H6942 — קָדַשׁ (qâdash)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H6942
Original: קָדַשׁ
Transliteration: qâdash
Pronunciation: kaw-dash
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: Primitive root (noun derivative H6944 qodesh; adjective H6918 qadosh)
Occurrences: 153 unique verses (186 tokens) across 23 books
First Occurrence: Gen 2:3 — "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally):—appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, defile, hallow, (be, keep) holy(-er, place), keep, prepare, proclaim, purify, sanctify(-ied one, self), wholly.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Piel	41	make holy, consecrate, declare set apart
Hiphil	13	cause to be holy, consecrate (often God as subject)
Qal	7	be holy, be clean, be set apart
Hithpael	4	sanctify oneself, consecrate oneself (reflexive)
Niphal	3	be sanctified, be hallowed (often God vindicated before nations)

Tallied from hebrew_parser.py --lemma "קדשׁ" (68 verb tokens matched via Text-Fabric)

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation Group	Verses	%
sanctify / sanctified / sanctify yourselves (all forms)	~85	56%
hallow / hallowed / shall be hallowed	~18	12%
dedicate / dedicated / had dedicated	~12	8%
consecrate / consecrated	~6	4%
holy / be holy / shall be holy	~7	5%
prepare / Prepare ye	~5	3%
proclaim	1	1%
purify / purified	1	1%
Other (bid, keep, appoint, wholly)	~18	12%

Dominant gloss: sanctify/sanctified (56%). Wide range reflects both the causative Piel and the stative Qal.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Joel	4	5.5
Leviticus	29	3.4
Haggai	1	2.6
2 Chronicles	20	2.4
Exodus	25	2.1
Zephaniah	1	1.9
Ezekiel	15	1.2
Micah	1	1.0
Numbers	10	0.8
Jeremiah	9	0.7
Nehemiah	3	0.7
1 Chronicles	7	0.7
Isaiah	7	0.5
Joshua	3	0.5
Deuteronomy	4	0.4
1 Kings	3	0.4
1 Samuel	3	0.4
Ezra	1	0.4
2 Samuel	2	0.3
2 Kings	2	0.3
Judges	1	0.2
Genesis	1	0.1
Job	1	0.1

Dominant in priestly legislation (Leviticus/Exodus/Numbers) and post-exilic temple restoration (2 Chronicles, Nehemiah). Joel's high density reflects concentrated calls to solemn assembly.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Sanctifying Sacred Time¶

The most ancient usage: God hallows the seventh day at creation; human counterpart is keeping the Sabbath holy. - Gen 2:3 — "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it" - Deut 5:12 — "Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee" - Ezek 20:12 — "I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them" - Joel 1:14 — "Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders"

2. Sanctifying Sacred Space and Objects¶

Consecrating places and things as set apart for divine use — the tabernacle, temple, altar, dedicated spoils. - Exo 13:2 — "Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel" - Num 7:1 — "Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it" - 1 Kgs 8:64 — "The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD" - 2 Sam 8:11 — "Which also king David did dedicate unto the LORD, with the silver and gold"

3. Consecrating Persons for Sacred Service¶

Priests, prophets, and Levites set apart from birth or by ritual for divine office. - Jer 1:5 — "Before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; and I ordained thee a prophet" - Exo 19:10 — "Sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes" - 1 Chr 15:12 — "Sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark" - 1 Chr 15:14 — "So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD"

4. Ritual Self-Preparation Before Encountering God¶

Reflexive or corporate call to ritual purity before a decisive divine encounter or battle. - Jos 3:5 — "Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders" - Jos 7:13 — "Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow" - 1 Sam 16:5 — "Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice" - Joel 2:16 — "Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders"

5. God Sanctified Among the Nations (Niphal/Passive)¶

God is "sanctified" — acknowledged as holy and vindicated — through His judgments in history. - Isa 5:16 — "But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness" - Isa 8:13 — "Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear" - Ezek 7:24 — "I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled" - Ezek 20:41 — "I will be sanctified in you before the heathen" (implied from context)

6. Consecrating for War / Ritual Preparation for Battle¶

An unusual extension: mustering warriors or formally proclaiming war as a consecrated act. - Isa 13:3 — "I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger" - Jer 6:4 — "Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon" - Zeph 1:7 — "For the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice" - 2 Kgs 10:20 — "And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	73x (48%)	"sanctify unto the LORD" / "I am the LORD who sanctifies you"
בֵּן (ben)	H1121	34x (22%)	"sons of Aaron / firstborn sons" in consecration contexts
יוֹם (yom)	H3117	27x (18%)	"sanctify the day" / Sabbath and feast-day holiness
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Israel)	H3478	27x (18%)	"sanctify the children of Israel"
קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)	H6944	22x (14%)	verb + noun of same root: "sanctify the holy place/thing"
עַם (am)	H5971	20x (13%)	"sanctify the people" before theophany
אֱלֹהִים (Elohim)	H430	19x (12%)	God as subject of consecrating act
אַהֲרוֹן (Aaron)	H175	18x (12%)	Aaronic priestly consecration
כֹּהֵן (kohen)	H3548	18x (12%)	priests sanctifying themselves or being consecrated
מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbeach)	H4196	14x (9%)	"sanctify the altar" / altar as sanctifying agent

Word Family / Cognates¶

H6944 קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh) — noun: holiness, holy thing, sanctuary (the state/quality; often the place)
H6918 קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh) — adjective: holy, sacred, set apart
H4720 מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) — noun: sanctuary, consecrated place (from same root)

Synonyms¶

H4172 מוֹרָא (môwrâʼ) — dread, awe, terror; search_relationships.py links qadash with reverential-awe vocabulary that regularly attends holy encounter.
H6206 עָרַץ (ʻârats) — dread, be in awe, be terrified; a neighboring verb in the field of fearful response before what is set apart and overwhelming.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H6942.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)	H6944	"holy" / "dedicated"	qodesh = the state of holiness or the holy place; qadash = the act of setting apart
חָנַךְ (chanak)	H2596	"dedicated"	chanak = to initiate/dedicate a new thing (house, child); qadash = ritual-cultic setting apart for God

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002001001031] Holy — the primary domain: qadash marks persons, times, places, and things as belonging to the holy sphere.
[002001001012] Clean — a closely related purification field, especially where sanctifying includes ritual cleansing and preparation.
[002003003015] Innocent — a result-oriented domain where sanctifying language moves toward cleared or blameless status.
[002001003006] Extraordinary — the tool also places qadash in an "extraordinary / set apart" field, fitting its separation from ordinary use.
[002001002001] Afraid — holiness regularly evokes reverential dread, so qadash is linked with awe/fear vocabulary as well as purity vocabulary.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
ἁγιάζω (hagiazō)	G37	119	6.95	Primary: "to make holy, ceremonially purify" — near 1:1 correspondence
ἁγνίζω (hagnizō)	G48	17	6.67	Used when qadash emphasizes ritual purification/cleansing
ἅγιος (hagios)	G40	34	3.29	Adjectival: when qadash describes the resulting holy state
σάββατον (sabbaton)	G4521	11	4.20	Sabbath-sanctification contexts
ἱερατεύω (hierateuō)	G2407	6	5.36	Priestly service: when qadash means serve as priest

Strong LXX bridge: hagiazō (G37, co-occ 119 ≥ 20). See TR-qadash-hagiazō.md.