ἅγιος,
-α,
-ον, (from
τὸ ἄγος religious awe, reverence;
ἄζω,
ἅζομαι, to venerate, revere, especially the gods, parents [Curtius, § 118]), rare in secular authors; very frequent in the sacred writings; in the
Sept. for
קָדושׁ;
1. properly
reverend, worthy of veneration:
τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ θεοῦ,
Luke 1:49; God, on account of his incomparable majesty,
Revelation 4:8 (
Isaiah 6:3, etc.), equivalent to
ἔνδοξος. Hence, used:
a. of things which on account of some connection with God possess a certain distinction and claim to reverence, as places sacred to God which are not to be profaned,
Acts 7:33;
τόπος ἅγιος the temple,
Matthew 24:15 (on which passage see
βδέλυγμα, c.);
Acts 6:13;
Acts 21:28; the holy land or Palestine, 2 Macc. 1:29; 2 Macc. 2:18;
τὸ ἅγιον and
τὰ ἅγια [Winer's Grammar, 177 (167)] the temple,
Hebrews 9:1,
24 (cf. Bleek on Heb. vol. ii. 2, p. 477f); specifically that part of the temple or tabernacle which is called 'the holy place' (
מִקְדָּשׁ,
Ezekiel 37:28;
Ezekiel 45:18),
Hebrews 9:2 [here
Rec.st reads
ἅγια];
ἅγια ἁγίων [Winer's Grammar, 246 (231), cf.
Exodus 29:37;
Exodus 30:10, etc.] the most hallowed portion of the temple, 'the holy of holies,' (
Exodus 26:33 [cf. Josephus, Antiquities 3, 6, 4]),
Hebrews 9:3, in reference to which the simple
τὰ ἅγια is also used:
Hebrews 9:8,
25;
Hebrews 10:19;
Hebrews 13:11; figuratively of heaven,
Hebrews 8:2;
Hebrews 9:8,
12;
Hebrews 10:19;
ἅγια πόλις Jerusalem, on account of the temple there,
Matthew 4:5;
Matthew 27:53;
Revelation 11:2;
Revelation 21:2;
Revelation 22:19 (
Isaiah 48:2;
Nehemiah 11:1,
18 [Complutensian
LXX], etc.);
τὸ ὄρος τὸ ἅγιον, because Christ's transfiguration occurred there,
2 Peter 1:18;
ἡ (θεοῦ) ἁγία διαθήκη i. e. which is the more sacred because made by God himself,
Luke 1:72;
τὸ ἅγιον, that worshipful offspring of divine power,
Luke 1:35; the blessing of the gospel,
Matthew 7:6;
ἁγιωτάτη πίστις, faith (quae creditur
i. e. the object of faith) which came from God and is therefore to be heeded most sacredly,
Jude 1:20; in the same sense
ἁγία ἐντολή,
2 Peter 2:21;
κλῆσις ἁγία, because it is the invitation of God and claims us as his,
2 Timothy 1:9;
ἅγιαι γραφαί (
τὰ βιβλία τὰ ἅγια, 1 Macc. 12:9), which came from God and contain his Words,
Romans 1:2.
b. of persons whose services God employs; as for example, apostles,
Ephesians 3:5; angels,
1 Thessalonians 3:13;
Matthew 25:31 [
Rec.];
Revelation 14:10;
Jude 1:14; prophets,
Acts 3:21;
Luke 1:70 (Wis. 11:1);
(οἱ) ἅγιοι (τοῦ) θεοῦ ἄνθρωποι,
2 Peter 1:21 [R G L Tr text]; worthies of the
O. T. accepted by God for their piety,
Matthew 27:52;
1 Peter 3:5.
2. set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively his; followed by a genitive or a dative:
τῷ κυρίῳ,
Luke 2:23;
τοῦ θεοῦ (equivalent to
ἐκλεκτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ) of Christ,
Mark 1:24;
Luke 4:34, and according to the true reading in
John 6:69, cf.
John 10:36; he is called also
ὁ ἅγιος παῖς τοῦ θεοῦ,
Acts 4:30, and simply
ὁ ἅγιος,
1 John 2:20.
Just as the Israelites claimed for themselves the title
οἱ ἅγιοι, because God selected them from the other nations to lead a life acceptable to him and rejoice in his favor and protection (
Daniel 7:18,
22; 2 Esdr. 8:28), so this appellation is very often in the
N. T. transferred to Christians, as those whom God has selected
ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου (
John 17:14,
16), that under the influence of the Holy Spirit they may be rendered, through holiness, partakers of salvation in the kingdom of God:
1 Peter 2:9 (
Exodus 19:6), cf.
Exodus 19:5;
Acts 9:13,
32,
41;
Acts 26:10;
Romans 1:7;
Romans 8:27;
Romans 12:13;
Romans 16:15;
1 Corinthians 6:1,
2;
Philippians 4:21;
Colossians 1:12;
Hebrews 6:10;
Jude 1:3;
Revelation 5:8, etc.; [cf.
B. D. American edition under the word Saints].
3. of sacrifices and offerings;
prepared for God with solemn rite, pure, clean (opposed to
ἀκάθαρτος):
1 Corinthians 7:14 (cf.
Ephesians 5:3); connected with
ἄμωμος,
Ephesians 1:4;
Ephesians 5:27;
Colossians 1:22;
ἀπαρχή,
Romans 11:16;
θυσία,
Romans 12:1. Hence,
4. in a moral sense,
pure, sinless, upright, holy:
1 Peter 1:16 (
Leviticus 19:2;
Leviticus 11:44);
1 Corinthians 7:34;
δίκαιος καί ἅγιος, of John the Baptist,
Mark 6:20;
ἅγιος καί δίκαιος, of Christ,
Acts 3:14; distinctively of him,
Revelation 3:7;
Revelation 6:10; of God pre-eminently,
1 Peter 1:15;
John 17:11;
ἅγιαι ἀναστροφαί,
2 Peter 3:11;
νόμος and
ἐντολή,
i. e. containing nothing exceptionable,
Romans 7:12;
φίλημα, such a kiss as is a sign of the purest love,
1 Thessalonians 5:26;
1 Corinthians 16:20;
2 Corinthians 13:12;
Romans 16:16. On the phrase
τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα and
τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, see
πνεῦμα, 4 a.
Cf.
Diestel, Die Heiligkeit Gottes, in Jahrbb. f. deutsch. Theol. iv., p. 1ff; [
Baudissin, Stud. z. Semitisch. Religionsgesch. Heft ii., p. 3ff;
Delitzsch in Herzog edition 2, see 714ff; especially]
Cremer, Wörterbuch, 4te Aufl., p. 32ff [translation of 2nd edition, p. 84ff;
Oehler in Herzog 19:618ff;
Zezschwitz, Profangräcität as above with, p. 15ff; Trench, § lxxxviii;
Campbell, Dissertations, diss. vi., part iv.; especially Schmidt, chapter 181.
E. Issel, Der Begriff der Heiligkeit im
N. T. (Leiden, 1887)].