G42 — ἁγιωσύνη (hagiōsynē)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G42
Original: ἁγιωσύνη
Transliteration: hagiōsynē
Pronunciation: hag-ee-o-soo'-nay
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: ἅγιος (hagios, G40) — holy, sacred; the -ωσύνη (-ōsynē) suffix forms an abstract quality noun from the adjective
Occurrences: 3 unique verses (3 tokens) in NT
First Occurrence: Rom 1:4 — "And declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:"
Hapax Legomenon: No
LXX Usage: Found in Psa 95:6 (LXX 95:6); 96:6 (LXX 96:6); 144:5 (LXX 144:5); 145:5 — applied to God's majestic holiness in worship contexts

Lexicon Definition¶

From G40 (hagios); sacredness, i.e. properly the quality of holiness. Unknown to secular Greek authors (Thayer). Two senses: (1) majesty, the incomparable divine holiness — God's own holy nature; (2) moral purity — the quality of holiness as a personal attribute in believers.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Primary: - 088.003 — Holy, Pure - Broader domain: 088 — Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Secondary: - 053.006 — Dedicate, Consecrate - Broader domain: 053 — Religious Activities

Glosses: holiness, divine quality, dedication

Domain Neighbors (088.003 — Holy, Pure)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Glosses	Key Difference
G37	ἁγιάζω (hagiazō)	to consecrate, dedicate to God	Verb: the act of making holy
G38	ἁγιασμός (hagiasmos)	consecration, sanctification	Process-noun (-μος suffix): the ongoing work of being made holy
G40	ἅγιος (hagios)	holy, pure, divine	Adjective: the broadest holiness term (229x)
G41	ἁγιότης (hagiotēs)	holiness, sanctity	Quality-noun (-ότης suffix): the state of being holy (1x, Heb 12:10)
G47	ἁγνεία (hagneia)	purity	Moral purity without defect
G53	ἁγνός (hagnos)	pure, without defect	Moral/ceremonial purity; narrower than hagios
G299	ἄμωμος (amōmos)	without defect, blameless	Absence of blemish (sacrificial metaphor)
G784	ἄσπιλος (aspilos)	spotless, morally spotless	Stainless character (external appearance metaphor)
G3741	ὅσιος (hosios)	holy, pure, divine	Intrinsic piety/covenant faithfulness
G3742	ὁσιότης (hosiotēs)	holiness, piety	Quality of devout piety (2x)

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
holiness	2	66.7%
of holiness	1	33.3%

All three NT occurrences are rendered "holiness" in the KJV. The distinction between "holiness" and "of holiness" reflects whether the genitive is rendered as a standalone noun or in a genitive phrase ("spirit of holiness").

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Book Verses	Per 100
1 Thessalonians	1	89	1.1
2 Corinthians	1	257	0.4
Romans	1	433	0.2

Pattern: Exclusively Pauline. One occurrence per letter, spanning early (1 Thessalonians), mid (Romans), and later (2 Corinthians) Pauline correspondence. The word's rarity — only 3 NT uses — makes each occurrence especially significant for determining its semantic range.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Divine Nature / Majestic Holiness — Christ's Holy Essence¶

Rom 1:4 — "And declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness (πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης), by the resurrection from the dead"
Genitive singular: ἁγιωσύνης modifying πνεῦμα
Contrasts with "according to the flesh" (κατὰ σάρκα) in v. 3 — flesh/holiness antithesis frames Christ's two natures
"Spirit of holiness" is a Hebraistic construction (cf. LXX Psa 50:13 πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιόν) describing Christ's inherent holy quality, not merely the Holy Spirit as a person
The resurrection vindicated and declared (ὁρίζω, aorist passive participle) what the spirit of holiness already was

2. Moral Purity — Believers' Pursuit of Holiness¶

2 Cor 7:1 — "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness (μολυσμός) of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness (ἐπιτελοῦντες ἁγιωσύνην) in the fear of God"
Accusative singular: direct object of ἐπιτελέω (present active participle — ongoing completion)
Context: follows the separation call of 2 Cor 6:14–18 and the promise of divine sonship (6:18)
Two-fold cleansing: filthiness of flesh (σάρξ) AND spirit (πνεῦμα) — holiness is comprehensive
"Perfecting" (ἐπιτελέω) implies holiness is a quality being brought to completion, not instantaneously achieved

3. Eschatological Holiness — Blamelessness at Christ's Return¶

1 Thess 3:13 — "To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable (ἄμεμπτος) in holiness (ἐν ἁγιωσύνῃ) before God, even our Father, at the coming (παρουσία) of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints (ἅγιοι)"
Dative singular with ἐν: sphere or manner — hearts established "in the sphere of holiness"
Eschatological setting: "at the coming (parousia) of our Lord Jesus"
"Before God" (ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ) — holiness that withstands divine inspection
Notable collocation: ἁγιωσύνη (the quality) appears alongside ἅγιοι (the people) in the same verse

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	2x (67%)	"spirit of holiness" (Rom 1:4); "filthiness of spirit" antithesis (2 Cor 7:1)
θεός (theos)	G2316	2x (67%)	"before God" (1 Thess 3:13); "fear of God" (2 Cor 7:1)
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)	G2424	2x (67%)	Christological frame: Christ's holiness (Rom 1:4); Christ's parousia (1 Thess 3:13)
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	2x (67%)	"our Lord Jesus Christ" in eschatological and christological contexts
σάρξ (sarx)	G4561	2x (67%)	Flesh/holiness contrast: "according to the flesh" vs. "spirit of holiness" (Rom 1:3–4); "filthiness of flesh" vs. "perfecting holiness" (2 Cor 7:1)
καρδία (kardia)	G2588	1x (33%)	"stablish your hearts... in holiness" (1 Thess 3:13)
δύναμις (dynamis)	G1411	1x (33%)	"with power, according to the spirit of holiness" (Rom 1:4)
παρουσία (parousia)	G3952	1x (33%)	Eschatological setting: holiness at Christ's coming (1 Thess 3:13)
ἄμεμπτος (amemptos)	G273	1x (33%)	"unblameable in holiness" (1 Thess 3:13)
μολυσμός (molysmos)	G3436	1x (33%)	Antithesis: "filthiness" opposed to "holiness" (2 Cor 7:1)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G40 ἅγιος (hagios) — holy, sacred (adj., 229x) — the root adjective from which hagiōsynē derives
G37 ἁγιάζω (hagiazō) — to make holy, sanctify (verb, 29x)
G38 ἁγιασμός (hagiasmos) — sanctification, holiness as process/result (noun, 10x)
G41 ἁγιότης (hagiotēs) — holiness, sanctity as state (noun, 1x)
G47 ἁγνεία (hagneia) — purity (noun, 2x) — related root
G53 ἁγνός (hagnos) — pure, chaste (adj., 8x) — related root

Synonyms¶

G38 ἁγιασμός (hagiasmos) — the process or result of being sanctified; emphasizes the ongoing work
G41 ἁγιότης (hagiotēs) — the state of being holy; very close synonym but with -ότης (quality-of-state) suffix vs. -ωσύνη (personal-attribute) suffix
G3742 ὁσιότης (hosiotēs) — piety, devout holiness; emphasizes faithful devotion rather than sacred separation

Antonyms¶

G3436 μολυσμός (molysmos) — filthiness, defilement (1x, 2 Cor 7:1) — direct antithesis in context
G167 ἀκαθαρσία (akatharsia) — uncleanness, impurity — moral opposite of holiness

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἁγιασμός (hagiasmos)	G38	"holiness" (5x), "sanctification" (5x)	hagiasmos = the process or achieved result of sanctification (-μος action/result suffix); hagiōsynē = the inherent quality or attribute of holiness (-ωσύνη personal quality suffix)
ἁγιότης (hagiotēs)	G41	"holiness" (1x, Heb 12:10)	hagiotēs = the abstract state of holiness (-ότης state suffix, cf. Heb 12:10 "partakers of his holiness"); hagiōsynē = holiness as personal attribute or character quality
ὁσιότης (hosiotēs)	G3742	"holiness" (2x)	hosiotēs = piety, devout faithfulness (from hosios — intrinsic rightness); hagiōsynē = sacred quality, set-apart-ness (from hagios — consecrated to God)
εὐσέβεια (eusebeia)	G2150	"holiness" (1x), "godliness" (14x)	eusebeia = godliness in practice, reverent conduct; hagiōsynē = the quality of sacredness itself
קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)	H6944	"holiness" (8x KJV)	Hebrew noun for holiness/sacred-thing; hagiōsynē is one of several Greek nouns capturing aspects of qodesh in the NT

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score
(none found)	—	—	—

No direct LXX co-occurrence data found. However, the lexicon's "Outline of Biblical Usage" references LXX Psalms (95:6; 96:6; 144:5; 145:5), where hagiōsynē renders the Hebrew qodesh (H6944) in contexts describing God's majestic holiness. This confirms the word entered the NT vocabulary through LXX usage as an elevated synonym for the quality of divine holiness.