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descriptive and the static. The traditional understanding of “separated” is only a derived
meaning, and not the primary.
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is prominent in the Pentateuch, poetic and prophetic writings, and rare in the
historical books. The first of its 116 occurrences is in Exod. 19:16: “And ye shall be unto
me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak
unto the children of Israel.”
In the Old Testament
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has a strongly religious connotation. In one sense the
word describes an object or place or day to be “holy” with the meaning of “devoted” or
“dedicated” to a particular purpose: “And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen
vessel …” (Num. 5:17). Particularly the sabbath day is “devoted” as a day of rest: “If
thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and
call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing
thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then
shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord …” (Isa. 58:13-14). The prescription is based on
Gen. 2:3 where the Lord “sanctified,” or “dedicated,” the sabbath.
God has dedicated Israel as His people. They are “holy” by their relationship to the
“holy” God. All of the people are in a sense “holy,” as members of the covenant
community, irrespective of their faith and obedience: “And they gathered themselves
together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon
you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among
them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?” (Num.
16:3). God’s intent was to use this “holy” nation as a “holy,” royal priesthood amongst
the nations (Exod. 19:6). Based on the intimate nature of the relationship, God expected
His people to live up to His “holy” expectations and, thus, to demonstrate that they were
a “holy nation”: “And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed
you from other people, that ye should be mine” (Lev. 20:26).
The priests were chosen to officiate at the Holy Place of the tabernacle/temple.
Because of their function as intermediaries between God and Israel and because of their
proximity to the temple, they were dedicated by God to the office of priest: “They shall
be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the
Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put
away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God. Thou shalt sanctify him therefore;
for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the Lord, which
sanctify you, am holy” (Lev. 21:6-8). Aaron as the high priest was “the holy one of the
Lord (Ps. 106:16,
NASB
).
The Old Testament clearly and emphatically teaches that God is “holy.” He is “the
Holy One of Israel” (Isa. 1:4), the “holy God” (Isa. 5:16), and “the Holy One” (Isa.
40:25). His name is “Holy”: “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth
eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of
a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of
the contrite ones” (Isa. 57:15). The negative statement, “There is none holy as the Lord:
for there is none besides thee: neither is there any rock like our God” (1 Sam. 2:2),
explains that He is most “holy” and that no one is as “holy” as He is. Also the angels in
the heavenly entourage are “holy”: “And the valley of my mountains shall be stopped up,
for the valley of the mountains shall touch the side of it; and you shall flee as you fled