“I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:45). 

“You shall be holy; for I the LORD your God am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2).

“Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 20:7).

“You shall be holy to me; for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.” (Leviticus 20:26). 

Introduction

In the previous articles we have seen that the cornerstone of biblical spirituality is a personal relationship with God. It is correlated with another more or less synonymous expression: ‘a holy life.’ But what does it really mean?

Christian life in general, and Religious and Priestly life in particular, are a constant striving after holiness.

Much of their time and energies is spent in the pursuit of holiness and in executing acts which promote holiness such as long prayer-hours, sacraments, ascetical practices, sacred study, spiritual exercises, commitment to charitable works etc. 

Often it can become mechanical, as in the case of Buddhist prayer-wheel. 

They write down a prayer and rotate it on a wheel and reckon its rotations as the number of prayers recited. 

For some others holiness consists on emphasis on outward rituals.

Tendency to lengthen and repeat oral prayers as well as development of elaborate rituals are observed in many religions. 

The long and elaborate Yᾱgᾱs of Hinduism serve as an example. 

For some holiness consists in ascetical practices. The more one suffers, greater the holiness, they argue. 

It may be expressed in fasting, deprivation of sleep or other basic needs, self-inflicted pain etc. 

Others may feel that holiness consists in external dresses which may promote and draw attention to their inward holiness. It was the case with the Pharisees during the time of Jesus (“They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long”. Mt 23:5). 

A modern tendency is to emphasize the role of social involvement in the lives of people who are dedicated to the pursuit of holiness. This tendency is seen mostly in the Christian religion. (Numerous examples of religious congregations such as those of Sts. Vincent de Paul and Mother Tresa could be pointed out). They support the idea with the teaching (e.g., Mt 25:31-46) and example of Christ. 

But what exactly is holiness? 

For many it is the meticulous execution of all, or mostly some of the above-mentioned practices.

For some others, even though they have some general ideas about holiness, the notion is vague! The picture seems to be one of great confusion, misunderstandings, misrepresentations or at least lack of clarity even among the erudite!

Holiness has more than one dimension.

The spiritual or the transcendental dimension of holiness is, obviously, the topmost, and it belongs to the very essence of holiness. (Spirituality in the generic sense involves an encounter with the transcendent (or the numinous, the Real, or that which is ultimately important), and then the positive, beneficial effects of that encounter on a person.  (cfr. Glen G. Scorgie, A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality, 25).

However, what people are most concerned is the external dimensions since they are convinced that the external practices will produce the internal reality.

Such a notion is contrary to the biblical idea of holiness.

A holy life, as the Bible presents it, is intimately related to God and has three basic, indispensable dimensions to it: the relational dimension, the transformational dimension and the vocational dimension.

Absence or overemphasis of any of these dimensions results in the “disfigurement” of the beautiful spiritual reality that holiness has to be.

(There is no beauty where there is no harmony. Lack, or the overemphasis, of an essential part lead to disfigurement or to “monstrosity” depending on the degree of it).

 Normally the three dimensions go together; but not necessarily. Throughout the history of religions there had been numerous examples to exemplify this affirmation!

The dimensions of a call to holiness cannot be separated from one another.

It is a single call that God gives, and the element of a holy life is about living in relation to God, being transformed by the impulses of his divine life, and actively participating in God’s purposes in the world. 

In this article we shall try to investigate the meaning of “holiness”, particularly in the OT.

(The Christian idea of holiness, which represents a radical novelty, is the result of a progression and pivotal development in the unrolling of the salvation history. It will be dealt with in Part II). 

The Old Testament Idea

What does the “Word of God” say about holiness?

The words used in the Hebrew OT are qadhosh, “holy,” qodhesh, “holiness”.

In the LXX they are   hagios “holy”, hagiosyne, “holiness”.

There has been much discussion as to the original meaning of the Semitic root Q-D-SH, by which the notion of holiness is expressed in the Old Testament.

Most modern scholars incline to the view that the primary idea is that of cutting off or separation.

In primitive Semitic usage “holiness” seems to have expressed nothing more than that ceremonial separation of an object from common use. 

I) The Holiness of God

Within the Biblical sphere holiness attaches itself first of all, not to visible objects, but to the invisible Yahweh, and to places, seasons, things and human beings only in so far as they are associated with Him.

As applied to God the notion of holiness is used in the Old Testament in two distinct senses:

(1) Absoluteness and Majesty

In the OT God is the Holy One par excellence.

Israel’s earliest hymn praises God as “majestic in holiness” (Exod. 15:11).

God is frequently referred as the “Holy One” (Isa. 1:4; 5:19; Ps. 99).

In Isaiah’s vision of the heavenly court the angels sing praise to God as “Holy, holy, holy” (Isa. 6:3).

His holiness is especially prominent in the Psalms (47:8) and the Prophets (Ez 39:7), where “holiness” emerges as a synonym for Israel’s God.

Thus, Scripture ascribes to God the title “Holy” (Is 57:15), “Holy One” (Jb 6:10; Is 43:15), and “Holy One of Israel” (Ps 89:18; Is 60:14; Jer 50:29).

Holiness, the attribute of God most frequently announced in the Bible, means that God is separate and distinct from everything he has made, and separate too from even the slightest hint of sin or evil.

When Scripture calls God, or individual persons of the Godhead, “holy” (as it often does: Lev. 11:44-45; Josh. 24:19; Isa. 2:2; Ps. 99:9; Isa. 1:4; 6:3; 41:14, 16, 20; 57:15; Ezek. 39:7; Amos 4:2; John 17:11; Acts 5:3-4, 32; Rev. 15:4), the word signifies everything about God that sets him apart from us and makes him an object of awe, adoration, and dread to us.

It covers all aspects of his transcendent greatness and moral perfection and thus is an attribute of all his attributes, pointing to the “Godness” of God at every point.

Every facet of God’s nature and every aspect of his character may properly be spoken of as holy, just because it is his. He dwells in unapproachable light. (In the last book of the New Testament, John’s vision of the throne of God reflects the idea perfectly. There angelic beings are proclaiming, day and night without a pause, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty” – Revelation 4:8).

In the more general sense holiness of God denotes separation from all that is human and earthly.

The core of the concept, however, is God’s purity, which cannot tolerate any form of sin (Hab. 1:13) and thus calls sinners to constant self-abasement in his presence (Isa. 6:5).

(2) Separateness from all that is evil and defiled

In the OT God’s holiness denotes that the Lord is separate from all that is evil and defiled (cf. Jb 34:10).

His holy character is the standard of absolute moral perfection (Is 5:16).

God’s holiness—his transcendent majesty and the purity of his character—are skilfully balanced in Psalm 99.

Verses 1 through 3 portray God’s distance from the finite and earthbound, whereas verses 4 and 5 emphasize his separation from sin and evil.

Holiness covers all aspects of His transcendent greatness and moral perfection and thus is an attribute of all His attributes, pointing to the “Godness” of God at every point. 

(3) Ceremonial Holiness

From the holiness of God is derived that ceremonial holiness of things which is characteristic of the Old Testament religion.

The idea of ceremonial holiness runs through the Old Testament.

a) Holiness of Place

Places where God appeared and was customarily worshiped were also holy.

At the burning bush (Exod. 3:5) Moses is instructed to remove his shoes because he stands on holy ground.

After Jacob receives a vision at Bethel, he consecrates it as a holy place (Gen. 28:11-22).

Other ancient Israelite shrines were consecrated by similar contact with God.

The Temple in Jerusalem was the most holy place in Israel because God’s presence dwelled there (1 Kings 8:10-11).

The tabernacle or temple in which His glory is revealed is a holy building (Ex 28:29; 2 Ch 35:5); and all its sacrifices (Ex 29:33), ceremonial materials (30:25; Nu 5:17) and utensils (1 Ki 8:4) are also holy.

b) Holiness of Things

Whatever is connected with the worship of the holy Yahweh is itself holy.

The equipment used in the Temple, including the jars, altars, candleholders, musical instruments, and vestments, were especially set aside and thus holy.

The sacrificial animals and other food had to meet stringent requirements and once designated holy could not be returned to secular use.

They were either burned on the altar or consumed by the priests in the Temple.

The priests and other personnel of the Temple could enter certain parts of the Temple and perform the sacrifices and other ritual acts.

Holiness extended to the rituals and the words used at the Temple, to the name of God (Lev. 20:3), to the Sabbath (Gen. 2:3), and to the other feasts (Lev. 23).

II) Holiness of Men

It corresponds to, and depends upon, their relation to the outward service of Yahweh.

Nothing is holy in itself, but anything becomes holy by its consecration to Him.

The holiness of men is of two kinds:

(a) Ceremonial holiness

Priests and Levites are holy because they have been “hallowed” or “sanctified” by acts of consecration (Ex 29:1; Lev 8:12,30).

The Nazirite is holy because he has separated himself unto the Lord (Nu 6:5).

In addition to God and to Israel’s worship practices, Israel itself is a holy nation (Exod. 19:4; Deut. 7:6).

Israel, notwithstanding all its sins and shortcomings, is holy, as a nation separated from other nations for Divine purposes and uses (Ex 19:6, etc.; compare Lev 20:24).

Israel’s holiness depends on its adherence to God’s commandments and avoidance of sin.

The Holiness Code, a comprehensive series of ethical and ritual laws in Lev. 18-26, demands observance because of holiness: ‘You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy’ (Lev. 19:2).

The Pharisees and the latter rabbis extended the ritual holiness of the Temple and its food to the ordinary people who were urged to observe ritual purity in eating, sex, and celebration of festivals.

The text of the Bible, which became a central symbol for a life consecrated to God and obedience to God’s commandments, became holy (cf. Rom. 7:12), as did ‘every action done for the sake of Heaven.’  

(b) Spiritual and Ethical

But out of this merely ceremonial holiness there emerges a higher holiness that is spiritual and ethical.

Holiness of character in the distinct ethical sense is ascribed to God.

Israelites, as people of God, are called to holiness, above all, in this sense of the term.

The injunction, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (Lev 11:44; 19:2), plainly implies an ethical conception.

Men cannot resemble God in His incommunicable attributes.

They can reflect His likeness only along the lines of those spiritual qualities of God as revealed by Him, and are in accordance with the creaturely limitations in man’s life.

 They are particularly those moral qualities which manifest His holiness.

It is based on the fact that unlike other creatures man was made in the image of God and is capable of reflecting the Divine likeness.

Among all God’s creatures, great and small, human beings are uniquely like God (Genesis 1:26 – 27).

This makes human life sacred and gives us each great dignity and worth.

The image of God in man has more than one dimension.

First of all, God is triune — experiencing within himself an eternal communion of the persons of the Godhead.

a) the image of God is first of all a social likeness.

It indicates an ability to reflect in man’s relations something of the interactive, loving mutuality within the Trinity.

In man’s being created in the image and likeness of God renders human existence essentially a relational one.

The impulses of this dynamic move both vertically and horizontally.

From the first chapters of the Bible (Gn 3:8) where God walked in Eden with the first parents, and later where Enoch walked faithfully with God (Genesis 5:24), to Jesus’ departing assurance that he would be with the disciples always (Matthew 28:20), the Bible attaches great importance to relationship with God.

The reality of being created in the image and likeness of God creates a general disposition of openness, so that man has a capacity and inclination to connect with God and other human beings.

Love for God and love for neighbour are two expressions of the same divine impulse (Lk 10:27).

God is also holy and perfect.

He is wondrous in his moral character, glorious in his essence and powers.

We have the capacity to reflect this holiness and glory, for He has equipped us with qualities and powers that mirror his own, including those of conscience, virtue, intellectual reflection, creativity, and free will.

God has crowned us “with glory and honour,” (Ps 8:5) and intends for us to be holy and whole as He is.

God is also a God who acts — who does things (like creating, sustaining, and redeeming).

b) God’s image in us therefore has an “operational” dimension as well.

It involves a capacity for creative work, sovereignty over the rest of creation, and participation in God’s own “kingdom-building project” in history.

In the Psalmists and Prophets, the Divine holiness becomes, above all, an ethical reality convicting men of sin (Isa 6:3,1) and demanding of those who would stand in His presence clean hands and a pure heart (Ps 24:3 f).

The prophets caught a vision of Yahweh, not jealous for His prerogatives, not craving the honour of punctilious and proper ceremonial enactments, but with a gracious love for His people and a passion for righteousness.

Their great message is: This now is Yahweh; hear what it means to belong to such a God and to serve Him.

• “What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? ….
• Wash you, make you clean; ….
• seek justice, relieve the oppressed” (Isa 1:11,16,17).
• “When Israel was a child, then I loved him. …I desire goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings” (Hos 11:1; 6:6).

In the so-called “Law of Holiness” (Lev 17 through 26), God’s demand for moral holiness is made clear; and yet the moral contents of the Law are still intermingled with ceremonial elements (Lev 17:10 ff; 19:19; 21:1 ff).

In psalm and prophecy a greater emphasis on the ethical conception comes into view – the conception of a human holiness which rests upon righteousness and truth (Ps 15:1 f) and the possession of a contrite and humble spirit (Isa 57:15).

This corresponds to the knowledge of a God who, being Himself ethically holy, esteems justice, mercy and lowly piety more highly than sacrifice (Hos 6:6; Mic 6:6-8).

Thus, we find that the very basis of the various dimensions of man’s holiness is the fact that he is created in the image of God.

As God reveals Himself particularly as ethically holy, He calls man to a holiness resembling His own (Lev 19:2).