📖 Biblical Definition
Qadosh (קָדוֹשׁ) is the Hebrew word for holy — literally "set apart, cut off, separated." It is YHWH’s primary self-revelation. In the seraphic vision of Isaiah 6:3 the angels cry without ceasing: "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." The triple repetition is the Hebrew superlative — most-holy, utterly holy — naming His total otherness from creation. Israel is to be qadosh because YHWH is qadosh: "Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy" (Leviticus 19:2; cf. 1 Peter 1:15-16). Holiness is therefore not generic moral excellence; it is set-apartness for God — a people, a place, a time, a use that God claims as His own.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Hebrew "holy" — set apart, separate, consecrated.
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The Hebrew word for holy. Literally "set apart, separate." YHWH's primary self-revelation in Isaiah 6 (the seraphim's threefold cry) and Revelation 4 names Him as qadosh. Holiness is not first moral excellence but ontological otherness — God is utterly distinct from creation, set apart from all His works. Israel is to be qadosh because YHWH is qadosh.
📖 Key Scripture
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."
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."
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."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Reduced to moral cleanness or pious behavior; the ontological set-apartness that makes morality possible drops out.
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Modern Christianity often equates holy with morally good. Hebrew qadosh is more fundamental: God is utterly other. Moral excellence flows from His holiness, but the holiness is not reducible to morality. He is qadosh because He is God; we are to be qadosh because He has set us apart for Himself.
Recover the otherness: holiness is the burning bush, the consuming fire, the trembling of the seraphim. Awe before this is the beginning.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew qadosh, qadash.
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['Hebrew', 'H6918', 'qadosh', 'holy, set apart']
['Hebrew', 'H6942', 'qadash', 'to be set apart, sanctify']
Usage
"Qadosh is set-apart-ness, not just moral cleanness."
"Holy, holy, holy — the seraphim's threefold awe."
"Be holy because He is holy."