essence or meaning to a word, drawing on texts from the whole of the Bible (and elsewhere).1 While a word’s general meaning may be relatively constant throughout the Old Testament,2 the Priestly writings have given holiness and purity a range of meaning and significance which deserves an independent and integrated treatment.3 For a better grasp of the meaning of a term, a group of related words, including synonyms and antonyms, should be investigated.4 One problem is how to define the limits of an