Holiness and Sacred Space in Israelite Religion

Holiness and sacred space are separate but related concepts. The term “holiness” (qodesh in Hebrew) signifies separateness or distinctness from the ordinary, or the “profane.” In Israelite religion, anything associated with God is, by definition, “holy” since it is not ordinary. God is called the “Holy One,” a term that denotes His absolute “otherness” to all human experience.

Proximity to God renders a wide range of things “holy” in the Old Testament. Places in which God appears to people become holy simply by being places of divine encounter (e.g., Gen 28:12; Exod 3:1–6; 1 Kgs 8:10–11). People dedicated to the service of God must be “made holy” (or “sanctified” or “consecrated”; qadash or qiddash in Hebrew) by undergoing certain procedures (e.g., Exod 19:10–23; 30:29–30). Animals, land, and other inanimate objects may likewise be made holy through purification rituals (e.g., Exod 13:2; 40:9–13; Num 7:1). Even time, when it is dedicated to God, becomes “holy” (e.g., Exod 20:8, 11; Lev 25:10). Rituals for consecration therefore put the person, object, or place into a state of “purity,” making them fit for divine use and proximity.

However, contact with something already considered impure (“unclean”), causes the person, object, or place to lose (either temporarily or permanently) this state of purity (“cleanness”). A range of passages describes the various states of “clean” or “unclean” (e.g., Lev 11; 13). The concepts of “clean” and “unclean” overlap very little with sin or morality, though such overlap is certainly possible.

The Israelites believed four states of being were possible for any given person, thing, or place: profane and pure (a neutral state in which something common—not set aside for Yahweh—has also not been rendered impure); profane and impure (in which something common has been rendered impure); holy and pure (in which something intended for Yahweh and His use is ritually pure); holy and impure (in which something intended for Yahweh and His use has been rendered impure; e.g., the scapegoat of Lev 16, which is holy but becomes impure when bearing the sins of the nation).

The various rules (e.g., the dietary laws) for cleanness versus uncleanness and purity versus impurity often seem bizarre to contemporary readers, and lacking in any satisfactory unifying principle. However, the dichotomy clearly served as a constant reminder to the Israelites that Yahweh was not common. The people were to treat anything associated with Him, His use, and the space in which He dwelled unlike any counterpart item in the everyday world. Anything given to Yahweh or placed within His proximity had to be purified by ritual, which rendered it uncommon.

Sacred Space

People in ancient Israel considered places of encounter with God to be holy. Such places were sacred space—geographical space set aside only for the presence of Yahweh, or for those whom Yahweh sanctified in order to occupy it (e.g., priests). The world of the divine intersected with the world of people in such places. Religious experts (e.g., priests) served as intermediaries between God and humanity and were responsible for maintaining the sanctity of sacred space.

Since the temple was the abode of God, it served as the primary location of sacred space. God, moreover, owned the temple, and it served as a barrier between Him and the profane—common objects, people, and locations. The temple thus occupied the center of Israelite beliefs about divine presence, ownership, and sanctity.

Since, in theory, every place Yahweh dwells is His abode, the entirety of creation also serves as His temple. God, who is distinct from His creation, nevertheless enters it, making it His abode. Since doing so was a sovereign decision, God asserts His ownership of the space.

In the New Testament, Paul refers to both individual believers and the corporate body of believers as the temple of God (1 Cor 3:16–17; 6:19–20). Believers must therefore keep themselves pure—their bodies are sacred space owned by God, who inhabits them via His indwelling Spirit (John 14:17; Rom 8:9, 11; 2 Tim 1:14).

Michael S. Heiser

Further Reading

Cosmic Garden and Mountain Imagery in the Old Testament

Sacred Trees in Israelite Religion

Clean and Unclean CLBD

Holiness CLBD

Unclean and Clean AYBD

Clean and Unclean ISBE

Holy and Holiness, Clean and Unclean DOT: P