H6944 — קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H6944
Original: קֹדֶשׁ
Transliteration: qodesh
Pronunciation: ko'-desh
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: H6942 קָדַשׁ (qadash) — to be holy, set apart, consecrate
Occurrences: 452 in OT
First Occurrence: Exo 3:5 — "the place whereon thou standest is holy (qodesh) ground"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity. From qadash (H6942). Translated as: consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness, (most) holy (day, portion, thing), saint, sanctuary.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation Group	Count	%
holy (adj. modifier)	~240	53%
sanctuary (place)	~68	15%
most holy (superlative)	~45	10%
holiness (abstract)	~30	7%
holy things (objects)	~27	6%
dedicated/consecrated/hallowed	~22	5%
other (saints, portions, etc.)	~20	4%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Leviticus	84	9.8
Exodus	70	5.8
Numbers	58	4.5
Ezekiel	51	4.0
Psalms	45	1.8
2 Chronicles	27	3.3
Isaiah	24	1.9
1 Chronicles	15	1.6
1 Kings	12	1.5
Daniel	12	3.4
Nehemiah	9	2.2
Jeremiah	6	0.4
Ezra	5	1.8
Zechariah	5	2.4
Deuteronomy	4	0.4
Joel	3	4.1
1 Samuel	3	0.4
2 Kings	3	0.4
Obadiah	2	9.5
Jonah	2	4.2
Zephaniah	2	3.8
Joshua	2	0.3
Amos	2	1.4
Proverbs	1	0.1
Haggai	1	2.6
Lamentations	1	0.6
Micah	1	1.0
Habakkuk	1	1.8
Malachi	1	1.8

Heavily concentrated in the Pentateuch (212 of 452, 47%) and Ezekiel (51). The ritual/cultic books dominate. Notably absent from Genesis, Ruth, Esther, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Hosea, and Nahum. Daniel's 12 occurrences cluster around sanctuary/holy city language (Dan 8-12).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Sacred Quality — "Holy" as Modifier¶

The most frequent use: qodesh modifies a noun in construct, marking it as set apart. - Exo 3:5 — "the place whereon thou standest is holy (qodesh) ground" - Exo 16:23 — "To morrow is the rest of the holy (qodesh) sabbath unto the LORD" - Isa 52:1 — "put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy (qodesh) city" - Isa 58:13 — "call the sabbath a delight, the holy (qodesh) of the LORD"

2. Sacred Space — Sanctuary¶

Qodesh frequently denotes the sanctuary itself, especially the tabernacle/temple holy place. - Exo 26:33 — "the vail shall divide unto you between the holy (qodesh) and the most holy (qodesh)" - Exo 30:13 — "half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary (qodesh)" - Psa 20:6 — "he will hear him from his holy (qodesh) heaven" - Dan 8:13 — "to give both the sanctuary (qodesh) and the host to be trodden under foot"

3. Most Holy — Superlative (Qodesh Qodashim)¶

The doubled construct qodesh qodashim ("holy of holies") marks the highest degree of sanctity. - Exo 26:33-34 — the veil separating the holy place from "the most holy" (qodesh haqqodashim) - Lev 27:28 — "every devoted thing is most holy (qodesh qodashim) unto the LORD" - Num 18:9 — "of the most holy things (qodesh haqqodashim), reserved from the fire" - Eze 43:12 — "Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof... shall be most holy (qodesh qodashim)" - Dan 9:24 — "to anoint the most Holy (qodesh qodashim)"

4. Abstract Holiness — The Divine Quality¶

Qodesh used abstractly for the quality of holiness itself. - Exo 15:11 — "who is like thee, glorious in holiness (qodesh)" - Exo 28:36 — "HOLINESS (qodesh) TO THE LORD" engraved on the high priest's crown - Psa 29:2 — "worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness (qodesh)" - Psa 93:5 — "holiness (qodesh) becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever"

5. Holy Things — Sacred Objects¶

Items set apart for sacred use. - Exo 30:25 — "an oil of holy (qodesh) ointment... a holy anointing oil" - Lev 22:3 — "Whosoever... goeth unto the holy things (qodesh) having his uncleanness upon him" - 1 Chr 23:13 — "Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things (qodesh)" - Eze 44:23 — "teach my people the difference between the holy (qodesh) and profane"

6. Consecrated Status — Set-Apart State of Persons/Things¶

Qodesh marking something or someone as belonging to God. - Jer 2:3 — "Israel was holiness (qodesh) unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase" - Psa 51:11 — "take not thy holy (qodesh) spirit from me" - Isa 63:10 — "they rebelled, and vexed his holy (qodesh) Spirit" - Zec 14:20 — "HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD" on the bells of the horses - Oba 1:17 — "upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness (qodesh)"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	142x	"holy to the LORD," "the LORD's holy [X]"
בֵּן (ben)	H1121	60x	"sons of [Israel/Aaron]" in priestly context
בַּיִת (bayith)	H1004	52x	"house" — the holy house/temple
כֹּהֵן (kohen)	H3548	47x	"priest" — holy priestly service
אֱלֹהִים (elohim)	H430	41x	"God" — holy things of God
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrael)	H3478	40x	"Israel" — holy nation context
אַהֲרוֹן (Aharon)	H175	33x	"Aaron" — priestly holiness
הַר (har)	H2022	29x	"holy mountain" (har qodesh)
שֵׁם (shem)	H8034	28x	"holy name" (shem qodesh)
מְלָאכָה (melakah)	H4399	26x	"work" — work of the sanctuary

The strongest collocation is with YHWH (37% of all verses), reflecting that holiness in the OT is fundamentally a divine attribute. The cluster of priestly terms (kohen, Aharon, ben) shows heavy cultic/liturgical context.

Word Family / Cognates¶

H6942 קָדַשׁ (qadash) — root verb: "to be holy, consecrate, sanctify" (172x)
H6918 קָדוֹשׁ (qadowsh) — adjective: "sacred, holy; the Holy One" (116x)
H4720 מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash) — noun: "sanctuary, sacred place" (74x)
H6922 קַדִּישׁ (qaddiysh) — Aramaic adjective: "holy" (Daniel) (13x)

Synonyms¶

H1687 דְּבִיר (dᵉbîyr) — inner shrine / oracle; search_relationships.py links qodesh with sanctuary-space vocabulary when holiness points to the temple's innermost sacred area.

Antonyms¶

H2455 חֹל (chôl) — common, profane, unholy; the standard priestly opposite in the holy/common distinction.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
קָדוֹשׁ (qadowsh)	H6918	"holy" (105x)	qadowsh is the adjective ("the Holy One"); qodesh is the noun ("holiness, holy thing/place")
מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash)	H4720	"sanctuary" (64x)	miqdash specifically denotes the physical sanctuary building; qodesh is broader (quality, objects, space)
חָסִיד (chasiyd)	H2623	"holy" (5x)	chasiyd means "faithful, pious" (loyal love); qodesh means "set apart, sacred"

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002001001031] Holy — the core domain: qodesh names holiness itself, holy things, holy places, and most-holy status.
[001002009001] Buildings — the tool also places qodesh in the building/structure field because many occurrences denote the sanctuary or a holy architectural zone.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Count	Notes
ἅγιος (hagios) G40	346	Primary (~77%); covers all semantic categories
ἁγιάζω (hagiazo) G37	30	Verbal form, when qodesh appears in "sanctify" contexts
βεβηλόω (bebeloo) G953	19	"profane" — antonym contexts (profaning the holy)
ἀπαρχή (aparche) G536	15	"firstfruits" — when qodesh marks dedicated offerings
ναός (naos) G3485	14	"temple" — when qodesh refers to the sanctuary space

The overwhelming dominance of G40 hagios (346 of 452) makes this one of the tightest Hebrew-Greek mappings in the LXX.