Chapter 17 - Holy Be holy for I, Yahweh your God, am holy
Leviticus 19:2 The word holy is another abstract word used to translate the Hebrew word “Xwdq” (qadosh) from the root “Xdq” (qadash), also commonly translated as “holy.” The Hebraic meaning of this word is lost due to the preconception of the English word “holy” which implies one who is exceptionally pious and righteous. The word “Xdq” (qadesh), equivalent to the word “Xdq” (qadash), is translated differently in other places, which will clearly show that “Xdq” (qadash) does not mean holy in the commonly perceived sense.
“No Israelite man or woman is to become a temple prostitute.”
Deuteronomy 23:17 (NIV)
We would never consider a “prostitute” as holy and yet the Hebrew word “Xdq” (qadesh) is translated as a “temple prostitute.” The literal meaning of “Xdq” (qadash) can be seen below.
“Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy.”
Exodus 40:9 (NIV)
Furniture are inanimate objects that cannot be holy, pious or righteous, but they can be “set apart for a specific function,” the true meaning of “Xdq” (qadash). These can be the furnishings of the Temple that are used for this purpose alone, or a prostitute who is set apart from the rest of society for a specific purpose. The children of God are set apart from all others; they have the specific function of living for God and showing the world who God is.
God is set apart from all other gods.
“There is none holy like Yahweh for there is none beside you and there is no rock like our God.”
1 Samuel 2:2
