Holy. The word is used a lot in the Bible. But what does it mean? It is one of the hardest biblical words to define, at least among the more common ones. If you don’t believe me, try to give it your definition (and, preferably, put it in writing). Then read on and see if it holds up! Fact is, among scholars, the exact meaning of the term continues to be hotly debated.
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Here are two things to keep in mind before we start. First, the term is an important one, and not only because of its frequency. As an attribute of God, it seems to hold a special place, as evidenced by the threefold worship formula: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord” (Is. 6:3, Rev. 4:8). Its importance also shows in its use as a reason or explanation: “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2 ESV; see also Lev. 11:44f, 20:26, 1 Pet. 1:16).
Second, something may well be associated with holiness in some way but not be its meaning. For instance, God is awesome in his holiness. Those two attributes go together well but they are not identical. And holiness may imply things or lead to consequences, such as separation, that are, again, not its meaning.
I will first give a brief overview of possible meanings that I have come across over the years. Then I will investigate Scripture to find out what sort of things can be called holy and assess what that does to our list of options.
I will also bring in some information about the use of the word among the nations around Israel. And then I will offer my – tentative – solution to the puzzle.
A List of Options
I will just list the options I am aware of. The last one is a relative newcomer but an interesting one:
- Separated or set apart
- Superior or exalted
- Wholly other or transcendent (and fearsome!)
- Pure or perfect
- Belonging to the divine sphere
Use of ‘Holy’ in OT and NT
In the OT, the label holy is applied to:
- Places
- People
- God’s name
- Objects
- Times (sabbath)
In the NT, the label is most often used for God himself (Holy Spirit!) and for people. In addition, 60 times believers are called saints, literally meaning holy ones.
There are surprisingly few other uses: angels (Mk. 8:38, Lk. 9:26, Jude 14, Rev. 14:10), Scripture (Rom. 1:2, 7:12, 2 Pet. 2:21), our calling (2 Tim. 1:9). 1 Timothy 4:4f states that everything created (it specifically mentions food and marriage) is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
Once, we read of holy conduct (1 Thess. 2:10), and 1 Timothy 2:8 speaks of “holy hands”, but in both cases, a different word is used, perhaps better translated pious or devout.
Strikingly, the notion of holy place or holy objects seems to have all but disappeared in the NT. The “holy places” in Hebrews either refer to the old covenant or are in heaven (Heb. 8:2, 9:12, 24f, 10:19), as is “the holy city”, the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2, 10, 22:19). This leaves us with only Matthew 4:5 and 27:53, where “the holy city” is used for earthly Jerusalem (but perhaps only as a customary reference to the geographical location). And 2 Peter 1:18, “we were with him on the holy mountain” (speaking of the transfiguration), but the holiness here may be a function of the event, of what happened there, rather than residing in the location.
Somewhat to my surprise, I found only one action that is described as holy. It is designated as such in the NT no less than four times, although most churches do not practice it: the holy kiss (Rom. 16:16, 1 Cor. 16:20, 2 Cor. 13:12, 1 Thess. 5:26).
Reviewing the Options
What does all of this mean for the options I listed earlier? The first option in that overview, separated, is perhaps the one I have heard most often. However, it does not fit. It is a good example of something that can be a consequence of holiness, something that follows from it, without being part of its essence or meaning.
Let’s use radioactivity as an illustration. Radioactivity shares with holiness that we must handle it with care; we tend to keep it in isolation. But this does not say anything about what, exactly, radioactivity is, in and of itself. And it does not say anything about what holiness is either. Radioactivity and holiness are two very different things. But they have this in common: they are dangerous. They are better kept at a distance, with access restricted.
So, if something is holy, this may well lead to separation, yes. But holy does not mean separate.
After all, God is holy. It is one of his essential and eternal attributes. God has always been holy. But it makes no sense to think of God as separate before creation. Separate from what? God was all there was and already holy.
The claim that God is holy is a profound statement, not a trivial one.
The next two in the preceding list don’t appear to work well either. As noted, we are to be holy because God is holy. Surely, with that statement, he is not calling us to be exalted or transcendent or terrifying like he is.
Purity and perfection, number 4 on the list, are related to holiness, but it is not clear these terms are synonyms; they could also be associated ideas. In defence of this sense, however, Matthew 5:48 could be quoted: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Considering the repetition and its placement as a reason for moral teaching, it may be a deliberate parallel to Leviticus 19:2.
So let’s keep this one open for now.
The final one, belonging to the divine sphere or circle, works exceedingly well, except for… God himself! It does not strike me as a particularly profound statement to claim that God belongs to the divine circle.
However, it makes good sense of the related verb to sanctify (literally, to make holy). Sanctification makes something or someone part of the divine circle. Important to note: something is sanctified to, not from. Clearly, separation is not the inherent meaning of holiness or sanctification, but belonging to the divine sphere may well be. It fits with the opposite of to sanctify: to profane, which means taking what is holy and returning it to common use.
‘Holy’ In the Ancient Near East
I will keep this short. The Lexham Bible Dictionary surveys the use and meaning of related terms in various other languages of the Ancient Near East. It concludes:
A broad survey of literature from the ancient world suggests that the people of the ancient Near East developed the language of holiness to express membership and proximity to the realm of the divine. Ancient Near Eastern texts generally use the language of holiness in the sense of “consecration,” referring to the dedication of a person or object to a deity. (Lyons 2016)
This article also speaks of “a growing consensus that ‘holy’ fundamentally indicates membership in or belonging to the divine sphere” (ibid.).
This is likely the original and foundational meaning of the term in Hebrew as well.
Undivided
How, then, do we solve the puzzle? It appears that “belonging to the divine sphere” must be our point of departure but it is not the whole story. It fits for pretty much everything and everyone in almost every occurrence – except when it is about God.
In the context of polytheism, the meaning “belonging to the divine sphere” makes sense even if applied to a god. Each god presumably belonged to this circle (of gods). However, if there is only one God, it is no longer a meaningful statement (a circle of one?). Perhaps for this reason, in Israel, the term acquired a new meaning when applied to God, one that is not easy to pin down but expresses profound mystery and truth about God’s nature.
What does it mean that God is holy? Here is my best guess, a hunch more than a thesis I can prove. It means he is undivided, of one piece. He is undivided in all his attributes and in everything he is. He is always fully consistent with who he is. No mixed motives, therefore pure in this more specific sense: undiluted and unmixed. This makes him awesome. This makes him perfect. This makes him wholly other.
There are no tensions in him. We sometimes speak of God in such terms, for instance, a tension between his love and his justice, which is resolved in the atonement. But in the final analysis, this is no tension at all. God’s wrath is as much an expression of his love as is his justice. We make distinctions and divide God’s nature into attributes, but in him, they are integrated and whole – undivided.
In other words, his holiness is not one attribute among others; it is his meta-attribute, the attribute of his attributes: he is all of them fully and all the time.
After all, his name, expressing his essence, is “I am who I am” (Ex. 4:14) – consistency. He is ever true to himself. Again, he is of one piece. And God always acts in entire consistency with who he is.
Admittedly, the term holy can carry overtones of those ideas often associated with it: awesome, fearsome, pure, perfect, exalted, etc. Even though these are not its essential meaning, the word holy may be used occasionally almost as a metonymy (substitution), to signify these other qualities – especially in extrabiblical use.
But in Scripture, usually, God’s holiness appears to be about his overall quality, so to say, not one characteristic among others.
And when it is about us, to be holy means we belong to him. And by implication (be holy because he is holy), this requires us to become like him, undivided and perfect (Mt. 5:48!).
That will take a while. But trust him, we’ll get there.
Attribution
Dan Meyers. 2019 <https://unsplash.com/photos/xXbQIrWH2_A> CC0
Tim Mossholder. 2018 <https://unsplash.com/photos/7aBrZmwEQtg> CC0
Notnixon. 2016 <https://pixabay.com/photos/private-privacy-green-secret-1647769/> CC0
References
Unless indicated differently, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Lyons, M. C. 2016. “Holiness”, in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. by John D. Barry, David Bomar, Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, Douglas Mangum, and others (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press)