What does Holy mean in the scriptures?
The Hebrew root word for Holy is qadash. It’s a verb, means to be set apart or consecrated.
Leviticus 20:7-8
“And you shall set yourselves apart, and shall be set-apart, for I am יהוה your Elohim, and you shall guard My laws and do them. I am יהוה, who sets you apart.”
Per Hebrew Text
Therefore consecrate yourselves, and be qadosh — for I Yahawah your Elohim. And you shall keep My statutes and perform them — I Yahawah who sanctifies you.
Therefore consecrate yourselves: used the Hebrew word — qadash (kaw-dash'), means to be set apart or consecrated: keep oneself apart from unclean things
Qadosh (kaw-doshe') is an adjective, means of persons and priests separate from human infirmity, impurity, and sin.
And you shall keep: Hebrew word — shamar (shaw-mar'), means to keep, watch, preserve.
Per English dictionary, preserve means maintain (something) in its original or existing state.
Synonyms:
conserve
protect
maintain
care for
take care of
look after
save
safeguard
Keep
Opposite:
Damage
neglect
The Hebrew for statutes is chuqqah (khook-kaw'), means something prescribed, an enactment, statute.
Per English dictionary:
Prescribed means to advise and authorize the use of.
Enactment means the process of passing legislation.
Statute means a written law passed by a legislative body.
The Hebrew for perform is asah (aw-saw'), means do, make, and accomplish.
Per English dictionary, accomplish means achieve or complete successfully.
The Hebrew for Who sanctifies you used qadash: of God, keeping his people pure and sacred.
We hear this scripture as:
Therefore keep yourselves from unclean things, and be separated as My people from human infirmity, impurity, and sin — I, Yahawah, am Your Elohim. And you shall maintain and safeguard My written Laws passed by Me in their original or existing state and accomplish them successfully — I, Yahawah, who keep you pure and sacred.
We see here that Yahawah has given His people His command from Leviticus 20:7-8 to keep ourselves pure from unclean things such as human infirmity, impurity, and sin. And that we are to maintain and preserve His written statutes (which is His Torah). We are not to change or neglect them. No man can change or annul His statutes. We are to pursue Yah’s statutes with success. Yahawah had declared Himself as our Elohim, who keeps us pure and sacred. He is Set-Apart and commands His people to be Set-Apart also.
Yahawah knows we cannot achieve on our own to keep all of His statutes. Thus, He sent His Son, Yahawash, to accomplish successfully for us. He died without sin on the stake (cross). Therefore, He defeated the death penalty that the law demanded for those who fail to keep Yah’s statutes. Even if we break one statute, we break them all.
James 2:10
For whoever shall guard all the Torah, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
Romans 10:8-13 gives us the good news:
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” – that is, the word of belief which we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth the Master יהושע and believe in your heart that Elohim has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, and so is saved. Because the Scripture says, “Whoever puts his trust in Him shall not be put to shame.” Because there is no distinction between Yehuḏite and Greek, for the same Master of all is rich to all those calling upon Him. For “everyone who calls on the Name of יהוה shall be saved.”
2 Corinthians 5:21
For He (Yahawah — Father) made Him (Yahawash — His Son) who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of Elohim.
Yahawah sends us His Set-Apart Spirit as our Helper from Yahawash’s request.
John 14:16-17, 21, 23-24, 26
“And I shall ask the Father, and He shall give you another Helper, to stay with you forever – the Spirit of the Truth, whom the world is unable to receive, because it does not see Him or know Him. But you know Him, for He stays with you and shall be in you. He who possesses My commands and guards them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and manifest Myself to him. If anyone loves Me, he shall guard My Word. And My Father shall love him, and We shall come to him and make Our stay with him. He who does not love Me does not guard My Words. And the Word which you hear is not Mine but of the Father Who sent Me. But the Helper, the Set-apart Spirit, whom the Father shall send in My Name, He shall teach you all, and remind you of all that I said to you.”
Yahawash was speaking to His taught-ones. However, what He told them is a timeless truth, meaning it also applies to anyone who believes in Him even to this day.
Helper:
The Greek word is paraklétos (par-ak'-lay-tos), means called to one's aid.
Spirit:
The Hebrew word is Ruach, means wind, spirit, breath.
The Greek word is pneuma (pnyoo'-mah) also means wind, spirit, breath.
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon for John 14:26: Spirit is Yah's power and agency.
Holy / Set-Apart:
The Greek word is hagios (hag'-ee-os), means sacred, holy.
40 hágios – properly, different (unlike), other ("otherness"), holy; for the believer, 40 (hágios) means "likeness of nature with the Lord" because "different from the world."
The fundamental (core) meaning of 40 (hágios) is "different" – thus a temple in the 1st century was hagios ("holy") because different from other buildings (Wm. Barclay). In the NT, 40 /hágios ("holy") has the "technical" meaning "different from the world" because "like the Lord."
[40 (hágios) implies something "set apart" and therefore "different (distinguished/distinct)" – i.e. "other," because special to the Lord.]
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon for John 14:26: Set-Apart or Holy is set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively his; in a moral sense, pure, sinless, upright, holy.
Teach:
The Greek word is didaskó (did-as'-ko), means to teach one something.
1321 didáskō (from daō, "learn") – to teach (literally, "cause to learn"); instruct, impart knowledge (disseminate information).
In the NT, 1321 /didáskō ("teach") nearly always refers to teaching the Scriptures (the written Word of God). The key role of teaching Scripture is shown by its great frequency in the NT, and the variety of word-forms (cognates).
Remind:
The Greek word is hupomimnéskó (hoop-om-im-nace'-ko), means to cause (one) to remember, to remind.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon for John 14:26: means to cause one to remember, bring to remembrance, recall to mind.
So, the role of the Set-Apart Spirit is to teach and remind us. He is called to be our Aid. He is Set-Apart for Yah and belongs to Yah. The Set-Apart Spirit is pure, sinless, upright, and holy (set-apart). When He resides in us, it is impossible to keep living in sin.
Romans 6:2b-6
How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were immersed into Messiah יהושע were immersed into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through immersion into death, that as Messiah was raised from the dead by the esteem of the Father, so also we should walk in newness of life. For if we have come to be grown together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also of the resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was impaled with Him, so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, to serve sin no longer.
Romans 6:10-6-13
For in that He (Yahawash) died, He died to sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives to Elohim (Yahawah). So you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to Elohim in Messiah יהושע our Master. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, to obey it in its desires, neither present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to Elohim as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to Elohim.
John 16:7-11
“But I say the truth to you. It is better for you that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you at all, but if I go, I shall send Him to you. And having come, He shall reprove the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment – concerning sin because they do not believe in Me, concerning righteousness because I go to My Father and you see Me no more, concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged.”
Reprove:
The Greek word is elegchó (el-eng'-kho), means to expose, convict, reprove.
1651 elégxō – properly, to convince with solid, compelling evidence, especially to expose (prove wrong, connect).
Per Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: reprove or convict: to convict, refute, confute and by conviction to bring to light, to expose.
Per English dictionary:
Convict: declare (someone) to be guilty of a criminal offense by the verdict of a jury or the decision of a judge in a court of law.
Refute: prove (a statement or theory) to be wrong or false; disprove.
Confute: prove (a person or an assertion) to be wrong.
World:
The Greek word: kosmos (kos'-mos), means order, the world.
2889 kósmos (literally, "something ordered") – properly, an "ordered system" (like the universe, creation); the world.
[The English term "cosmetic" is derived from 2889 /kósmos, i.e. the order ("ensemble") used of treating the face as a whole.]
Thayer's Greek Lexicon for John 16:8 means the inhabitants of the world: the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human race.
Concerning:
The Greek word: peri (per-ee'), means on account of i.e. for, for the benefit or advantage of.
Sin:
The Greek word: hamartia (ham-ar-tee'-ah), means a sin, failure.
266 hamartía (a feminine noun derived from 1 /A "not" and 3313 /méros, "a part, share of") – properly, no-share ("no part of"); loss (forfeiture) because not hitting the target; sin (missing the mark).
266 /hamartía ("sin, forfeiture because missing the mark") is the brand of sin that emphasizes its self-originated (self-empowered) nature – i.e. it is not originated or empowered by God (i.e. not of faith, His inworked persuasion, cf. Ro 14:23).
Romans 14:23b
all that is not of belief is sin
In another word, sin is unbelief. When Yah gives His Word/Torah, He works His divine persuasion within a person, which is called faith. When the person doesn’t believe Yah’s Word, he has committed a sin against Yah.
Romans 10:17
So then belief comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Elohim.
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon for John 16:8: that which is done wrong, committed or resultant sin, an offence, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act.
Righteousness:
The Greek word: dikaiosuné (dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay), means righteousness, justice.
1343 dikaiosýnē (from 1349 /díkē, "a judicial verdict") – properly, judicial approval (the verdict of approval); in the NT, the approval of God ("divine approval").
1343 /dikaiosýnē ("divine approval") is the regular NT term used for righteousness ("God's judicial approval"). 1343 /dikaiosýnē ("the approval of God") refers to what is deemed right by the Lord (after His examination), i.e. what is approved in His eyes.
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon:
the state of him who is such as he ought to be, righteousness
the condition acceptable to God
Judgement:
The Greek word: krisis (kree'-sis), means a decision, judgement.
Cognate: 2920 krísis (a feminine noun derived from 2919 /krínō, "to separate, distinguish, judge") – judgement, emphasizing its qualitative aspect that can apply either to a positive verdict (for righteousness) – or more commonly, a “negative” verdict which condemns the nature of sin that brings it on. See 2919 (krinō).
[2917 (kríma) stresses the results that go with a particular judgement (of blessing or pain, depending on the choice).]
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon:
judgement; i. e. opinion or decision given concerning anything, especially concerning justice and injustice, right and wrong
sentence of condemnation, damnatory judgement, condemnation, and punishment
of the last judgement
John 16:7a
“But I say the truth to you. It is better for you that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you at all, but if I go, I shall send Him to you.
Truth:
Greek word is alétheia (al-ay'-thi-a), means truth.
225 alḗtheia (from 227 /alēthḗs, "true to fact") – properly, truth (true to fact), reality.
[In ancient Greek culture, 225 (alḗtheia) was synonymous for "reality" as the opposite of illusion, i.e. fact.]
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: what is true in any matter under consideration
Better:
The Greek Interlinear used the phrase “It is profitable”.
Greek word is sumphero (soom-fer'-o), means to bring together, to be profitable
4851 symphérō (from 4862 /sýn, "together with" and 5342 /phérō, "bring, carry") – properly, combine in a way that brings a profit (gain), especially by a "concurrence of circumstances" that results in benefit or advancement (M. Vincent).
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon:
it is expedient, profitable
that which is profitable
So, based on John 16:7-11, we hear the words of Yahawash speaking about the Helper. He affirmed that He is giving a reality of truth that having the Spirit of Yah is profitable for our advantage or benefit. He mentioned that He will send the Set-Apart Spirit to aid us. The Set-Apart Spirit will act as Yah’s agency with power. He will help us to be different from the sinful inhabitants of the word and bring us into the likeness of nature with the Yah: His very Torah — His Heart! He will teach, instruct, impart knowledge and causes us to learn the written Word of Yah (the Scriptures). The Set-Apart Spirit will remind us the Word of Truth when we error in our way. When we are walking on the wrong path or believing the false or wrong doctrine, He will convince us with a solid, compelling evidence to expose our wrongs. He will make us aware of the guilt of breaking the Word of Yah.
I like that HELPS Word Studies says that the brand of sin that emphasizes its self-originated (self-empowered) nature – i.e. it is not originated or empowered by God (i.e. not of faith, His inworked persuasion)
When we act on our own, using our self-empowered nature, we will surely fail against Yah. Nothing good dwell in our flesh/nature.
Romans 7:18-21
For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good. For to wish is present with me, but to work the good I do not find. For the good that I wish to do, I do not do; but the evil I do not wish to do, this I practise. And if I do that which I do not wish, it is no longer I who work it, but the sin dwelling in me. I find therefore this law, that when I wish to do the good, that the evil is present with me.
Romans 8:7-8
Because the mind of the flesh is enmity towards Elohim, for it does not subject itself to the Torah of Elohim, neither indeed is it able, and those who are in the flesh are unable to please Elohim.
When we are not living His Torah, we are living in the flesh. This will displease Yah. Yah’s Torah helps us to learn how to live righteously and blameless before Him. Many of us think we are living righteously, but in reality we are not. If we have not learned the instructions of the Torah, we will be found in blame before Yah. Torah is Yah’s heart, how can we not learn His Heart? Especially if we love Him? Truthfully, we are blind, deceiving ourselves when we did not learn and live His Torah and celebrating His festivals He commanded.
When teachers and preachers are teaching self-empowerment, they are false prophets and teachers. They will be leading the people to the wide gate of destruction! “Come out of them, My People,” saith Yahawah, “It’s time to learn My Torah and Teachings. For in the Torah is the teaching of genuine righteousness.”
When we faced problems or issues in our lives, situations, and circumstances, or messed up our lives, we were living in sin. We have not learned what it means to live righteously in order to receive the blessings in our lives. When we obey His Torah and do all that we are commanded to do, He will reward us.
Hebrew 11:6
But without belief (in His Torah) it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to Elohim has to believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him (and His righteousness).
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the reign of Elohim, and His righteousness (His Torah), and all these matters shall be added to you.
Deuteronomy 30:14-20
“For the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart – to do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil, in that I am commanding you today to love יהוה your Elohim, to walk in His ways, and to guard His commands, and His laws, and His right-rulings. And you shall live and increase, and יהוה your Elohim shall bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away, and you do not obey, and shall be drawn away, and shall bow down to other mighty ones and serve them, I have declared to you today that you shall certainly perish, you shall not prolong your days in the land which you are passing over the Yardĕn to enter and possess. I have called the heavens and the earth as witnesses today against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore you shall choose life, so that you live, both you and your seed, to love יהוה your Elohim, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him – for He is your life and the length of your days – to dwell in the land which יהוה swore to your fathers, to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Ya‛aqoḇ, to give them.”
The Set-Apart Spirit will convict and teach us concerning righteousness. When we are learning and living Yah’s Torah, we will be under Yah’s divine approval. Walking and living in His righteousness will deem right before Yah after His examination of our lives. Yah will keep His eyes on us in everything we do and everywhere we go. He is omnipresent. The Spirit will reveal to us what is acceptable and unacceptable to Yah that we may be approved in Yah’s eyes. Righteousness is not based on our worship, but our lives. Many people believe that they will inherit Yah’s kingdom just by going to the church. They will be surprised to learn that it is not so.
2 Timothy 2:15
Do your utmost to present yourself approved to Elohim, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of Truth. (Yah’s Torah is the Word of Truth)
The Set-Apart Spirit will convict us of judgement within us. The Spirit will help us to distinguish the difference between right and wrong from the Word of Yah. He will clear our perceptions and remove our spiritual blindness from our eyes, when we give heed and obey the truth revealed to us. When we are in obedience to Yah’s Torah, blessings surely will follow. Otherwise, His wrath will come upon the disobedience.
Romans 1:18-19
For the wrath of Elohim is revealed from heaven against all wickedness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known of Elohim is manifest among them, for Elohim has manifested it to them.
Yahawah had revealed His Torah through Moses. You may say it’s in the Old Testament and no longer applies. Be not deceived. Foremost, there is no such thing as Old or New Testament pertaining to the Word of Yah. It was divided by the deceivers to trick the believers to make them believe that everything from old is abolished.
Matthew 5:17-18
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete. For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.”
Luke 16:17
“And it is easier for the heaven and the earth to pass away than for one tittle of the Torah to fall.”
From the above two scriptures, Yahawash had spoken that He did not come to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. He came to complete the Torah for us, because He knew we could never fulfill the Torah without the death penalty. He completed the Torah for us and removed the death penalty due to us. Everything may pass away, but not the Torah. The Word of Yah abides forever, which is His Torah. His Torah still stands!
Psalm 105:7-11
He is יהוה our Elohim; His right-rulings are in all the earth. He has remembered His covenant forever, The Word He commanded, for a thousand generations, The covenant He made with Aḇraham, And His oath to Yitsḥaq, And established it to Ya‛aqoḇ for a law, To Yisra’ĕl – an everlasting covenant, Saying, “To you I give the land of Kena‛an, The portion of your inheritance.”
The Torah is His everlasting covenant with His People. The land of Kena’an was converted into the land of Israel, a symbol of the promise land from Yah. When we accept His Son, Yahawash, the Spirit of Helper and Truth abides in us. He guides us towards the promise land, which is the New Jerusalem that will be built for His believers after this world passed away. We must give heed to the Spirit of Yah and His Word.
Leviticus 19:2b
“Be set-apart, for I יהוה your Elohim am set-apart.”
1 Peter 1:16-17
… as the One who called you is set-apart, so you also should become set-apart in all behaviour, because it has been written, “Be set-apart, for I am set-apart.”
When we are living His Torah, we are set apart from the ways and behaviors from the world of darkness. Yah’s Spirit will help us to remain faithful to Yah through His Word. To received Yah’s Spirit is to accept and believe in His Son, Yahawash, and welcome them into your heart and follow their leading for your life. The Torah is the compass that will prepare us for the New Jerusalem Yah is building for His believers after the world is destroyed.
Romans 1:17; 10:17
For in it the righteousness of Elohim is revealed from belief to belief, as it has been written, “But the righteous shall live by belief.” So then belief comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Elohim. (Word of Elohim is His Torah)
Be encouraged Believers of Yah who carries His Set-Apart Spirit:
Philippians 1:6
He who has begun a good work in you shall perfect it until the day of יהושע Messiah.
So, holy means set-apart, not pious. It means to be different from something. The world is full of darkness. We, believers, are to be the opposite of darkness and be a light to the world through the Set-Apart Spirit and following the Torah. Torah is the Heart of Yah, and when we live His Torah, we become the children after Yah’ Own Heart, like King David. King David loves Yah’s Torah, and so should we.
Romans 3:31
Do we then nullify the Torah through the belief? Let it not be! On the contrary, we establish the Torah.
Romans 7:12
So that the Torah truly is set-apart, and the command set-apart, and righteous, and good.
Romans 7:12 is a great definition for holy!
Shalom (peace)
All scriptures are from ISR (Institute for Scripture Research), otherwise stated.