📖 Biblical Definition
Hebrew qedushah, holiness, the principal OT category for the LORD's separateness, transcendence, moral purity, and consecrated-set-apart character — and for the consequent character required of His people. From the root qadash, to be holy, set apart, consecrated. The seraphic cry of Isaiah 6:3 (Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts) is the foundational OT confession of divine qedushah; the triple repetition is the Hebrew superlative, making holiness the highest possible characterization. The book of Leviticus — the great OT treatise on holiness — uses the term and its cognates over 150 times, anchoring the divine command to Israel: Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2; reiterated 20:7, 26; 21:8). The holiness ethic of the OT operates by analogy: the LORD's intrinsic holiness is the pattern; Israel's derivative holiness is its image in covenant life, ritual, ethics, and worship. The patriarchal-Reformed reader notes the NT continuation: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy (1 Peter 1:15-16, citing Leviticus). The Reformed-confessional tradition's doctrine of sanctification (Westminster Confession XIII) is the systematic articulation of the OT-NT qedushah teaching.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Hebrew qedushah (related to H6944 qodesh), holiness; the LORD's transcendence, moral purity, consecrated character; consequent character required of His people (Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:15-16).
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KEDUSHAH, Hebrew noun (related to H6944 qodesh; holiness) From qadash (H6942, to be holy, set apart, consecrated). The LORD's separateness, transcendence, moral purity, and consecrated character. Foundational confession: Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts (Isaiah 6:3). The book of Leviticus uses the term and cognates 150+ times, anchored in Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2). Holiness operates by analogy: divine intrinsic holiness as pattern; derivative human holiness as image in covenant life, ritual, ethics, worship. NT continuation: 1 Peter 1:15-16. Reformed doctrine of sanctification (Westminster XIII) articulates the systematic substance.
📖 Key Scripture
Leviticus 19:2 — "Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy."
Isaiah 6:3 — "And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory."
1 Peter 1:15-16 — "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."
Hebrews 12:14 — "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Soft-evangelical reductions treat holiness as mere niceness or moral propriety, losing its theological foundation in the LORD's intrinsic transcendence and moral purity.
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The principal modern corruption of biblical holiness is its reduction to mere niceness, moral propriety, or generic ethical goodness, severed from the theological foundation in the LORD's intrinsic transcendence and moral purity. Biblical qedushah begins with God: it is His character, His being, His revealed essence; the holiness required of His people is the derivative image of His intrinsic holiness in their covenant life. The Reformed-confessional recovery (Westminster XIII on sanctification; Holiness teaching in Owen, Murray, Ferguson) is the integrated doctrine: holiness as participation in God's own character, mediated by union with Christ, worked by the Spirit, evidenced in ethics, ritual, and life. The reduction to niceness misses the theological depth and consequently the gospel power of the doctrine.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Related to H6944 qodesh; from qadash (H6942); LORD's intrinsic holiness; derivative human holiness; Leviticus 19:2.
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['Hebrew', 'H6944', 'qodesh', 'holiness, holy thing']
['Hebrew', 'H6942', 'qadash', 'to be holy, set apart, consecrated (verbal root)']
['Greek', 'G42', 'hagiasmos', 'sanctification (NT equivalent)']
Usage
"Qedushah: holiness; the LORD's transcendence, moral purity, consecrated character."
"Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2)."
"NT continuation: 1 Peter 1:15-16; doctrine of sanctification."