Word study
Holy
5 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
In brief
Holy translates the Hebrew family qodesh (holiness, a holy thing) and qadosh (holy), and the Greek hagios. The root idea is being set apart: belonging to God and so different from common use. It is said first of God himself, then of places, times, things and people that are his. Hagios in the plural is also the word translated "saints."
Written and reviewed by our editorial team.
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “holy”. 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 “holy” 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)
- קֹדֶשׁ qôdeshsacred, sanctitytranslated this way 261 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 3:5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Leviticus 2:3 The remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the food offerings to the LORD.
- קָדוֹשׁ qâdôshsacred, holytranslated this way 113 times of its 116 uses · Strong’s H6918Adjective · Translated: holy 111, saints 2, holiness 1, holy place 1Full study and all 106 verses →
Exodus 19:6 And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.”
Leviticus 6:16 Aaron and his sons are to eat the remainder. It must be eaten without leaven in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
- קָדַשׁ qâdashbe set apart, consecratedtranslated this way 21 times of its 169 uses · Strong’s H6942Verb · Translated: consecrate 40, consecrated 33, dedicated 10, sanctifies 8Full study and all 151 verses →
Exodus 19:23 But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, for You solemnly warned us, ‘Put a boundary around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”
Leviticus 6:18 Any male among the sons of Aaron may eat it. This is a permanent portion from the food offerings to the LORD for the generations to come. Anything that touches them will become holy.”
- קַדִּישׁ qaddîshholytranslated this way 7 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s H6922Adjective · Translated: holy 7, saints 4, favor of the saints 1, for 1Full study and all 12 verses →
Daniel 4:8 But at last, into my presence came Daniel (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods). And I told him the dream:
Daniel 4:9 “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery baffles you. So explain to me the visions I saw in my dream, and their interpretation.
- מִקְדָּשׁ miqdâshsacred place, sanctuarytranslated this way 5 times of its 74 uses · Strong’s H4720Noun · Translated: sanctuary 60, sanctuaries 5, holy places 2Full study and all 72 verses →
Leviticus 16:33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the assembly.
Numbers 10:21 Then the Kohathites set out, transporting the holy objects; the tabernacle was to be set up before their arrival.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἅγιος hágiosset apart, holy, sacredtranslated this way 156 times of its 231 uses · Strong’s G40Adjective · Translated: Holy 149, saints 60, of 5, Holy Place 5Full study and all 221 verses →
Matthew 1:18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Mark 1:8 I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
- ὅσιος hósiosholy, pioustranslated this way 8 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G3741Adjective · Translated: holy 8Full study and all 8 verses →
Acts 2:27 because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
1 Timothy 2:8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension.
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.
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.