase ‘Holy Father’ (cf. ‘Father,’ Joh 17:1, and ‘righteous Father,’ Joh 17:25). In this glorious name of God ‘all excellences meet’; purity and tenderness unite, majesty and pity combine. Christ regards this all-sufficient knowledge of God as ‘an ideal region of security,’ in which His disciples will be safe from harm. As long as they are ‘in the name,’ it will be impossible for thoughts of God’s holiness to suggest that it is dangerous to approach the Holy Father (cf. 1Sa 6:20; 1Sa 21:5, and see above). Nor can the revelation in Christ of His ‘pitying tenderness Divine’ lead to sinful presuming on His grace, and to neglect of moral purity, without which none may hold communion with the Holy Father. Therefore, as in the OT the conception of holiness varies with the conception of God, so in the NT the climax of the revelation of the Father in the Son is reached in the harmonizing of the ‘many-hued’ manifestations (cf. πολυποίκιλος, Eph 3:10) of His glory in the pure, white light of His holy love. The opening petitions of the Lord’s Prayer teach that His Kingdom will come and His will be done ‘as in heaven, so on earth,’ when in His Church on earth as in heaven the name of the Holy Father is hallowed (Mat 6:10 Ἁγιας θήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου … ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς).

2. The holiness of Christ.—Outside the Gospels holiness is ascribed to Christ in the Acts and the Epistles.—(a) The Acts. St. Peter (Act 2:27) and St. Paul (Act 13:35) see in the resurrection of Jesus proof that He is God’s ‘Holy One,’ in whom is fulfilled the Messianic promise that He should not see corruption (Psa 16:10; (Revised Version margin) renders חָסִיד ‘godly or beloved,’ see above on ὄσιος). In the prayer of the early Church, Jesus is twice described as Jehovah’s ‘Holy Servant’ (Act 4:27; Act 4:30), and it is probable that St. Peter has in mind Isaiah 53 when he speaks of Jesus as ‘the Holy and Righteous One’ (Act 3:14, cf. Act 3:13). In these passages ἅγιος is applied to the ideal Servant, in whose consecration, even unto death, God’s moral glory was revealed.—(b) The Epistles. Our High Priest, for ever ‘separated from sinners,’ is ‘holy’ (Heb 7:26). Here ὅσιος is a comprehensive summary of those inward qualities which were manifested by our Lord’s dutiful submission to His Father’s will: pre-eminently He was ‘pure in heart,’ fitted to exercise, in the presence of God, His ministry of intercession. In Rom 1:4 ‘the spirit of holiness’ is not a synonym of Holy Spirit; holiness is ascribed to the spirit of the Incarnate Son. The πνεῦμα of Christ was human; in this respect He was ‘made like unto his brethren’ (Heb 2:17); but His spirit was holy, and in that He was ‘without sin’ (Heb 4:15), He was unique among men. His ‘spirit of holiness’ was ‘the seat of the Divine nature’; He was filled with the Holy Spirit, and being ‘essentially filled with God’ was ‘full of Divine unpolluted life’ (cf. Meyer, Com. in loc.). St. Paul declares that it was in complete accord (κατά) with the transcendent holiness which was the characterizing quality of the spirit of Christ that His Divine Sonship should be visibly manifested in the miracle of His resurrection. In 1Jn 2:20 ‘Ye have an anointing (χρῖσμα) from the Holy One,’ the reference may possibly be to God the Father; but almost certainly the Holy One is Christ (cf. 1Jn 3:3 ‘He is pure,’ and see above). The true reading in Heb 7:27 (αὐτοῦ not τὸ αὐτό), ‘His anointing,’ seems to remove all ambiguity. St. John says that Christians have a chrism from the Christ; and there can be little doubt that the predominant reference in chrism is to the Holy Spirit. It is ‘a faint prelusive note,’ and in 1Jn 3:24 ‘the full distinct mention of the Holy Spirit comes like a burst of the music of the “Veni Creator,” carrying on the fainter prelude’ (Expos. Bible, p. 170).

The chief contributions to the formal exposition of the NT doctrine of holiness lie beyond the limits of this article. It need occasion no surprise that even to His disciples our Lord should not speak directly concerning holiness until in His farewell prayer He asked that the men called to continue His mission might share His consceration. The reason for His reticence is that ‘in Him, and for them, holiness imported something—far more and other than it did in the religion of the day.… Only as they saw their Lord devote His person in the consummating sacrifice would they be prepared to realize what their Christian consecration involved’ (Findlay, Expositor, vi. [1901] iv. 5). It is also significant that the prayer for His disciples’ holiness should immediately follow the discourse in which our Lord expounds in welcome detail what is involved in the promise of the Spirit whose gracious indwelling is the secret of holiness.

The Gospels are, however, the supreme revelation of holiness. The imitation of Christ is the royal road to holiness; His teaching concerning union with Himself and the bestowment of the Holy Spirit reveals the secret of holiness. The writers of the Epistles, under the guidance of the promised Teacher, unfolded the implications of their own experience and the purpose of the Incarnation, the Passion, and the abiding Priesthood of the Son of God.

The stress laid on the positive idea, which is probably the primary conception of holiness, may serve to guard Christians against the error of supposing that holiness may be acquired by withdrawals and negations, or by compliance with external regulations. Holiness means the attainment of the Divine likeness, and this consists in moral qualities which are all comprised in holy love. The motive to holiness increases in strength as God is more perfectly known. In proportion as the Holy Father is known as He is, will he the gladness of our response to His claims, and the ardour of our desire to be like Him in this world. Into the world Christ sent the men for whose consecration He prayed, and His promise, ‘Ye shall know that ye are in me’ (Joh 14:20), conveyed to them His assurance that ‘in the world’ they should attain to holiness. Life in Christ is holiness.

Literature.—In addition to the books mentioned in the body of the article, see the Comm. on the various passages, and works on Theol. of NT; also Grimm-Thayer and Cremer, svv. ἅγιος, ὁσιος; art. ‘Holiness’ in Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible ; Issel, Der Begriff d. Heiligkeit im NT; Askwith, Christian Conception of Holiness.

J. G. Tasker.

(Hebr. "ḳodesh" and "ḳedushah," from a root preserved in the Assyrian "ḳudusu" ="bright"):

By: Kaufmann Kohler

Unapproachableness; the state of separation from, and elevation above, things common, profane, or sensual, first in a physical and external, and later in a spiritual, sense; moral purity and perfection incapable of sin and wrong.

Holiness of God and Angels. —Biblical Data:

To Moses and afterward to Israel, Yhwh on Sinai manifested Himself in fire as an unapproachable deity, and therefore as a holy being (Ex. iii. 2-5, xix. 18-22, xxiv. 9-17: "like devouring fire"; comp. Ex. xxxiv. 29-35, the radiant face of Moses being the effect of his intercourse with Yhwh).

In his first vision Isaiah sees the Lord surrounded by "fiery beings," seraphim, their faces covered with wings so that they can not gaze upon the Lord; and he hears the seraphim cry, "Holy, Holy, Holy [that is, "unapproachable"] is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory." Isaiah is in fear for his life because his eyes have seen the Lord (Isa. vi. 1-5). Henceforth the burden of his message to Israel is God's holiness (Isa, i. 4; v. 19, 24; x. 20; xii. 6; xvii. 7; xxix. 19, 23; xxx. 11 et seq.; xxxvii. 23), and the Isaian expression, "the Holy One of Israel," reappears in the exilic chapters (Isa. xli. 14 et seq.; xliii. 3 et seq.; xlv. 11; xlvii. 4; xlviii. 17; xlix. 7; lv. 5; lx. 9, 14). It was owing to this conception that the fiery nature of God, which made Him unapproachable, and His nearness awful in its effects upon frail human beings (Lev. xvi. 1; Num. iv. 20; II Sam. vi. 7), was so sublimated and spiritualized that it became a power for righteousness, a fire devouring wrong-doing and injustice, and purifying the doers of evil. Compare Deut. iv. 22-23 ("Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord . . . and make you a graven image. . ., for the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God"); or Josh. xxiv. 19-20 ("Ye can not serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; . . . if ye forsake the Lord . . . he will . . . consume you" (comp. I Sam. vi. 20).

There is still something of that elemental holiness or fiery nature implied when it is said in Job that before Him man and stars, the heavens, and His angels (literally, "His holy ones") are not clean (Job xv. 14-15, xxv. 5; comp. iv. 18). On account of their fiery nature the angels, though not pure when compared with God, are called "the holy ones," that is "unapproachable" or "majestic" (Job v. 1, vi. 10, xv. 15; Ps. lxxxix. 6; Zech. xiv. 5; Prov. ix. 10, xxx. 3; Dan. iv. 14 [A. V. 17]). But God alone is the Holy and Incomparable One (Hab. iii. 3; I Sam. ii. 2; Ex. xv. 11: "None is wrapt [A. V. "glorious"] in holiness like him").

Jewish Ideal of Holiness.

God's holiness is manifested chiefly in His punitive justice and righteousness (Isa. v. 16; Ps. xcix. 3-5; Lev. x. 3; Num. xx. 12-13; Ezek. xxviii. 22, xxxviii. 23). Therefore sinners must stand in awe of His "devouring fire," and only those free from blemish shall behold the King in His beauty (Isa.xxxiii. 14-17; comp. iv. 3, vi. 7). It is owing to His holiness that He is too pure to permit His eyes to "behold evil and look on iniquity" without punishing them (Hab. i. 13); "the eyes of His glory are provoked" at the sight of wrong (Isa. iii. 8). At times it is the unapproachable loftiness of God that is expressed in the term "holiness" (Ps. lxxvii. 14 [A. V. 13]: "Thy way is in holiness"; Ps. lxviii. 25 [A. V. 24]: "The goings of my God and King in holiness" [A. V., in both cases inaccurately, "in the sanctuary"]; Isa. lx. 15: "I dwell in the high and holy place"; comp. Jer. xvii. 12; Ps. cii. 20). It is by this "holiness," in the sense of "majesty" or "exaltedness," that God swears (Amos lv. 2; comp. vi. 8; Ps. lxxxix. 35 [A. V. 34]; comp. Isa. lxii. 8); and it is the arm of His holiness (A. V. "his holy arm") that does all His wondrous deeds (Isa. lii 10, Ps. xcviii. 1). His holiness invests His "words" with power (Jer. xxiii. 9; Ps cv. 42) and His "name" with awe (Amos ii. 7; Ezek. xx. 39; Lev. xx. 3). Finally, God, as the Holy Being, high above all things profane and sensual, became the highest ideal and pattern of purity and perfection: "Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord am holy" (Lev. xix. 2; xx. 7, 26).

Here must be noted the striking contrast between the specifically Jewish and the general Semitic conception of holiness. The term "ḳadosh" (also "ḥerem"; = "holy"),—perhaps originally "ḳadesh" ("brightness," e.g., of the well as the fountain of life ["'En Ḳadesh"]; see Brugsch, "Gesch. Aegyptens," 1877, p. 200; Movers, "Phoenizier," i. 188)—is applied to Astarte, the goddess of fertility, known for abominable orgies, and her lascivious priests and priestesses are called "ḳedeshim" and "ḳedeshot" (the holy ones; Gen. xxxviii. 21; Deut. xxiii. 18; I Kings xiv. 24, xxii. 47; II Kings xxiii. 7; also Hosea xi. 9, xii. 1, where the Masoretic text betrays later emendation). It was the imitation by Israel of this abominable Astarte cult that roused the prophet's indignation (Amos ii. 7), and caused the Israelitish lawgiver to draw the distinction between the holy God of Israel and the gods of the surrounding nations (Lev. xviii. 24-30, xx. 22-26; Deut. xxiii. 18-19), and to insist on the avoidance of every impure act in the camp of Israel, in the midst of which God as the Holy One was present (Deut. xxiii. 15 [A. V. 14]; Num. xv. 39-40).

It is in congruity with this view that God as the Holy One also sanctifies persons and things. In the ancient conception holiness was a transmissible quality; wherefore they that offered incense before the Lord were "hallowed" (Num. xvii. 2-3), and whatsoever touched the altar was thereby made holy (Ex. xxix. 37, comp. xxx. 29; Lev. vi. 11, 20; I Sam. xxi. 6; Hag. ii. 12); even he who touched the officiating priest (Ezek. xliv. 19, xlvi. 20; Isa. lxv. 5) was rendered holy. In the Mosaic system the holiness of consecrated persons and things emanated from God, but men must at the same time declare them holy (comp. Ex. xxix. 44 with xxviii. 41, xxix. 1, 21, 33; Lev. viii. 11; Num. vii. 1; I Sam. xvi. 5; II Sam. viii. 11; I Kings viii. 64). It is the Lord who sanctifies the priestly house of Aaron (Lev. xxi. 15, 23; xxii. 9, 16; Ezek. xx. 16); the Levites (Num. viii. 17); the first-born (Num. iii. 13; comp. Ex. xiii. 2; Deut. xv. 19); Israel (Ex. xxxi. 13; Lev. xx. 8, xxi. 8; Ezek. xx. 12, xxxvi. 28); the Sabbath (Gen. ii. 3; Ex. xx. 11); and the prophet (Jer. i. 5).

The Holiness of Persons and Things.

All things become "holy" that are excluded from common or profane use ("ḥol"; I Sam. xxi. 5) by being connected with the worship of God: (1) The places in which God is supposed to dwell or where He appeared (Ex. iii. 5; Josh. v. 15; Deut. xxiii. 15; II Chron. viii. 11); hence, every sanctuary ("miḳdash," Ex. xxv. 8, or "ḳodesh," Ex. xxviii. 29; Ezek. xlii. 20), and every part of the sanctuary, and every vessel used therein (Ex. xxvi. 33; I Sam. xxi. 6; Ezek. xlii. 13; Num. iii. 31). Such a place with its site was marked off as holy (Ex. xix. 23; Ezek. xlv. 1). The hill of the Temple (Isa. xi. 9 and elsewhere) became "the holy hill"; Jerusalem, "the holy city" (Ps. xlvi. 5; Zeph. iii. 11; Isa. xlviii. 2); and Palestine, "the holy land" (Zech. ii. 16; comp. Hosea ix. 3-4). God's heavenly habitation, "the seat of His holiness," is holy, because of His unapproachable (fiery) majesty (Micah i. 2; Hab. ii. 20; and elsewhere); so, likewise, is "the throne of His holiness" (Ps. xlvii. 9; comp. Ezek. xxviii. 14: "the fiery mountain of the [heathen] gods").

(2) All the things consecrated or brought as sacrifices to God (Ex. xxviii. 38, xxx. 35, xxxvi. 6; I Sam. xxi. 5; Num. xviii. 17, 32; Lev. x. 10; Zech. xiv. 20), and whatever is used in worshiping in the sanctuary (Ex. xxviii. 2 et seq.; xxx. 25, 35). These things are not holy in themselves, but "holy unto the Lord" (Ex. xxviii. 36, xxx. 37; Lev. xix. 8, xxiii. 20; and elsewhere); that is, their relation to the divinity renders them holy; and in accordance with their more or less close external or internal relationship to God and His dwelling-place they are differentiated in their degree of holiness, as "holy," or "holy of holies" (Ex. xxvi. 33; xxx. 10, 29, 36; Lev. xvi. 33; and elsewhere).

(3) All persons "separated" from the rest of mankind to serve God or serve in the sanctuary of God. The priest is "holy unto God" (Lev. xxi. 6, 7), and Aaron, being separated from the rest of the Levites, is called "holy of holies" (I Chron. xxiii. 13 [A. V. incorrect]); so also are the Nazarite (Num. vi. 5) and the prophet (II Kings iv. 9).

Israel a Holy People.

Especially is Israel "holy unto the Lord" (Deut. vii. 6; xiv. 2, 21; xxvi. 19; xxviii. 9; Jer. ii. 3); Israel is "His holy kingdom" (Ps. cxiv. 1), "His holy people" (Isa. lxii. 2, lxiii. 18; Dan. xii. 7), "His holy seed" (Isa. vi. 13; Ezra ix. 2); Israel is "the people of holy ones" (Dan. vii. 21, 27; viii. 24). It is "a holy nation" because it has been separated as "a kingdom of priests" from amidst the nations of the earth (Ex. xix. 6); and as "holy men" the people of Israel are to abstain from unclean meat (Ex. xxii. 30; Deut. xiv. 21; Lev. xxi. 25-26; comp. Ezek. xliv. 31), from intermarriage with the idolatrous nations (Deut. vii. 2-6; Mal. ii. 11; Ezra vi. 21, ix. 11), from heathen modes of disfigurement (Deut. xiv. 2); and they are to wear a mark of distinction on their body (Dan. xi. 28, 30) and on their dress (Num. xv. 20).

Here, too, is noticeable a difference between the ancient view of holiness maintained in the priestly legislation, and the higher prophetic view which lends it a loftier ethical meaning. The place where God dwells or the sacrifice is offered wherewith He is especially approached is physically holy, and to draw near or to look upon it brings death (Ex. xxviii. 43, xxx. 20; Lev. x. 2, 9; Num. iii. 10, iv. 20; comp. Ex. xix. 24). The holiness of Israel, also, is at times regarded as inherent in the nation (Num. xvi. 3), or in the land as the seat of Israel's God (Amos vii. 17); but it developed more and more into an ethical obligation (Deut. xxvi. 19, xxviii. 9; Lev. xix. 2, xx. 7), a state of moral perfection to be attained by abstinence from evil and by self control. The title "the holy ones" is given later on to the class of pious ones (Ps. xvi. 3; xxxiv. 110; lxxxix. 6, 8 [A. V. 5, 7]). Possibly it was given to those believed to be imbued with the divine spirit of holiness (see Holy Spirit).

—In Rabbinical Literature:

While the Levitical legislation—the so-called "Law of Holiness," which, according to the critical view of the Bible, is the precipitate of the writings of the priest-prophet Ezekiel—made holiness the central idea of the Mosaic law (Lev. xix. 2, xx. 26), post-exilic Judaism developed the system in two different directions, the Sadducean priesthood laying all the stress on external sanctity in its various gradations and ramifications, whereas the ancient Ḥasidim, and their successors, the Pharisees and Essenes, made inner holiness more and more the aim of life. It is the priestly system which, following the example of Ezekiel (xl.-xlviii.), counted ten degrees of holiness (beginning with the land of Palestine as the Holy Land and with the Holy City, and ending with the holy of holies of the Temple) and the corresponding ten degrees of impurity (Kelim i. 6-9; Tosef., Kelim, i.; for the holiness of Jerusalem see Tosef., Neg. vi. 2). Similarly, the different sacrifices were classified according to their degrees of holiness (Zeb. v.-xiv.: Me'i. i.-iii.; Niddah vii. 1). In fact, the entire Temple ritual in all its detail as given in the Mishnah is based upon the sacerdotal view of holiness. The quaint notion that the Holy Scriptures contaminate ("taboo") the hands (Yad. ii. 2-5) is derived from priestly practise (see Geiger, "Urschrift," pp. 170-174; comp. Assumptio Mosis, vii. 10). So does the claim to superior rank made by the Aaronite over the Levite, by the Levite over the common people (Giṭ. 59b), and by the high priest over the Nazarite (Naz. vii. 1) emanate from the Temple, and not from the school-house (Sifra, Aḥare Mot, xiii).

The Ḥasidim, in their battle against Syrian idolatry and the Jewish apostates among the Hellenistic party of the Sadducean priesthood, extended the rules of Levitical holiness to the extent of declaring the very soil of the heathen impure (Shab. 15a). The leading idea is expressed in the Book of Jubilees, xxii. 16-17: "Separate thyself from the nations and eat not with them, and do not according to their works, . . . for their works are unclean and all their ways a pollution, an abomination, and uncleanness. They offer their sacrifices to the dead and worship evil spirits" (see notes in Charles, "The Book of Jubilees," 1902, pp. 140 et seq.). Accordingly, the Ḥasidim understood the very command "Be holy" to signify "Separate yourselves from the rest of men" (Sifra, Ḳedoshim, i.), their maxim being, "Wherever the Torah speaks of holiness, it has in view abstinence from idolatry and from its concomitant moral depravity and licentiousness" (ib. ix. 11; Lev. R. xxiv.). Holiness "like that of the priests," holiness in body "like that of the angels," became the Ḥasidean ideal (Targ. Yer. to Ex. xxii. 30; Lev. xx. 7; Num. xv. 40); hence, most probably, the name "Perisha" (the one separated from persons and things that may contaminate; see Pharisees).

Part of that system of holiness were regular ablutions before morning prayer and before every meal (Ber. 53b), and nazir-like abstinence from things permitted which may lead to things forbidden (Yeb. 20a; Ta'an. 11a), and especially from impure sights and thoughts (Shab. 86a, 118b; Shebu. 18b). The Israelites in general are called "holy men" (Sibyllines, ii. 168), especially the martyred Ḥasidim (ib. ii. 263); Israel of the future will be "a holy generation" (ib. xiv. 359; Psalms of Solomon, xvii. 28, 36); "Israel's character of holiness has been given him by God to last forever" (Lev. R. xxiv.).

In rabbinical ethics, too, holiness is the highest ideal (Soṭah ix. 15). Only the few elect ones were called "saints" (Wisdom v. 5; Pes. 104a; Shab. 118b; Ket. 103b). "Holy Congregation," or "Congregation of the Saints," was the name given to a brotherhood bound together for a life of prayer, study, and labor, in expectation of the Holy Spirit and in preparation for the Messianic time (see 'Edah Ḳedoshah; Essenes); hence also the saints of the New Testament. All the more significant is the teaching of rabbinical Judaism: "None can be called saint before death" (Midr. Teh. to Ps. xvi. 3), which is interpreted to mean: "The saints are to be trusted only when they are in the earth," because God Himself "putteth no trust in His saints" (Job xv. 15).

Holiness is an ideal state of perfection attained only by God (Yer. Ber. ix. 13a). "Man grows in holiness the more he aspires to the divine while rising above the sensual" (Yoma 39a). The entire system of the Jewish law has the hallowing of life as its aim, to be reached through good works, through observance of the Sabbath and holy days (Ḳiddush), and through the sanctification of God's name ("Ḳid-dush ha-Shem"; see Midr. Teh. to Ps. xx. 5). It is holiness which elevates and permeates the thoughts and motives of life, and hence it is the highest possible principle of ethics.

"Holiness" became for rabbinical Judaism synonymous with purity of life, purity of action, and purity of thought; it lent its peculiar sanctification to the Sabbath, to the name of God—nay, to the whole motive of moral conduct (see Ḳiddush ha-Shem)—to portions of the prayers (see Ḳad dish), and to the relations of man and wife (see Marriage); and under its influence personal purity in Judaism became the highest standard and maxim of ethics found in any religious system. Hence Maimonides gave the name "Ḳedushah" (= "Holiness") to the fifth book of his Yad ha-Ḥazaḳah, which treats of the sexual relations, and Naḥmanides laid down rules of conduct for conjugal life ina book entitled "Iggeret ha-Ḳedushah" (= "Letter on Holiness").

Bibliography:

Hastings, Dict. Bible;

Hamburger, R. B. T., and Herzog-Hauck, Real-Encyc., s.v. Heiligkeit;

Elijah de Vidas, Reshit Ḥokmah, Sha'ar Ḳedushah;

M. Lazarus, Ethics of Judaism, ii. ch. 4 and 7.

HOLINESS

I. IN OT

The Heb. words connected with the Semitic root qdsh (those connected with the root chrm may be left out of the inquiry: cf. art. Ban), namely, qôdesh ‘holiness,’ qâdôsh ‘holy,’ qiddash, etc. ‘sanctify, the derived noun miqdâsh ‘sanctuary,’ qâdçsh qedçshâh ‘whore,’ ‘harlot’—occur in about 830 passages in OT, about 350 of which are in the Pentateuch. The Aram. [Note: Aramaic.] qaddîsh ‘holy’ is met with 13 times in the Book of Daniel, qâdçsh and qedçshâh have almost exclusively heathen associations, qaddîsh is used in a few passages of the gods, but otherwise the Biblical words from this root refer exclusively to Jehovah, and persons or things connected with Him. The primary meaning seems at present indiscoverable, some making it to be that of ‘separation’ or ‘cutting off,’ others connecting with châdâsh ‘new,’ and the Assyr. [Note: Assyrian.] quddushu ‘pure,’ ‘bright’; but neither brings conclusive evidence. In actual use the word is always a religious term, being, when applied to deity, almost equivalent to ‘divine,’ and meaning, when used of personsorthings, ‘set apart from common use for divine use.’

1. Holiness of God.—For all the Ancient East, Phœnicians and Babylonians as well as Hebrews, a god was a holy being, and anything specially appropriated to one, for example an ear-ring or nose-ring regarded as an amulet, was also holy. The conception of holiness was consequently determined by the current conception of God. If the latter for any people at any time was low, the former was low also, and vice versa. In the heathen world of the Ancient East the Divine holiness had no necessary connexion with character. The ethical element was largely or altogether absent. So a holy man, a man specially intimate with a god, need not he a moral man, as in Palestine at the present day, where holy men are anything but saints in the Western sense of the term (Curtiss, Primitive Semitic Religion To-day, p. 149 f.). In ancient Israel the holiness of Jehovah may in the first instance have been ceremonial rather than ethical, but this cannot be proved. In the so-called Law of Holiness (H [Note: Law of Holiness.] , contained chiefly in Lev 17:1-16; Lev 18:1-30; Lev 19:1-37; Lev 20:1-27; Lev 21:1-24; Lev 22:1-33; Lev 23:1-44; Lev 24:1-23; Lev 25:1-55; Lev 26:1-46)—a document which, though compiled about the time of Ezekiel, probably contains very ancient elements—the ceremonial and the ethical are inextricably blended. The holiness which Jehovah requires, and which is evidently to be thought of as to some extent of the same nature as His own: ‘Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy’ (Lev 19:2), includes not only honesty (Lev 19:11; Lev 19:36), truthfulness (Lev 19:11), respect for parents (Lev 19:3, Lev 20:9), fair dealing with servants (Lev 19:13), kindness to strangers (Lev 19:34), the weak and helpless (Lev 19:14; Lev 19:32), and the poor (Lev 19:9 f.), social purity (Lev 20:11 ff., Lev 20:18 ff.), and love of neighbours (Lev 19:18), but also abstinence from blood as an article of food (Lev 17:10 ff., Lev 19:26), from mixtures of animals, seeds, and stuffs (Lev 19:19), and from the fruit of newly planted trees for the first four years (Lev 19:23 ff.); and, for priests, compliance with special rules about mourning and marriage (Lev 21:1-15). In other words, this holiness was partly ceremonial, partly moral, without any apparent distinction between the two, and this double aspect of holiness is characteristic of P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] (in which H [Note: Law of Holiness.] was incorporated) as a whole, stress being naturally laid by the priestly compiler or compilers on externals. In the prophets, on the other hand, the ethical element greatly preponderates. The vision of the Holy Jehovah in Isaiah, which wrung from the seer the cry ‘Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips’ (Isa 6:5), leaves the ceremonial aspect almost completely out of sight. The holiness of Jehovah there is His absolute separation from moral evil, His perfect moral purity. But there is another element clearly brought out in this vision—the majesty of the Divine holiness: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory’ (Isa 6:3). This aspect also comes out very distinctly in the great psalm of the Divine holiness, perhaps from the early Greek period, where the holy Jehovah is declared to have ‘a great and terrible name’ (Psa 99:3) and to be’ high above all peoples’ (Psa 99:2), and in one of the later portions of the Book of Isaiah, where He is described as ‘the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy’ (Isa 57:15). The holiness of God in OT is characterized by stainless purity and awful majesty.

2. Holy persons and things.—In ancient Israel all connected with God was holy, either permanently or during the time of connexion. He dwelt in a holy heaven (Psa 20:6), sat on a holy throne (Psa 47:8), and was surrounded by holy attendants (Psa 89:7). His Spirit was holy (Psa 51:11, Isa 63:10 f.), His name was holy (Lev 20:3 etc.), His arm was holy (Psa 98:1), and His way was holy (Isa 35:8). His chosen people Israel was holy (Lev 19:2, Deu 7:6 etc.), their land was holy (Zec 2:12), the Temple was holy (Psa 11:4 etc.), and the city of the Temple (Isa 52:1, Neh 11:1). Every part of the Temple (or Tabernacle) was holy, and all its utensils and appurtenances (1Ki 8:4); the altars of incense and burnt-offering (Exo 30:27 f.), the flesh of a sacrifice (Hag 2:12), the incense (Exo 30:36), the table (Exo 30:27), the shew-bread (1Sa 21:6), the candlestick (Exo 30:27), the ark (Exo 30:26, 2Ch 35:3), and the anointing oil (Exo 30:25). Those attached more closely to the service of Jehovah—priests (Lev 21:6, H [Note: Law of Holiness.] ), Levites (Num 8:17 f.), and perhaps to some extent prophets (2Ki 4:9),—were holy (with ceremonial holiness) in a higher degree than others. The combination of merely external and ethical holiness as the requirement of Jehovah lasted until the advent of Christianity, the proportion of the elements varying with the varying conception of God.

II. IN NT

The word ‘holiness’ in EV [Note: English Version.] stands for hosiotçs (Luk 1:75, Eph 4:24), hagiotçs (2Co 1:12 RV [Note: Revised Version.] , ‘AV [Note: Authorized Version.] having another reading; Heb 12:10), hagiôsynç (Rom 1:4, 2Co 7:1, 1Th 3:13), hagiasmos (in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] , Rom 6:19; Rom 6:22, 1Th 4:7, 1Ti 2:15, Heb 12:14, but in the other 5 passages in which the word occurs we find ‘sanctification ‘; RV [Note: Revised Version.] has ‘sanctification’ throughout), and for part of hieroprepçs (Tit 2:3), ‘as becometh holiness,’ RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘reverent in demeanour.’ The idea of holiness, however, is conveyed mainly by the adjective hagios ‘holy’ (about 230 times) and the verb hagiazô (27 times, in 24 of which it is rendered in EV [Note: English Version.] ‘sanctify’), also by hosios (Act 2:27; Act 13:34 f., 1Ti 2:8, Tit 1:8, Heb 7:26, Rev 15:4; Rev 16:5, not in the text of AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ) and hieros (1Co 9:13, 2Ti 3:15; RV [Note: Revised Version.] has in both passages ‘sacred’). Of these words by far the most important is the group which has hagios for its centre, and which is the real equivalent of qôdesh, qâdôsh, etc., hieros referring rather to external holiness and hosios to reverence, piety, hagios, which is freely used in LXX [Note: Septuagint.] , but is very rare in classical Greek and not frequent in common Greek, never occurring (outside of Christian texts) in the seven volumes of papyri issued by the Egypt Exploration Society, is scarcely ever used in NT in the ceremonial sense (cf. 1Co 7:14, 2Pe 1:18) except in quotations from OT or references to Jewish ritual (Heb 9:2-3; Heb 9:8; Heb 9:24; Heb 10:19 etc.), and in current Jewish expressions, e.g. ‘the holy city,’ Mat 4:5 etc. Otherwise it is purely ethical and spiritual.

Three uses demand special notice. 1. The term ‘holy is seldom applied directly to God (Luk 1:49, Joh 17:11, 1Pe 1:15 f., Rev 4:8), but it is very often used of the Spirit of God (‘the Holy Spirit’ 94 times, 56 of which are in the writings of Luke: cf. art. Holy Spirit). 2. The epithet is used in 10 passages of Christ (‘the Holy One of God,’ Mar 1:24, Luk 4:34, Joh 6:69; also Luk 1:35, Act 3:14; Act 4:27; Act 4:30, Heb 7:26, 1Jn 2:20, Rev 3:7). 3. It is very often used of Christians. They are called ‘saints’ or ‘holy ones’ (hagioi) 60 times, 39 in the Pauline Epistles. The expression is no doubt of OT origin, and means ‘consecrated to God,’ with the thought that this consecration involves effort after moral purity (cf. Lightfoot on Php 1:1). In this use the ethical element is always in the foreground. So we find hagios associated with amômos ‘without hlemish,’ RV [Note: Revised Version.] Eph 1:4; Eph 5:27, Col 1:22; and with dikaios ‘righteous,’ RV [Note: Revised Version.] Mar 6:20, Act 3:14. The three words hagiotçs, hagiôsynç, and hagiasmos designate respectively the quality of holiness, the state of holiness, and the process or result. For the sphere and source of holiness, cf. Sanctification.

W. Taylor Smith.

(Anglo-Saxon: perfect, or whole)

In the Old Testament the Hebrew, kadosch (holy), signified separation from the profane, dedication to God’s service, e.g., the Israelites as people of God (Leviticus 20); Aaron as priest (1 Par. 23). Applied to God it sets forth His separation from, and opposition to all evil. Outside of God only that is holy which has some relation to Him. Holiness of creatures can be subjective, objective, or both. Subjective holiness in rational creatures consists essentially in sanctifying grace (separation from sin, possession of virtue). Objective holiness in any creature denotes its exclusive dedication to the service of God: priests by ordination, religious by vows, sacred vessels, vestments, etc., either by consecration or by blessing.

(A.S. hal, perfect, or whole). Sanctitas in the Vulgate of the New Testament is the rendering of two distinct words, hagiosyne (1 Thess., iii,13) and hosiotes (Luke 1:75; Ephesians 4:24). These two Greek words express respectively the two ideas connoted by "holiness" viz.: that of separation as seen in hagios from hagos, which denotes "any matter of religious awe" (the Latin sacer); and that of sanctioned (sancitus), that which is hosios has received God’s seal. Considerable confusion is caused by the Reims version which renders hagiasmos by "holiness" in Hebrews 12:14, but more correctly elsewhere by "sanctification", while hagiosyne, which is only once rendered correctly "holiness", is twice translated "sanctification".St. Thomas (II-II:81:8) insists on the two aspects of holiness mentioned above, viz., separation and firmness, though he arrives at these meanings by dint of the etymologies of Origen and St. Isidore. Sanctity, says the Angelic Doctor, is the term used for all that is dedicated to the Divine service, whether persons or things. Such must be pure or separated from the world, for the mind needs to be withdrawn from the contemplation of inferior things if it is to be set upon the Supreme Truth -- and this, too, with firmness or stability, since it is a question of attachment to that which is our ultimate end and primary principle, viz., God Himself -- "I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels. . . nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God" (Romans 8:38-39). Hence St. Thomas defines holiness as that virtue by which a man’s mind applies itself and all its acts to God; he ranks it among the infused moral virtues, and identifies it with the virtue of religion, but with this difference that, whereas religion is the virtue whereby we offer God due service in the things which pertain to the Divine service, holiness is the virtue by which we make all our acts subservient to God. Thus holiness or sanctity is the outcome of sanctification, that Divine act by which God freely justifies us, and by which He has claimed us for His own; by our resulting sanctity, in act as well as in habit, we claim Him as our Beginning and as the End towards which we daily unflinchingly tend. Thus in the moral order sanctity is the assertion of the paramount rights of God; its concrete manifestation is the keeping of the Commandments, hence St. Paul: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness [sanctimoniam, hagiasmon]: without which no man shall see God" (Hebrews 12:14). The Greek word should ne noted; it is generally rendered "sanctification", but it is noteworthy that it is the word chosen by the Greek translators of the Old Testament to render the Hebrew word (rendered as Ayin-Zayin), which properly means strength or stability, a meaning which as we have seen is contained in the word holiness. Thus to keep the Commandments faithfully involves a very real though hidden separation from this world, as it also demands a great strength of character or stability in the service of God.It is manifest, however, that there are degrees in this separation from the world and in this stability in God’s service. All who would serve God truly must live up to the principles of moral theology, and only so can men save their souls. But others yearn for something higher; they ask for a greater degree of separation from earthly things and a more intense application to the things of God. In St. Thomas’s own words: "All who worship God may be called `religious’, but they are specially called so who dedicate their whole lives to the Divine worship, and withdraw themselves from worldly concerns, just as those are not termed `contemplatives’ who merely contemplate, but those who devote their whole lives to contemplation". The saint adds: "And such men subject themselves to other men not for man’s sake but for God’s sake", words which afford us the keynote of religious life strictly so-called (II-II:81:7, ad 5um).-----------------------------------Newman, Sermons, vol. I: Holiness Necessary for Future Blessedness; Fuller, The Holy and the Profane State; Mallock, Atheistic Methodism and the Beauty of Holiness, Essay V in Atheism and the Value of Life (London, 1884); Faber, Growth in Holiness (London, 1854).HUGH POPE Transcribed by Robert B. Olson Offered to Almighty God for His graces and blessings granted to Fr. Jeffrey A. Ingham The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIICopyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

hō´li-nes (קדושׁ, ḳādhōsh, “holy,” קדשׁ, ḳōdhesh, “holiness”; ἅγιος, hágios, “holy”):

I.    In the Old Testament Meaning of the Term

1.    The Holiness of God

(1)    Absoluteness and Majesty

(2)    Ethical Holiness

2.    Holiness of Place, Time and Object

3.    Holiness of Men

(1)    Ceremonial

(2)    Ethical and Spiritual

II.    In the New Testament: The Christian Conception

1.    Applied to God

2.    Applied To Christ

3.    Applied To Things

4.    Applied To Christians

(1)    As Separate from the World

(2)    As Bound to the Pursuit of an Ethical Ideal

Literature

I. In the Old Testament Meaning of the Term

There has been much discussion as to the original meaning of the Semitic root ḲDSH, by which the notion of holiness is expressed in the Old Testament. Some would connect it with an Assyrian word denoting purity, clearness; most modern scholars incline to the view that the primary idea is that of cutting off or separation. Etymology gives no sure verdict on the point, but the idea of separation lends itself best to the various senses in which the word “holiness” is employed. In primitive Semitic usage “holiness” seems to have expressed nothing more than that ceremonial separation of an object from common use which the modern study of savage religions has rendered familiar under the name of taboo (W.R. Smith, Religion of the Semites, Lect iv). But within the Biblical sphere, with which alone we are immediately concerned, holiness attaches itself first of all, not to visible objects, but to the invisible Yahweh, and to places, seasons, things and human beings only in so far as they are associated with Him. And while the idea of ceremonial holiness runs through the Old Testament, the ethical significance which Christianity attributes to the term is never wholly absent, and gradually rises in the course of the revelation into more emphatic prominence.

1. The Holiness of God

As applied to God the notion of holiness is used in the Old Testament in two distinct senses:

(1) Absoluteness and Majesty

First in the more general sense of separation from all that is human and earthly. It thus denotes the absoluteness, majesty, and awfulness of the Creator in His distinction from the creature. In this use of the word, “holiness” is little more than an equivalent general term for “Godhead,” and the adjective “holy” is almost synonymous with “Divine” (compare Dan 4:8, Dan 4:9, Dan 4:18; Dan 5:11). Yahweh’s “holy arm” (Isa 52:10; Psa 98:1) is His Divine arm, and His “holy name” (Lev 20:3, etc.) is His Divine name. When Hannah sings “There is none holy as Yahweh” (1Sa 2:2), the rest of the verse suggests that she is referring, not to His ethical holiness, but simply to His supreme Divinity.

(2) Ethical Holiness

But, in the next place, holiness of character in the distinct ethical sense is ascribed to God. The injunction, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (Lev 11:44; Lev 19:2), plainly implies an ethical conception. Men cannot resemble God in His incommunicable attributes. They can reflect His likeness only along the lines of those moral qualities of righteousness and love in which true holiness consists. In the Psalmists and Prophets the Divine holiness becomes, above all, an ethical reality convicting men of sin (Isa 6:3, Isa 6:1) and demanding of those who would stand in His presence clean hands and a pure heart (Psa 24:3 f).

2. Holiness of Place, Time and Object

From the holiness of God is derived that ceremonial holiness of things which is characteristic of the Old Testament religion. Whatever is connected with the worship of the holy Yahweh is itself holy. Nothing is holy in itself, but anything becomes holy by its consecration to Him. A place where He manifests His presence is holy ground (Exo 3:5). The tabernacle or temple in which His glory is revealed is a holy building (Exo 28:29; 2Ch 35:5); and all its sacrifices (Exo 29:33), ceremonial materials (Exo 30:25; Num 5:17) and utensils (1Ki 8:4) are also holy. The Sabbath is holy because it is the Sabbath of the Lord (Exo 20:8-11). “Holiness, in short, expresses a relation, which consists negatively in separation from common use, and positively in dedication to the service of Yahweh” (Skinner in HDB, II, 395).

3. Holiness of Men

The holiness of men is of two kinds:

(1) Ceremonial

A ceremonial holiness, corresponding to that of impersonal objects and depending upon their relation to the outward service of Yahweh. Priests and Levites are holy because they have been “hallowed” or “sanctified” by acts of consecration (Exo 29:1; Lev 8:12, Lev 8:30). The Nazirite is holy because he has separated himself unto the Lord (Num 6:5). Above all, Israel, notwithstanding all its sins and shortcomings, is holy, as a nation separated from other nations for Divine purposes and uses (Exo 19:6, etc.; compare Lev 20:24).

(2) Ethical and Spiritual

But out of this merely ceremonial holiness there emerges a higher holiness that is spiritual and ethical. For unlike other creatures man was made in the image of God and capable of reflecting the Divine likeness. And as God reveals Himself as ethically holy, He calls man to a holiness resembling His own (Lev 19:2). In the so-called “Law of Holiness” (Lev 17 through 26), God’s demand for moral holiness is made clear; and yet the moral contents of the Law are still intermingled with ceremonial elements (Lev 17:10; Lev 19:19; Lev 21:1). In psalm and prophecy, however, a purely ethical conception comes into view - the conception of a human holiness which rests upon righteousness and truth (Psa 15:1 f) and the possession of a contrite and humble spirit (Isa 57:15). This corresponds to the knowledge of a God who, being Himself ethically holy, esteems justice, mercy and lowly piety more highly than sacrifice (Hos 6:6; Mic 6:6-8).

II. In the New Testament: The Christian Conception

The idea of holiness is expressed here chiefly by the word hagios and its derivatives, which correspond very closely to the words of the ḲDSH group in Hebrew, and are employed to render them in the Septuagint. The distinctive feature of the New Testament idea of holiness is that the external aspect of it has almost entirely disappeared, and the ethical meaning has become supreme. The ceremonial idea still exists in contemporary Judaism, and is typically represented by the Pharisees (Mar 7:1-13; Luk 18:11 f). But Jesus proclaimed a new view of religion and morality according to which men are cleansed or defiled, not by anything outward, but by the thoughts of their hearts (Mat 15:17-20), and God is to be worshipped neither in Samaria nor Jerusalem, but wherever men seek Him in spirit and in truth (Joh 4:21-24).

1. Applied to God

In the New Testament the term “holy” is seldom applied to God, and except in quotations from the Old Testament (Luk 1:49; 1Pe 1:15 f), only in the Johannine writings (Joh 17:11; Rev 4:8; Rev 6:10). But it is constantly used of the Spirit of God (Mat 1:18; Act 1:2; Rom 5:5, etc.), who now, in contrast with Old Testament usage, becomes specifically the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost.

2. Applied to Christ

In several passages the term is applied to Christ (Mar 1:24; Act 3:14; Act 4:30, etc.), as being the very type of ethical perfection (compare Heb 7:26).

3. Applied to Things

In keeping with the fact that things are holy in a derivative sense through their relationship to God, the word is used of Jerusalem (Mat 4:5), the Old Testament covenant (Luk 1:72), the Scriptures (Rom 1:2), the Law (Rom 7:12), the Mount of Transfiguration (2Pe 1:18), etc.

4. Applied to Christians

But it is especially in its application to Christians that the idea of holiness meets us in the New Testament in a sense that is characteristic and distinctive. Christ’s people are regularly called “saints” or holy persons, and holiness in the high ethical and spiritual meaning of the word is used to denote the appropriate quality of their life and conduct.

(1) As Separate from the World

No doubt, as applied to believers, “saints” conveys in the first place the notion of a separation from the world and a consecration to God. Just as Israel under the old covenant was a chosen race, so the Christian church in succeeding to Israel’s privileges becomes a holy nation (1Pe 2:9), and the Christian individual, as one of the elect people, becomes a holy man or woman (Col 3:12). In Paul’s usage all baptized persons are “saints,” however far they may still be from the saintly character (compare 1Co 1:2, 1Co 1:14 with 1Co 5:1).

(2) As Bound to the Pursuit of an Ethical Ideal

But though the use of the name does not imply high ethical character as a realized fact, it always assumes it as an ideal and an obligation. It is taken for granted that the Holy Spirit has taken up His abode in the heart of every regenerate person, and that a work of positive sanctification is going on there. The New Testament leaves no room for the thought of a holiness divorced from those moral qualities which the holy God demands of those whom He has called to be His people. See SANCTIFICATION.

Literature

Robertson Smith, Religion of the Semites, Lects. iii, iv; A. B. Davidson, Theology of the Old Testament, 145ff; Schultz, Theology of the Old Testament, II, 167ff; Orr, Sin as a Problem of Today, chapter iii; Sanday-Headlam, Romans, 12ff; articles “Holiness” in HDB and “Heiligkeit Gottes im AT” in RE.

The Hebrew word usually translated ‘holy’ had a much wider meaning than the English word ‘holy’. To most English-speaking people ‘holiness’ usually indicates some ethical quality such as sinlessness or purity. To the Hebrews the word originally indicated the state or condition of a person or thing as being separated from the common affairs of life and consecrated wholly to God. (In Hebrew, also in Greek, the words ‘holy’ and ‘sanctify’ come from the same root.)

Ideas of separation for God

God was considered holy, because he was separate from ordinary people, and indeed from all created things (Exo 15:11-12; Psa 99:3; Isa 6:3; Isa 8:13; Rev 3:7; Rev 4:8). Israel was holy, because it belonged to God and was cut off from the religions and customs of the surrounding peoples (Exo 19:6; Deu 7:6). The Sabbath and other religious days were holy, because they were separated from the common days of the workaday world (Exo 31:15; Lev 23:4; Lev 23:21; Lev 23:24).

People who were removed from secular life and consecrated to the service of God were holy (Lev 21:6-8). Places and land withdrawn from common use and set apart for sacred use or given to God were holy (Lev 6:16; Lev 27:21). Besides obviously holy things such as places of worship, less obvious things such as clothing, oils, food and produce were also holy if they were set apart for God (Exo 29:29-33; Exo 30:25; Exo 40:9; Lev 27:30; Mat 7:6; Mat 23:17; Act 6:13). The relation of a person or thing to God was what determined whether it was holy or common (see also UNCLEANNESS).

Ideas of moral perfection

Because holiness signified separation from all that was common and everyday, the word naturally developed a wider meaning that included ideas of excellence and perfection. When applied to God this carried with it ideas of moral perfection. God’s holiness meant that he was separate not only from the common everyday world but, above all, from sin (Hab 1:12-13).

As a result holiness developed the association with ethical qualities that we are familiar with in English. Because God was holy, his people were to be holy (Lev 11:44-45; Isa 57:15; 1Pe 1:15-16). God’s holiness meant also that one day he would judge sinners (see GOD; JUDGMENT).

The preaching of the Old Testament prophets was very much concerned with this ethical aspect of holiness. The prophets emphasized that it was useless for people to be ritually holy before God if they were not ethically holy in their daily lives (Isa 58:13-14; Amo 2:7). Likewise in the New Testament the writers emphasize this moral aspect of holiness. The holiness of God is to be reflected in his people in lives of purity, uprightness and moral goodness (Mar 6:20; Eph 1:4; Eph 5:27; 1Th 4:7; Tit 1:8; Heb 12:10; Heb 12:14).

Holiness, however, is not something people can achieve by themselves. All are defiled by sin (Rom 3:10; Rom 3:23), but Christ, the perfect one, died to take away their sin. God can now accept repentant sinners as cleansed, because of what Christ has done (1Pe 2:22-24). God declares believers in Jesus Christ holy; that is, he sanctifies them (1Co 6:11; 1Pe 1:2). Having been declared holy, believers must make it true in practice. They must have lives of practical sanctification (Rom 6:8-11; Rom 6:19-22; see SANCTIFICATION).

A description of the flawless sinless character of God.

To reflect a devotion to God and his ways in your life; a single-hearted pursuit to become more Christlike in character.

—New Believer’s Bible Glossary