supremely the truth about God, and his holiness is in itself so far beyond human thought that a ‘super-superlative’ has to be invented to express it.7 The etymology of the ‘holiness’ word-group (√qāḏôš) is debated. The possibilities seem to be ‘brightness’ and ‘separatedness’. ‘Brightness’ suggests the unapproachable God (cf. 1 Tim 6:16 with Ps. 104:2);8 ‘separatedness’ is the positive quality which distinguishes or defines God. On the whole, the latter provides the easiest summary of Old Testament