1990 קָדַשׁ (qādaš) be hallowed, holy, sanctified; to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate. Denominative verb.
Parent Noun
1990a קֹדֶשׁ (qōdeš) apartness, holiness, sacredness.
1990b קָדוֹשׁ (qādôš) holy, Holy One, saint.
1990c קָדֵשׁ (qādēš) male temple prostitute (Deut 23:18; II Kgs 23:7).
1990d קֶדֶשׁ (qedeš) Kedesh.
1990e קָדֵשׁ (qādēš) Kadesh.
1990f מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdāš) holy place, sanctuary.
The verb qādaš in the Qal connotes the state of that which belongs to the sphere of the sacred. Thus it is distinct from the common or profane. In the Piel and Hiphil it connotes the act by which the distinction is effected. It is a denominative verb.
The suggestion that the root qdš is derived from an original biliteral qd (“cut”) is attractive but tenuous in view of the uncertainties surrounding the transmission of biliteral roots to the triliteral form. The meaning “to separate” is favored by many scholars, but the fact that qdš rarely, if ever, occurs in a secular sense makes any positive conclusion in this regard difficult because of the limited evidence on which to base philological comparison.
The word occurs in several dialects of Akkadian with the basic meanings “to be clean, pure, consecrated.” In the Canaanite texts from Ugarit, the basic meaning of the word group is “holy,” and it is always used in a cultic sense.
A definitive use of the term occurs in Num 16:38 [H 17:3]. The censers of the Korahites were regarded as holy because they had been devoted to the Lord. They were thus regarded as having entered the sphere of the sacred by virtue of cultic ritual (v. 17 [H 16:18]) and were accorded a special place in the sanctuary. The devotion of the censers seems to have created a condition of inviolable holiness that could not allow for their being treated in a common way. It seems best to see the root qdš as serving to delineate the sphere of the “holy.”
In the Qal the verb qādaš is used most frequently to describe the state of consecration effected by Levitical ritual. In Ex 29:21, 37; 30:29 certain articles used in the Levitical service were consecrated to God and were thus recognized as belonging to the realm of the sacred. Transmission of the state of holiness to anything that touched a person or object so consecrated (Ex 29:37; 30:29; Lev 6:18 [H 11], 27 [H 20]) does not necessarily imply that a transferable divine energy exists in the “holy.” Rather, it seems that the person or object entered the state of holiness in the sense of becoming subject to cultic restrictions, as were other holy persons or objects, in order to avoid diffusion of the sacred and the profane (cf. the state of holiness of the priesthood [Lev 21:1–8] and the strictures applied to a garment accidentally sprinkled with the blood of the sin offering [Lev 6:27, [H 20]).
In the Piel the word is used most frequently of the act of consecration. In Ex 19:23 the consecration of Mt. Sinai by establishing boundaries around it served to keep out all that might have profaned God’s holy presence.
The ethical connotations of the concepts of holiness find their basis in the proscriptions against diffusing the realms of the sacred and the profane (Lev 22:32).
In the Niphal the verb qādaš may connote the concept “to prove one’s holiness.” God proves his holiness by judging sin (Lev 10:3; cf. 1–2; Num 20:13; Ezk 28:2). His holiness is also demonstrated in his adherence to his promises (Ezk 20:41; 28:25; 39:27).
Thomas E. Mccomiskey, “1990 קָדַשׁ,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 786–787.
Parent Noun
1990a קֹדֶשׁ (qōdeš) apartness, holiness, sacredness.
1990b קָדוֹשׁ (qādôš) holy, Holy One, saint.
1990c קָדֵשׁ (qādēš) male temple prostitute (Deut 23:18; II Kgs 23:7).
1990d קֶדֶשׁ (qedeš) Kedesh.
1990e קָדֵשׁ (qādēš) Kadesh.
1990f מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdāš) holy place, sanctuary.
The verb qādaš in the Qal connotes the state of that which belongs to the sphere of the sacred. Thus it is distinct from the common or profane. In the Piel and Hiphil it connotes the act by which the distinction is effected. It is a denominative verb.
The suggestion that the root qdš is derived from an original biliteral qd (“cut”) is attractive but tenuous in view of the uncertainties surrounding the transmission of biliteral roots to the triliteral form. The meaning “to separate” is favored by many scholars, but the fact that qdš rarely, if ever, occurs in a secular sense makes any positive conclusion in this regard difficult because of the limited evidence on which to base philological comparison.
The word occurs in several dialects of Akkadian with the basic meanings “to be clean, pure, consecrated.” In the Canaanite texts from Ugarit, the basic meaning of the word group is “holy,” and it is always used in a cultic sense.
A definitive use of the term occurs in Num 16:38 [H 17:3]. The censers of the Korahites were regarded as holy because they had been devoted to the Lord. They were thus regarded as having entered the sphere of the sacred by virtue of cultic ritual (v. 17 [H 16:18]) and were accorded a special place in the sanctuary. The devotion of the censers seems to have created a condition of inviolable holiness that could not allow for their being treated in a common way. It seems best to see the root qdš as serving to delineate the sphere of the “holy.”
In the Qal the verb qādaš is used most frequently to describe the state of consecration effected by Levitical ritual. In Ex 29:21, 37; 30:29 certain articles used in the Levitical service were consecrated to God and were thus recognized as belonging to the realm of the sacred. Transmission of the state of holiness to anything that touched a person or object so consecrated (Ex 29:37; 30:29; Lev 6:18 [H 11], 27 [H 20]) does not necessarily imply that a transferable divine energy exists in the “holy.” Rather, it seems that the person or object entered the state of holiness in the sense of becoming subject to cultic restrictions, as were other holy persons or objects, in order to avoid diffusion of the sacred and the profane (cf. the state of holiness of the priesthood [Lev 21:1–8] and the strictures applied to a garment accidentally sprinkled with the blood of the sin offering [Lev 6:27, [H 20]).
In the Piel the word is used most frequently of the act of consecration. In Ex 19:23 the consecration of Mt. Sinai by establishing boundaries around it served to keep out all that might have profaned God’s holy presence.
The ethical connotations of the concepts of holiness find their basis in the proscriptions against diffusing the realms of the sacred and the profane (Lev 22:32).
In the Niphal the verb qādaš may connote the concept “to prove one’s holiness.” God proves his holiness by judging sin (Lev 10:3; cf. 1–2; Num 20:13; Ezk 28:2). His holiness is also demonstrated in his adherence to his promises (Ezk 20:41; 28:25; 39:27).
Thomas E. Mccomiskey, “1990 קָדַשׁ,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 786–787.
