קָדוֹשׁ
qa.dosh
holy
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Analysis of קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh) The Hebrew word *qadosh* appears 109 times in the biblical text and is standardly translated as "holy." Based on its frequency and distribution across such a substantial corpus, this term represents a foundational concept in Hebrew religious vocabulary. The consistency of its translation across diverse contexts suggests a core semantic meaning that remained stable throughout the biblical period, despite potential variations in specific applications. The term's high frequency—appearing over one hundred times—indicates that the concept of holiness was central to biblical thought and communication. This prominence alone suggests that *qadosh* expressed something essential to how ancient Hebrew speakers understood religious reality, whether referring to persons, places, objects, or divine attributes. The word's repeated use across different literary genres and time periods within the biblical canon demonstrates its sustained importance as a theological category. Without access to the specific contextual occurrences, we can note that *qadosh* functioned as a key term for marking religious distinction and sacred status in Hebrew literature. Its consistent translation equivalence across English versions confirms that translators recognized a unified concept beneath its varied applications, making it one of the most significant vocabulary items for understanding ancient Hebrew religious ideology.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
109 total occurrences across the text — showing 50
He said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to Yahweh, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built. It will no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve Yahweh your God, and his people Israel.
Nehemiah 8:9Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, “Today is holy to Yahweh your God. Don’t mourn, nor weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.
Nehemiah 8:10Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for today is holy to our Lord. Don’t be grieved, for the joy of Yahweh is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:11So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Hold your peace, for the day is holy. Don’t be grieved.”
Job 5:1“Call now; is there any who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
Job 6:10Let still be my consolation, yes, let me exult in pain that doesn’t spare, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
Job 15:15Behold, he puts no trust in his holy ones. Yes, the heavens are not clean in his sight;
Psalms 22:3But you are holy, you who inhabit the praises of Israel.
Psalms 46:4There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad, the holy place of the tents of the Most High.
Psalms 65:4Blessed is the one whom you choose and cause to come near, that he may live in your courts. We will be filled with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.
Psalms 71:22I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God. I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.
Psalms 78:41They turned again and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
Psalms 89:5The heavens will praise your wonders, Yahweh, your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
Psalms 89:7a very awesome God in the council of the holy ones, to be feared above all those who are around him?
Psalms 89:18For our shield belongs to Yahweh, our king to the Holy One of Israel.
Psalms 99:3Let them praise your great and awesome name. He is Holy!
Psalms 99:5Exalt Yahweh our God. Worship at his footstool. He is Holy!
Psalms 99:9Exalt Yahweh, our God. Worship at his holy hill, for Yahweh, our God, is holy!
Psalms 111:9He has sent redemption to his people. He has ordained his covenant forever. His name is holy and awesome!
Leviticus 21:8Therefore you shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I Yahweh, who sanctify you, am holy.
Leviticus 21:8Therefore you shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I Yahweh, who sanctify you, am holy.
Proverbs 9:10The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Numbers 6:5“ ‘All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall come on his head, until the days are fulfilled in which he separates himself to Yahweh. He shall be holy. He shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long.
Proverbs 30:3I have not learned wisdom, neither do I have the knowledge of the Holy One.
Ecclesiastes 8:10So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity.
Isaiah 1:4Ah sinful nation, a people loaded with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh. They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They are estranged and backward.
Isaiah 4:3It will happen that he who is left in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy, even everyone who is written among the living in Jerusalem,
Isaiah 5:16but Yahweh of Armies is exalted in justice, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
Isaiah 5:19who say, “Let him make haste, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!”
Isaiah 5:24Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust, because they have rejected the law of Yahweh of Armies, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 6:3One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
Isaiah 6:3One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
Isaiah 6:3One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
Isaiah 45:11Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel and his Maker says: “You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons, and you command me concerning the work of my hands!
Isaiah 10:17The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.
Isaiah 10:20It will come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those who have escaped from the house of Jacob will no more again lean on him who struck them, but shall lean on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
Isaiah 12:6Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”
Isaiah 17:7In that day, people will look to their Maker, and their eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 29:19The humble also will increase their joy in Yahweh, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 29:23But when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in the middle of him, they will sanctify my name. Yes, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
Isaiah 30:11Get out of the way. Turn away from the path. Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”
Isaiah 30:12Therefore the Holy One of Israel says, “Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and rely on it,
Isaiah 30:15For thus said the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, “You will be saved in returning and rest. Your strength will be in quietness and in confidence.” You refused,
Isaiah 31:1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, and they don’t seek Yahweh!
Isaiah 37:23Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 40:25“To whom then will you liken me? Who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
Isaiah 41:14Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says Yahweh. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 41:16You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. You will rejoice in Yahweh. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 41:20that they may see, know, consider, and understand together, that Yahweh’s hand has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Isaiah 43:3For I am Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.