ἅγιον

ἅγιος

ἅγιος,, (from τό ἀγός 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: τό ὄνομα τοῦ Θεοῦ, Luk 1:49; god, on account of his incomparable majesty, Rev 4:8 (Isa 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, Act 7:33; τόπος ἅγιος the temple, Mat 24:15 (on which passage see βδέλυγμα, c.); Act 6:13; Act 21:28; the holy land or Palestine, 2Ma 1:29 2Ma 2:18; τό ἅγιον and τά ἅγια (Winer's grammar, 177 (167)) the temple, Heb 9:1; Heb 9:24 (cf. Bleek on Heb. vol. ii. 2, p. 477f); specifically that part of the temple or tabernacle which is called 'the holy place' (מִקְדָּשׁ, Eze 37:28; Eze 45:18), Heb 9:2 (here Rec.st reads ἅγια); ἅγια ἁγίων (Winer's grammar, 246 (231), cf. Exo 29:37; Exo 30:10, etc.) the most hallowed portion of the temple, 'the holy of holies,' (Exo 26:33 (cf. Josephus, Antiquities 3, 6, 4)), Heb 9:3, in reference to which the simple τά ἅγια is also used: Heb 9:8; Heb 9:25; Heb 10:19; Heb 13:11; figuratively of heaven, Heb 8:2; Heb 9:8; Heb 9:12; Heb 10:19; ἅγια πόλις Jerusalem, on account of the temple there, Mat 4:5; Mat 27:53; Rev 11:2; Rev 21:2; Rev 22:19 (Isa 48:2; Neh 11:1; Neh 11:18 (Complutensian LXX), etc.); τό ὄρος τό ἅγιον, because Christ's transfiguration occurred there, 2Pe 1:18; ἡ (Θεοῦ) ἅγια διαθήκη i. e. which is the more sacred because made by god himself, Luk 1:72; τό ἅγιον, that worshipful offspring of divine power, Luk 1:35; the blessing of the gospel, Mat 7:6; ἁγιωτάτῃ πίστις, faith (quae creditur i. e. the object of faith) which came from god and is therefore to be heeded most sacredly, Jud 1:20; in the same sense ἅγια ἐντολή, 2Pe 2:21; κλῆσις ἅγια, because it is the invitation of god and claims us as his, 2Ti 1:9; ἅγιαι γραφαί (τά βιβλία τά ἅγια, 1Ma 12:9), which came from God and contain his Words, Rom 1:2.

b. of persons whose services god employs; as for example, apostles, Eph 3:5; angels, 1Th 3:13; Mat 25:31 (Rec.); Rev 14:10; Jud 1:14; prophets, Act 3:21; Luk 1:70 (Wis 11:1); (οἱ) ἅγιοι (τοῦ) Θεοῦ ἄνθρωποι, 2Pe 1:21 (R g L Tr text); worthies of the O. T. accepted by god for their piety, Mat 27:52; 1Pe 3:5.

2. set apart for god, to be, as it were, exclusively his; followed by a genitive or a dative: τῷ κυρίῳ, Luk 2:23; τοῦ Θεοῦ (equivalent to ἐκλεκτός τοῦ Θεοῦ) of Christ, Mar 1:24; Luk 4:34, and according to the true reading in Joh 6:69, cf. Joh 10:36; he is called also ὁ ἅγιος παῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Act 4:30, and simply ὁ ἅγιος, 1Jn 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 (Dan 7:18; Dan 7:22; 2Es 8:28), so this appellation is very often in the N. T. transferred to Christians, as those whom god has selected ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου (Joh 17:14; Joh 17:16), that under the influence of the Holy Spirit they may be rendered, through holiness, partakers of salvation in the kingdom of god: 1Pe 2:9 (Exo 19:6), cf. Exo 19:5; Act 9:13; Act 9:32; Act 9:41; Act 26:10; Rom 1:7; Rom 8:27; Rom 12:13; Rom 16:15; 1Co 6:1-2; Php 4:21; Col 1:12; Heb 6:10; Jud 1:3; Rev 5:8, etc.; (cf. B. D. American edition under the word ).

3. of sacrifices and offerings; prepared for god with solemn rite, pure, clean (opposed to ἀκάθαρτος): 1Co 7:14 (cf. Eph 5:3); connected with ἄμωμος, Eph 1:4; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22; ἀπαρχή, Rom 11:16; θυσία, Rom 12:1. Hence,

4. in a moral sense, pure, sinless, upright, holy: 1Pe 1:16 (Lev 19:2; Lev 11:44); 1Co 7:34; δίκαιος καί ἅγιος, of John the Baptist, Mar 6:20; ἅγιος καί δίκαιος, of Christ, Act 3:14; distinctively of him, Rev 3:7; Rev 6:10; of god pre-eminently, 1Pe 1:15; Joh 17:11; ἅγιαι ἀναστροφαί, 2Pe 3:11; νόμος and ἐντολή, i. e. containing nothing exceptionable, Rom 7:12; φίλημα, such a kiss as is a sign of the purest love, 1Th 5:26; 1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:12; Rom 16:16. On the phrase τό ἅγιον πνεῦμα and τό πνεῦμα τό 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).