kodesh · holiness, holy place

What it means

kodesh (קֹדֶשׁ) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “holiness, holy place”.

Holiness: what is set apart for God. Also a holy place or a holy thing; "the holy of holies" is the most holy place.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. What belongs to God; what makes him set apart and pure.
2. Something set apart for God: a day, an offering.
3. The sacred enclosure where God was served: the sanctuary and its innermost room.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Holiness: what is set apart for God and belongs to him. BDB defines it as apartness, sacredness. From the same root come the verb קָדַשׁ, “sanctify”, and מִקְדָּשׁ, sanctuary (H4720).

• The holiness of God Exodus 15:11
• What is holy: ground, a day Exodus 3:5Exodus 16:23
• “Holiness to YHWH”, engraved on the priest's plate Exodus 28:36
• The Holy Place and the Most Holy Place Exodus 26:33

Historical and cultural background

According to Exodus 26:33, a veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, where the ark of the testimony was.

How we translate it

“Holy” 389 times, “sanctuary” 43, “holiness” 26. English usually turns the Hebrew noun into the adjective (“holy ground”, “a holy Sabbath”) and keeps “holiness” where the noun stands alone (“majestic in holiness”, Exodus 15:11). As a place it is capitalized: “the Holy Place”; the Hebrew expression “holy of holies” is translated “the Most Holy Place”, and of offerings, “a most holy thing”.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• holy ×389
• sanctuary ×43
• holiness ×26
• most ×5
• Consecrated ×1
• place ×1
• sacred ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Exodus×70
• Leviticus×92
• Numbers×55
• Deuteronomy×4
• Joshua×2
• 1 Samuel×3
• 1 Kings×12
• 2 Kings×3
• 1 Chronicles×17
• 2 Chronicles×29
• Ezra×6
• Nehemiah×7
• Psalms×45
• Proverbs×1
• Isaiah×23
• Jeremiah×6
• Lamentations×1
• Ezekiel×57
• Daniel×13
• Joel×3
• Amos×2
• Obadiah×2
• Jonah×2
• Micah×1
• Habakkuk×1
• Zephaniah×2
• Haggai×1
• Zechariah×5
• Malachi×1

• Exodus 3:5

  He said, “Do not come near here. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

• Exodus 12:16

  On the first day a holy convocation, and on the seventh day a holy convocation you shall have. No work shall be done on them; only what is eaten by every person, that alone may be done by you.

• Exodus 15:11

  Who is like you among the gods, YHWH? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, doing wonders?

• Exodus 15:13

  In your loyal love you have led the people whom you redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

• Exodus 16:23

  He said to them, “This is what YHWH has said: ‘Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to YHWH. What you will bake, bake; and what you will boil, boil; and all that is left over put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’ ”

• Exodus 22:31

  You shall be holy men to me; flesh torn by beasts in the field you shall not eat; to the dogs you shall throw it.

• Exodus 26:33

  You shall hang the veil under the clasps, and bring there, inside the veil, the ark of the testimony; and the veil shall separate for you between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.

• Exodus 26:34

  You shall put the cover of expiation on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place.

• Exodus 28:2

  You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for honor and for beauty.

• Exodus 28:4

  These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and for his sons to serve as priests for me.

• Exodus 28:29

  Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart when he goes into the Holy Place, as a memorial before YHWH continually.

• Exodus 28:35

  It shall be on Aaron to minister, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before YHWH and when he comes out, so that he will not die.

• Exodus 28:36

  You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, with engravings of a signet, ‘Holiness to YHWH.’

• Exodus 28:38

  It shall be on the forehead of Aaron, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things that the sons of Israel consecrate, in all their holy gifts; it shall be on his forehead continually, for their acceptance before YHWH.

• Exodus 28:43

  They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they do not bear iniquity and die. It is a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.

• Exodus 29:6

  You shall set the turban on his head and put the holy diadem on the turban.

• Exodus 29:29

  The holy garments that are Aaron's shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them and to be ordained in them.

• Exodus 29:30

  Seven days the priest who succeeds him from among his sons shall wear them, the one who goes into the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place.

• Exodus 29:33

  They shall eat those things by which expiation was made to ordain and to consecrate them; but a stranger shall not eat them, for they are holy.

• Exodus 29:34

  If any of the flesh of ordination or of the bread remains until the morning, you shall burn what remains with fire; it shall not be eaten, for it is holy.

• Exodus 29:37

  Seven days you shall make expiation for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy; whatever touches the altar shall become holy.

• Exodus 30:10

  Aaron shall make expiation on its horns once in the year; with the blood of the sin offering of expiation once in the year he shall make expiation for it throughout your generations. It is most holy to YHWH.”

• Exodus 30:13

  This they shall give, everyone who passes over to those numbered: half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to YHWH.

• Exodus 30:24

  and of cassia five hundred, by the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin.

• Exodus 30:25

  You shall make of it a holy anointing oil, a blended mixture, the work of a perfumer; a holy anointing oil it shall be.

• Exodus 30:29

  You shall consecrate them, and they shall be most holy; whatever touches them shall become holy.

• Exodus 30:31

  And to the sons of Israel you shall speak, saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil for me throughout your generations.

• Exodus 30:32

  On the flesh of a human being it shall not be poured, and with its formula you shall not make any like it; it is holy; holy it shall be to you.

• Exodus 30:35

  You shall make of it incense, a blend, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, holy.

• Exodus 30:36

  You shall grind some of it very fine and put some of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you; most holy it shall be to you.

• Exodus 30:37

  And the incense that you shall make, with its formula you shall not make any for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for YHWH.

• Exodus 31:10

  and the woven garments, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons to serve as priests;

• Exodus 31:11

  and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”

• Exodus 31:14

  You shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

• Exodus 31:15

  For six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to YHWH. Whoever does work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.

• Exodus 35:2

  Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day there shall be for you a holy day, a Sabbath of solemn rest to YHWH; whoever does work on it shall be put to death.

• Exodus 35:19

  the woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons to serve as priests.’”

• Exodus 35:21

  And they came, every man whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and they brought the contribution of YHWH for the work of the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments.

• Exodus 36:1

  “And Bezalel and Oholiab and every man wise of heart, in whom YHWH has put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work of the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that YHWH has commanded.”

• Exodus 36:3

  And they received from Moses all the contribution that the sons of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to do it. And they kept bringing to him still freewill offerings morning by morning.

And 426 more times.