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)].