Word study
Holiness
2 Hebrew and 4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “holiness”. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “holiness” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- קָדַשׁ qâdashbe set apart, consecratedtranslated this way 11 times of its 169 uses · Strong’s H6942Verb · Translated: consecrate 40, consecrated 33, dedicated 10, sanctifies 8Full study and all 151 verses →
Leviticus 10:3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.
Numbers 20:12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
- קֹדֶשׁ qôdeshsacred, sanctitytranslated this way 9 times of its 437 uses · Strong’s H6944Noun · Translated: holy 192, sanctuary 42, sacred 31, according to the sanctuary 24Full study and all 379 verses →
Exodus 15:11 Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You — majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
1 Chronicles 16:29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before Him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness;
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἁγιασμός hagiasmóssanctification, holinesstranslated this way 7 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s G38Noun · Translated: holiness 7, holy 1, sanctification 1, sanctified 1Full study and all 10 verses →
Romans 6:19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- ἁγιωσύνη hagiōsýnēa holy or sanctified statetranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G42Noun · Translated: holiness 3Full study and all 3 verses →
Romans 1:4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
2 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- ὁσιότης hosiótēsholiness, godliness, pietytranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G3742Noun · Translated: holiness 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Luke 1:75 in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
Ephesians 4:24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
- ἁγιότης hagiótēsholinesstranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G41Noun · Translated: holiness 2Full study and all 2 verses →
2 Corinthians 1:12 For this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God — not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.
Hebrews 12:10 Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
What the Bible says about holiness: passages by topic →
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.