G40 — ἅγιος (hágios)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G40
Original: ἅγιος
Transliteration: hágios
Pronunciation: hag'-ee-os
Part of Speech: Adjective
Root: ἅγος (hagos) — an awful/sacred thing (compare G53 ἁγνός)
Occurrences: 219 unique verses (229 tokens) in NT
First Occurrence: Mat 1:18 — "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From ἅγος hágos (an awful thing); sacred (physically pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially consecrated) — (most) holy (one, thing), saint.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - 088.003 — Holy, Pure - 053.006 — Dedicate, Consecrate - 011.002 — Socio-Religious grouping ("saints") - 007.002 / 007.003 — Sacred buildings and holy places - Glosses: holy, pure, divine

UBS Semantic Domains: - [088] Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior - [053] Religious Activities - [011] Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes - [007] Constructions

Domain Neighbors (088003 — Holy, Pure)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Glosses	Key Difference
G37	ἁγιάζω (hagiazō)	to consecrate, dedicate to God	Verb: the act of making holy
G41	ἁγιότης (hagiotēs)	holiness, divine quality	Abstract noun: the quality of holiness
G42	ἁγιωσύνη (hagiōsynē)	holiness, dedication	Abstract noun: holiness as personal attribute
G47	ἁγνεία (hagneia)	purity	Moral purity without defect
G53	ἁγνός (hagnos)	pure, without defect	Moral/ceremonial purity; narrower than hagios
G3741	ὅσιος (hosios)	holy, pure, divine	Intrinsic rightness/piety; divine faithfulness (see Easily Confused)
G299	ἄμωμος (amōmos)	without defect, blameless	Absence of blemish (sacrificial metaphor)
G784	ἄσπιλος (aspilos)	spotless, morally spotless	Stainless character (external appearance metaphor)

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
holy / Holy / the Holy / an holy / the holy / that holy / most holy	~175	~80%
saints / of saints / the saints	~62	~28%
Holy One	4	1.8%

Note: Many verses contain multiple KJV translation phrases because the tracker separates by exact phrase (e.g., "holy" vs. "Holy" vs. "the Holy"). Collapsing case and article variants, the two core renderings are "holy" (~80%) and "saints" (~28%). Some verses contain both uses (hence overlap).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Book Verses	Per 100
Acts	53	1007	5.3
Revelation	25	404	6.2
Romans	18	433	4.2
Luke	18	1151	1.6
Ephesians	15	155	9.7
1 Corinthians	13	437	3.0
Matthew	11	1071	1.0
2 Corinthians	8	257	3.1
Hebrews	8	303	2.6
Mark	7	678	1.0
1 Thessalonians	6	89	6.7
Colossians	6	95	6.3
1 Peter	6	105	5.7
2 Peter	5	61	8.2
John	5	879	0.6
Jude	3	25	12.0
Philippians	3	104	2.9
2 Timothy	2	83	2.4
Philemon	2	25	8.0
1 John	2	105	1.9
2 Thessalonians	1	47	2.1
1 Timothy	1	113	0.9
Titus	1	46	2.2

Pattern: Highest raw count in Acts (53x), driven by "Holy Ghost/Spirit" usage throughout the narrative of Spirit-empowered mission. Highest density in Ephesians (9.7), 2 Peter (8.2), and Philemon (8.0). Revelation concentrates 25 uses at 6.2 per 100 — split between "saints" (persecuted people of God) and "holy" (divine attribute, sacred places). Absent from James, Galatians, and 2 John.

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Holy Spirit — πνεῦμα ἅγιον (pneuma hagion)¶

The dominant NT use. Hágios modifies pneûma in ~97 verses (44% of all occurrences). - Mat 1:18 — "she was found with child of the Holy Ghost" - Act 2:4 — "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues" - Act 5:3 — "why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost" - 2Co 13:14 — "the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all"

2. The Saints — οἱ ἅγιοι (hoi hagioi)¶

Substantive masculine plural: God's consecrated people, the covenant community. - Act 9:13 — "how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem" - Rom 12:13 — "Distributing to the necessity of saints" - Eph 4:12 — "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry" - Rev 13:7 — "it was given unto him to make war with the saints"

3. Sacred Places and Objects¶

Applied to physical locations or things set apart for God. - Mat 4:5 — "the devil taketh him up into the holy city" - Act 7:33 — "the place where thou standest is holy ground" - Heb 9:2-3 — "the first [tabernacle], which is called the Sanctuary (Hagia) ... the Holiest of all (Hagia Hagiōn)" - Rev 21:2 — "the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven"

4. Divine Attribute — God's Own Holiness¶

Predicated of God, Christ, or the divine name. - Luk 1:49 — "holy is his name" - Jhn 17:11 — "Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me" - Rev 4:8 — "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come" (trisagion + temporal formula) - Rev 6:10 — "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood"

5. The Holy One — ὁ ἅγιος (ho hagios)¶

Substantive singular: christological/theological title. - Mrk 1:24 — "I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God" - Act 3:14 — "ye denied the Holy One and the Just" - 1Jo 2:20 — "ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things" - Rev 3:7 — "These things saith he that is holy, he that is true"

6. Moral Holiness of Believers — Ethical Call¶

Adjective applied to persons or their conduct. - Rom 12:1 — "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God" - 1Pe 1:15-16 — "as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy ... Be ye holy; for I am holy" - Col 3:12 — "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies" - Eph 1:4 — "he hath chosen us ... that we should be holy and without blame"

7. Holy Persons, Scriptures, and Covenants¶

Qualifying revered persons, writings, or divine agreements. - Luk 1:70 — "his holy prophets, which have been since the world began" - Rom 1:2 — "promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures" - Luk 1:72 — "To perform the mercy promised ... and to remember his holy covenant" - 2Ti 1:9 — "who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	97x (44%)	"Holy Spirit/Ghost" — by far the dominant collocation
θεός (theos)	G2316	51x (23%)	"of God" — saints of God, Spirit of God, holy to God
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	46x (21%)	"all the saints," "all holy brethren"
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)	G2424	31x (14%)	"in the name of ... the Holy Ghost," "holy child Jesus"
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	30x (14%)	"holy temple in the Lord," "the Lord ... the Holy Ghost"
Χριστός (Christos)	G5547	22x (10%)	"saints in Christ Jesus," "sanctified in Christ"
δίδωμι (didōmi)	G1325	20x (9%)	"God hath given the Holy Ghost"
πατήρ (patēr)	G3962	16x (7%)	"Holy Father," "the Father ... the Holy Ghost"
λόγος (logos)	G3056	15x (7%)	"the word ... the Holy Ghost," "words against this holy place"
ἄγγελος (aggelos)	G32	12x (5%)	"the holy angels" — angels as holy attendants

Word Family / Cognates¶

G37 ἁγιάζω (hagiazō) — to make holy, sanctify, consecrate (28x)
G38 ἁγιασμός (hagiasmos) — sanctification, holiness as process (10x)
G41 ἁγιότης (hagiotēs) — holiness, divine quality (1x)
G42 ἁγιωσύνη (hagiōsynē) — holiness as personal attribute (3x)
G47 ἁγνεία (hagneia) — purity (2x) — related root
G53 ἁγνός (hagnos) — pure, chaste (8x) — related root

Synonyms¶

G53 ἁγνός (hagnos) — pure, chaste; emphasizes moral purity
G3741 ὅσιος (hosios) — holy, devout; emphasizes piety or covenant faithfulness
G2413 ἱερός (hieros) — sacred; emphasizes ritual or temple-related holiness

Antonyms¶

G953 βεβηλόω (bebeloo) — to profane, desecrate; the cultic opposite of treating something as holy

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ὅσιος (hosios)	G3741	"holy," "Holy One"	hosios = intrinsic piety, righteous character, divine faithfulness (Psa 16:10 LXX "thy Holy One"); hagios = set apart, consecrated, sacred — broader range
ἱερός (hieros)	G2413	"holy"	hieros = sacred in a ritual/temple sense (used only 2x in NT); hagios covers the full spectrum from ritual to moral to divine
קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)	H6944	"holy"	Hebrew noun (OT); hagios is its primary Greek equivalent in LXX (346 co-occurrences)
קָדוֹשׁ (qadowsh)	H6918	"holy," "saints"	Hebrew adjective (OT); maps closely to hagios in adjectival use (100 co-occurrences in LXX)

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score
קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)	H6944	346	31.04
קָדוֹשׁ (qadowsh)	H6918	100	24.60
מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash)	H4720	46	18.54
מִקְרָא (miqra)	H4744	18	15.17
קַדִּישׁ (qaddiysh, Aramaic)	H6922	11	13.21
קָדַשׁ (qadash)	H6942	34	11.70

The qodesh/hagios bridge is dominant: 346 LXX co-occurrences. The qadash (q-d-sh) root family accounts for all top Hebrew sources except miqdash (sanctuary, itself from q-d-sh) and miqra (convocation — "holy convocation" collocates frequently with qodesh in Leviticus).